Ashéninka (Ashéninca, Ashéninga) is the name that some varieties included in the Ashéninka-Asháninka dialect complex have traditionally received. These varieties belong to the Campan branch of the Arawak family.[2] Ethnologue distinguishes seven languages throughout the whole complex, while Pedrós[2] proposes a division in three languages (Ashéninka, Asháninka and Northern Ashé-Ashá) based on the principle of mutual intelligibility. The varieties included in Ashéninka and Northern Ashé-Ashá have traditionally been called Ashéninka. Glottolog reflects Pedrós’ proposal, although considering the languages proposed by him as groupings of the languages that the Ethnologue distinguishes.
| Ashéninka | |
|---|---|
| Campa | |
| Native to | Peru, Brazil |
| Ethnicity | Ashéninka people |
Native speakers | 8,774 (2017)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:prq – Perenécpu – Pichiscpc – Apurucayalicpb – Ucayali-Yurúacjo – Pajonalcpy – South Ucayali |
| Glottolog | asha1242 |
| ELP | Ashéninka |
According to the indigenous peoples database of the Peruvian Ministry of Education,[1] there are 15,281 people living in Ashéninka communities, of whom 8,774 (57%) claim to be able to speak the language. Ethnologue gives much higher figures for the different Ashéninka varieties.
The classification of the different varieties was first established by David Payne in his Apurucayali Axininca grammar,[3] but he referred to them as dialects and not as different languages.[3]: 3–5
Ashéninka is a locally official language in Peru, as are all native Peruvian languages. It and its relatives are also known by the allegedly[weasel words] pejorative term Campa.
Alphabet
editAshéninka was recognized as a separate language from Asháninka in 2017, and the process to fix an alphabet finished in April 2019 with its approval by the Ministry of Education.[4]
Phonology
editConsonants
editPedrós (2023)[5] shows the following consonant inventory for Ucayali-Pajonal (South Ucayali and Pajonal):
| Bilabial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | pal. | plain | pal. | plain | pal. | plain | pal. | ||||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | pʲ | t | c | k | kʲ | ||||
| aspirated | tʰ | ||||||||||
| Affricate | voiceless | ts | |||||||||
| aspirated | tsʰ | tʃʰ | |||||||||
| Fricative | ʃ | h | hʲ | ||||||||
| Rhotic | ɾ | ɾʲ | |||||||||
| Nasal | m | mʲ | n | ɲ | |||||||
| Approximant | w/β̞ | β̞ʲ | j | ɰ | |||||||
Judith Payne (1989)[6] describes the following consonant inventory for Pichis:
Bilabial Apical Post-
alveolarPalatal Velar Glottal Unspecified plain pal. plain pal. Plosives voiceless p pʲ t k kʲ aspirated tʰ Affricates voiceless ts tʃ aspirated tsʰ tʃʰ Fricatives s ʃ (ç) h Rhotics r rʲ Nasals m mʲ n ɲ N Approximants β̞ β̞ʲ j ɰ
David Payne (1981)[3] shows the same inventory for the Apurucayali variety, but without the palatalized consonants /pʲ/, /kʲ/, /hʲ/, /mʲ/ and /β̞ʲ/ and with the palatal fricative /ç/.
Mihas[7] shows a similar inventory for the Alto Perené variety with few differences. These are that Mihas does not include neither /tʰ/ nor /ç/; David Payne's contrast /t͡ʃ~t͡ʃʰ/ is considered /t͡ʃ~tʲ/ by Mihas, and she does not include any palatalized consonant because she considers them two-consonant clusters (Cj). These three varieties are included in Pedrós' Northern Ashé-Ashá group.[2]
Vowels
editJudith Payne,[6] Mihas[7] and Pedrós[5] show a four-vowel system /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, while, in David Payne's Apurucayali,[3] there are only three /a/, /i/, /o/. All varieties distinguish between long [Vː] and short vowels without any change in quality.
References
edit- ^ a b "Base de Datos Oficial de Pueblos Indígenas u Originarios". Base de Datos de Pueblos Indígenas u Originarios. Ministerio de Cultura del Perú. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Pedrós, Toni (2018). "Ashéninka y asháninka: ¿de cuántas lenguas hablamos?". Cadernos de etnolingüística. 6 (1): 1–30. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ a b c d Payne, David L. (1981). The Phonology and Morphology of Axininca Campa. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
- ^ "Ya es oficial el alfabeto de la lengua asheninka". Andina. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ a b Pedrós, Toni (2023). A grammar of Ashéninka (Ucayali-Pajonal). Amsterdam: LOT. ISBN 978-94-6093-425-4. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ a b Payne, Judith (1989). Lecciones para el aprendizaje del idioma ashéninca. Yarinacocha: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024.
- ^ a b Mihas, Elena (2015). A grammar of Alto Perené (Arawak) (PDF). Mouton Grammar Library. Vol. 69. De Gruyter Mouton. doi:10.1515/9783110766301. ISBN 9783110419320.