Moxo languages (Redirected from Moxos language)

Moxo
Mojos
Native toBolivia
RegionBeni Department
Ethnicity21,000 Moxo people (2004)
Native speakers
10,000 (2000–2004)
Arawakan
  • Southern
    • Bolivia–Parana
      • Moxos languages
        • Moxo
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
ign – Ignaciano Moxos
trn – Trinitario Moxos
Glottologmoxo1234  Mojeno
magi1242  Magiana
ELP

Moxo (also known as Mojo, pronounced 'Moho') is any of the Arawakan languages spoken by the Moxo people of the Llanos de Moxos in northeastern Bolivia. The two extant languages of the Moxo people, Trinitario and Ignaciano, are as distinct from one another as they are from neighboring Arawakan languages. The extinct Magiana was also distinct.

Moxo languages have an active–stative syntax.

Sociolinguistic background

The languages belong to a group of tribes that originally ranged through the upper Mamoré, extending east and west from the Guapure (Itenes) to the Beni, and are now centered in the Province of Moxos, Department of Beni, Bolivia. They form part of the Mamoré-Guaporé linguistic area.

Moxo was also the primary lingua franca (Spanish: lengua general) used in the Jesuit Missions of Moxos.

Ignaciano is used in town meetings unless outsiders are present, and it is a required subject in the lower school grades, one session per week. Perhaps half of the children learn Ignaciano. By the 1980s there were fewer than 100 monolinguals, all older than 30.

Classification

The Moxo languages are most closely related to Bauré, Pauna, and Paikonéka. Together, they form the Mamoré-Guaporé languages (named after the Mamoré River and Guaporé River). Classification by Jolkesky (2016):: 8 

  • Mamoré-Guaporé languages
    • Bauré
      • Bauré
      • Carmelito
      • Joaquiniano
      • Muxojeóne
    • Moxeno
      • Ignaciano
      • Trinitário
      • Loretano
      • Javierano
    • Paikonéka
      • Paikonéka
    • Paunáka
      • Paunáka

Classification by Danielsen (2011) and Danielsen & Terhart (2014: 226):

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants in Ignaciano Mojeno
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ
Stop p t k ʔ
Affricate ts
Fricative β s ʃ x
Rhotic r
Approximant w l j
Consonants in Trinitario Mojeno
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain pal. lab. plain pal. plain pal. plain pal. lab.
Nasal m n ɲ
Stop p t c k ʔ ʔʲ
Affricate ts tsʲ
Fricative s ç h
Liquid ɾ ɾʲ
Approximant w β̞ʲ j
  • /h/ can be voiced as [ɦ] between vowels.
  • /w/ can be heard as [β] before a front vowel, and as [ɥ] when preceding /j/.

Vowels

Vowels in Ignaciano Mojeno
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e
Low a
  • /e/ can also have an allophone of [ɛ].
Vowels in Trinitario Mojeno
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e ə͡e ə͡eː o
Low a

Word lists

The following is a wordlist containing sample words from English to Moxos:

English-Moxos
English Moxos
One Ikapia
Two Apisá
Three Impúse
Man Ehiro
Woman Eseno
Sun Sáche
Water Uni
Fire Yuku
Head Nuxuti
Hand Nubupe
Corn Suru

Magíana word list from the late 1700s published in Palau and Saiz (1989):: 170 

Spanish gloss English gloss Magíana
bueno good shiomá
malo bad shiomallama
el padre father papá
la madre mother kay
el hermano brother nomasqui
uno one huestiche
dos two heravetá

See also

Further reading


This page was last updated at 2024-02-03 10:06 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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