Cañari–Puruhá languages

Cañari–Puruhá
Geographic
distribution
Ecuadoran Andes
Linguistic classificationBarbacoan?
Chimúan?
  • Cañari–Puruhá
Subdivisions
Language codes
GlottologNone

Cañari (Cañar, Kanyari) and Puruhá (Puruguay, Puruwá) are two poorly-attested extinct languages of the Marañón River basin in Ecuador that are difficult to classify. Puruhá is scarcely attested, and Cañari is known primarily from placenames. Loukotka (1968) suggests they may have been related to Mochica (Yunga) in a family called Chimuan,[1] but Adelaar (2004:397) thinks it is more likely that they were Barbacoan languages. (See extinct languages of the Marañón River basin.)

Varieties

Cañari and Puruhá are the two main varieties:[1]

"Northern Chimú" varieties listed by Loukotka (1968) are given below. All are unattested except for Huancavilca and Manabí.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.