Chiquitano | |
---|---|
Besïro | |
Native to | Santa Cruz, Bolivia |
Ethnicity | 47,100 Chiquitano people (2004) |
Native speakers
|
5,900 in Bolivia (2004) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
|
Glottolog |
chiq1248 Chiquitanosans1265 Sansimoniano
|
Chiquitano (also Bésiro or Tarapecosi) is an indigenous language isolate of eastern Bolivia, spoken in the central region of the Santa Cruz province.
Chiquitano is a language isolate. Greenberg linked it to the Macro-Jê languages in his discredited proposal, which was never substantiated.
According to traditional sources, dialects were tao (yúnkarirsh), piñoco, penoqui, kusikia, manasi, san simoniano, churapa.
Chiquitano has regressive assimilation triggered by nasal nuclei / ɨ̃ ĩ ũ õ ã ẽ/ and targeting consonant onsets within a morpheme.
The language has CV, CVV, and CVC syllables. It does not allow complex onsets or codas. The only codas allowed are nasal consonants.