Aguaruna language

Aguaruna
Awajún
Native to	Perú
Ethnicity	Aguaruna people
Native speakers	38,000 (2000)
Language family	Jivaroan Aguaruna
Language codes
ISO 639-3	agr
Glottolog	agua1253
ELP	Aguaruna

Aguaruna is an indigenous American language of the Jivaroan family spoken by about 45,000 Aguaruna people in Peru. The speakers live along the western portion of the Marañón River and also along the Potro, Mayo, and Cahuapanas rivers. Native speakers currently prefer the name Awajún. According to the Ethnologue, there are almost no monolingual speakers; nearly all also speak Spanish. The school system begins with Aguaruna only; as the students progress, Spanish is gradually added. There is a positive outlook and connotation in regard to bilingualism. 60 to 100% are literate and 50 to 75% are literate in Spanish. Huambisa and Achuar-Siwiar are closely related languages. A modest dictionary of the language has been published.

Phonology

Consonants

	Bilabial	Labiodental	Dental	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stops/Affricates	p (b)		t (d)	t͡s	t͡ʃ		k	ʔ
Nasals	m		n				ŋ
Fricatives				s	ʃ			h h̃
Approximants		ʋ				j	ɰ

Notes:

• The existence of the voiced plosives [b] and [d] is disputed, they are in free variation with [m] and [n].
• Some interpret [ŋ] and [ɰ] as allophones, with [ɰ] appearing at the onset and [ŋ] in the coda.
  • Others consider them distinct phonemes, with [ŋ] having the allophone [h̃].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	ɨ	u
Mid
Open	a

Notes:

• The close back [u] is the only rounded vowel.
• All vowels can be nasalized or lengthened.

References

• Adelaar, Willem F.H. with Pieter C. Muysken. (2004) The languages of the Andes (especially section 4.4 The Jivaroan languages). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Asangkay Sejekam, Nexar. (2006). Awajún. Ilustraciones fonéticas de lenguas amerindias, ed. Stephen A. Marlett. Lima: SIL International y Universidad Ricardo Palma. [1]
• Asangkay Sejekam, Nexar. (2006) La situación sociolingüística de la lengua awajún en 2006. Situaciones sociolingüísticas de lenguas amerindias, ed. Stephen A. Marlett. Lima: SIL International and Universidad Ricardo Palma. [2]
• Asangkay Sejekam, Nexar and Edwardo Gomez Antuash. (2009). Diccionario awajún-castellano (versión preliminar). [3]
• Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian languages: the historical linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Corbera Mori, Ángel (1981). Glosario Aguaruna-Castellano Universidad Nacional Maqyor de San Marcos, Documento de Trabajo, Centro de Investigación de Lingüística Aplicada 44. 78 pp.
• Corbera Mori, Ángel. (1984) Bibliografía de la familia lingüística jíbaro 1. Lima: Centro de Investigación de Lingüística Aplicada, Documento de Trabajo 48, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.
• Solís Fonseca, Gustavo. (2003) Lenguas en la amazonía peruana. Lima: edición por demanda.
• Uwarai Yagkug, Abel; Isaac Paz Suikai, y Jaime Regan. (1998) Diccionario aguaruna-castellano, awajún chícham apáchnaujai. Lima: Centro Amazónico de Antropología y Aplicación Práctica.

External links

• Article about Peruvian student working to preserve Aguaruna language
• Aguaruna language dictionary online from IDS (select simple or advanced browsing)
• Video of the Aguaruna People
• OLAC resources in and about the Aguaruna language