Reyesano language

Reyesano, or Chirigua (Chiriba), is a nearly extinct Tacanan language that was spoken by only a few speakers, including children, in 1961 in Bolivia. It is spoken by the Maropa people who number 4,505 in 2012.[3]

Reyesano
Chirgua
Native toBolivia
RegionBeni Department
Ethnicity1,130 (1994 census)[1]
Native speakers
250 (2007)[1]
Tacanan
  • Araona–Tacanan
    • Cavinena–Tacana
      • Tacana Proper
        • Reyesano
Language codes
ISO 639-3rey
Glottologreye1240[2]

There still are adult speakers in the largely indigenous community of El Cozar in Reyes. However, it is doubtful that this language will survive much into the 21st century. Such is the margination of the indigenous people in the Beni that very little Reyesano words have entered the popular criollo Spanish, very unlike the situation in Quechua and Aymara influenced areas. There are many indigenous terms in "camba" (Spanish of the Beni) but they mostly of Guaraní origin carried to the Beni by the original settlers from Santa Cruz.

Evidently the name Reyesano comes from the name of the town of Reyes, of the Province of Ballivián in the Department of the Beni in the plains adjacent to the Bolivian Amazon. The language is also known as Sapiboca (Sapibocona), Maropa, Chumana, and perhaps Warisa (Guariza); these may have corresponded to different dialects.

References
  1. Reyesano at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Reyesano". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. "Censo de Población y Vivienda 2012 Bolivia Características de la Población". Instituto Nacional de Estadística, República de Bolivia. p. 29.


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