Achuar Chicham
Achuar
Jivaroan
Achuar (Achuar Chicham, "Achuar speech"; also Achuar-Shiwiar) is a Jivaroan language spoken in the Marañón–Pastaza ecotone of the Peru-Ecuador border. The Achuar people are the second-largest Jivaroan group after the Aguaruna (agr), and have historically been seasonally interconnected with the Shuar (jiv) and Shiwiar through trade, marriage alliances, and warfare. Achuar achieved international attention through the Achuar Resistance against oil-company encroachment in the 2000s-2010s, with the Achuar Federation (FINAE/NAE) leading territorial sovereignty advocacy. Linguistically, Achuar shares Jivaroan family features with Aguaruna and Shuar: nasal vowels, focus markers, and an exhaustive ethnobiological lexicon for the Amazon ecosystem.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Achuar
Water
yumi
/jumi/
Fire
ji
/dʒi/
Sun
etsa
/etsa/
Moon
nantu
/nantu/
Mother
nukur
/nukuɾ/
Father
apar
/apaɾ/
Eat
yuata
/juata/
Drink
umarta
/umaɾta/
Love
anentin
/anentin/
Heart
enentai
/enentai/
Tree
numi
/numi/
House
jea
/dʒea/
Dog
yawa
/jawa/
Cat
micha
/mitʃa/
Hand
uwej
/uwedʒ/
Eye
jii
/dʒiː/
Hello
pujamek
/pudʒamek/
Thank you
mai-tikut
/majtikut/
One
kichik
/kitʃik/
Good
penker
/peŋkeɾ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Jivaroan languages
| Meaning | Achuar | Shuar | Aguaruna | Tumbuka | Central Alaskan Yupik | Kamba | Shambala |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | yumi /jumi/ | yumi /jumi/ | yumi /jumi/ | maji /madʒi/ | meq /meq/ | kĩw'ũ /kiwu/ | mazi /mazi/ |
| Fire | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | úkam /úkam/ | moto /moto/ | keneq /keneq/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | etsa /etsa/ | etsa /etsa/ | etsá /etsá/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | akerta /akerta/ | syũa /sjua/ | zuwa /zuwa/ |
| Moon | nantu /nantu/ | nantu /nantu/ | nántu /nántu/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | iraluq /iraluq/ | mwei /mwei/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| Mother | nukur /nukuɾ/ | nukur /nukuɾ/ | dukú /dukú/ | amama /amama/ | aana /aːna/ | mwaitũ /mwaitu/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | apar /apaɾ/ | apar /apaɾ/ | apá /apá/ | adada /adada/ | ata /ata/ | asa /asa/ | baba /baba/ |
| Eat | yuata /juata/ | yuata /juata/ | yuwámu /juwámu/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | ner'uq /nerʔuq/ | kũya /kuja/ | kuya /kuja/ |
| Drink | umarta /umaɾta/ | umarta /umaɾta/ | úmag /úmaɡ/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | mertuq /mertuq/ | kũnywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| Love | anentin /anentin/ | anentaiti /anentaiti/ | amaja /amaha/ | kutemwa /kutemwa/ | kenka /kenka/ | wendo /wendo/ | kwenda /kwenda/ |
| Heart | enentai /enentai/ | enentai /enentai/ | anéntai /anɛ́ntaj/ | mtima /mtima/ | irua /irua/ | ngoo /ŋɡoː/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ |
| Tree | numi /numi/ | numi /numi/ | númi /númi/ | khuni /kʰuni/ | napa /napa/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mti /mti/ |
| House | jea /dʒea/ | jea /dʒea/ | jegámu /heɡámu/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | ena /ena/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | yawa /jawa/ | yawá /jaˈwa/ | yawá /jawá/ | ncheŵe /ntʃewe/ | qimugta /qimuɣta/ | ngitĩ /ŋɡiti/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | micha /mitʃa/ | micha /mitʃa/ | micha /mitʃa/ | chona /tʃona/ | qassraaraq /qassraːraq/ | mbaka /mbaka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | uwej /uwedʒ/ | uwej /uwedʒ/ | uwéj /uwéh/ | woko /woko/ | unirak /unirak/ | kw'oko /kwoko/ | ukono /ukono/ |
| Eye | jii /dʒiː/ | jii /dʒiː/ | jíi /híː/ | jiso /dʒiso/ | ii /iː/ | ĩtho /iθo/ | izo /izo/ |
| Hello | pujamek /pudʒamek/ | pujamek /pudʒamek/ | pujámek /puhámɛk/ | monire /moniɾe/ | waqaa /waqaː/ | mwĩaĩle /mwiaile/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ |
| Thank you | mai-tikut /majtikut/ | yuminsajme /juminsadʒme/ | see /sɛː/ | yewo /jewo/ | quyana /qujana/ | nĩ vinya /ni viɲa/ | asante /asante/ |
| One | kichik /kitʃik/ | chikichik /tʃikitʃik/ | makichik /makitʃik/ | cimoza /tʃimoza/ | ataucik /atautʃik/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | imo /imo/ |
| Good | penker /peŋkeɾ/ | penker /peŋkeɾ/ | ímia /ímia/ | cwemi /tʃwemi/ | assirtuq /asːirtuq/ | museo /museo/ | hedi /hedi/ |
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