Awajún chichám
Aguaruna
Jivaroan
Aguaruna (Awajún chichám, "Awajún speech") is the largest Jivaroan language, spoken by ~50,000-55,000 Awajún people in the Peruvian Amazon — Andes ecotone region. The Jivaroan family is a small isolated South American family of 4-5 closely related languages (Shuar jiv, Achuar acu, Huambisa, Shiwiar, Awajún agr) whose homeland straddles the Peru-Ecuador border in the Marañón River basin. Awajún speakers are ethnically related to but linguistically distinct from Ecuadorian Shuar; mutual intelligibility is partial. Awajún has retained Jivaroan family features: nasal vowels, focus markers, classifier-noun constructions, and an exhaustive ethnobiological lexicon for the rainforest. The 2009 Bagua massacre brought international attention to Awajún land rights.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Aguaruna
Water
yumi
/jumi/
Fire
jii
/hiː/
Sun
etsá
/etsá/
Moon
nántu
/nántu/
Star
yaya
/jaja/
Mother
dukú
/dukú/
Father
apá
/apá/
I
wi
/wi/
You
amé
/ame/
Name
daaji
/daːhi/
Eye
jíi
/híː/
Hand
uwéj
/uwéh/
Heart
anéntai
/anɛ́ntaj/
Love
amaja
/amaha/
Tree
númi
/númi/
House
jegámu
/heɡámu/
Dog
yawá
/jawá/
Cat
micha
/mitʃa/
Eat
yuwámu
/juwámu/
Drink
úmag
/úmaɡ/
One
makichik
/makitʃik/
Two
jimag
/himaɡ/
Hello
pujámek
/puhámɛk/
Thank you
see
/sɛː/
Good
ímia
/ímia/
Cuckoo
ikáncham
/iˈkantʃam/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Jivaroan languages
| Meaning | Aguaruna | Achuar | Shuar | Jaqaru | Yaeyama | Koyraboro Senni | Koyra Chiini |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | yumi /jumi/ | yumi /jumi/ | yumi /jumi/ | uma /uma/ | 水 /midzɨ/ | hari /hari/ | hari /hari/ |
| Fire | jii /hiː/ | ji /hi/ | ji /hi/ | nina /nina/ | 火 /pɨː/ | nuune /nuːne/ | nuune /nuːne/ |
| Sun | etsá /etsá/ | etsa /etsa/ | etsa /etsa/ | inti /inti/ | てぃだ /tida/ | wayna /wajna/ | wari /wari/ |
| Moon | nántu /nántu/ | nantu /nantu/ | nantu /nantu/ | phaxshi /pʰaχʃi/ | 月 /tsɨkɨ/ | handu /handu/ | handu /handu/ |
| Star | yaya /jaja/ | yaa /jaː/ | yaa /jaː/ | wara /waɾa/ | ぷし /puɕi/ | handariya /handaːɾija/ | handariya /handaːɾija/ |
| Mother | dukú /dukú/ | nukur /nukuɾ/ | nukur /nukuɾ/ | mama /mama/ | あっぱ /appa/ | nya /ɲa/ | nya /ɲa/ |
| Father | apá /apá/ | apar /apaɾ/ | apar /apaɾ/ | awki /awki/ | あっちゃ /attʃa/ | baaba /baːba/ | baaba /baːba/ |
| I | wi /wi/ | wi /wi/ | wi /wi/ | naya /naja/ | ばぬ /banu/ | ay /aj/ | ay /aj/ |
| You | amé /ame/ | ame /ame/ | ame /ame/ | juma /huma/ | わー /waː/ | ni /ni/ | ni /ni/ |
| Name | daaji /daːhi/ | naari /naːɾi/ | naari /naːɾi/ | suti /suti/ | なー /naː/ | maa /maː/ | maa /maː/ |
| Eye | jíi /híː/ | jii /hiː/ | jii /hiː/ | nayra /najɾa/ | 目 /miː/ | mo /mo/ | mo /mo/ |
| Hand | uwéj /uwéh/ | uwej /uweh/ | uwej /uweh/ | ampara /ampaɾa/ | 手 /tiː/ | kambe /kambe/ | kambe /kambe/ |
| Heart | anéntai /anɛ́ntaj/ | enentai /enentai/ | enentai /enentai/ | chuyma /tʃujma/ | 肝 /kɨmu/ | bine /bine/ | bine /bine/ |
| Love | amaja /amaha/ | anentin /anentin/ | anentaiti /anentaiti/ | munasiña /munasiɲa/ | 情き /nasaki/ | baŋa /baŋa/ | baŋa /baŋa/ |
| Tree | númi /númi/ | numi /numi/ | numi /numi/ | qhura /qʰuɾa/ | 木 /kiː/ | tuuri /tuːri/ | tuuri /tuːri/ |
| House | jegámu /heɡámu/ | jea /hea/ | jea /hea/ | uta /uta/ | 家 /jaː/ | huu /huː/ | huu /huː/ |
| Dog | yawá /jawá/ | yawa /jawa/ | yawá /jaˈwa/ | anu /anu/ | 犬 /iɴ/ | hansi /hansi/ | hansi /hansi/ |
| Cat | micha /mitʃa/ | micha /mitʃa/ | micha /mitʃa/ | phishi /pʰiʃi/ | 猫 /maja/ | muusu /muːsu/ | muusu /muːsu/ |
| Eat | yuwámu /juwámu/ | yuata /juata/ | yuata /juata/ | mankaña /mankaɲa/ | 食い /ɸai/ | ŋwa /ŋwa/ | ŋwa /ŋwa/ |
| Drink | úmag /úmaɡ/ | umarta /umaɾta/ | umarta /umaɾta/ | umaña /umaɲa/ | 飲み /numi/ | hane /hane/ | hane /hane/ |
| One | makichik /makitʃik/ | kichik /kitʃik/ | chikichik /tʃikitʃik/ | maya /maja/ | 一つ /pi̥tiːdzɨ/ | afo /afo/ | afo /afo/ |
| Two | jimag /himaɡ/ | jimiar /himiaɾ/ | jimiará /himiaɾa/ | paya /paja/ | ふたーち /ɸutaːtɕi/ | ihinka /ihiŋka/ | ihinka /ihiŋka/ |
| Hello | pujámek /puhámɛk/ | pujamek /puhamek/ | pujamek /puhamek/ | kamishti /kamiʃti/ | くよーなーら /kujoːnaːɾa/ | fofo /fofo/ | fofo /fofo/ |
| Thank you | see /sɛː/ | mai-tikut /majtikut/ | yuminsajme /juminsahme/ | yuspaa /juspaː/ | みーふぁいゆー /miːɸaijuː/ | barka /barka/ | barka /barka/ |
| Good | ímia /ímia/ | penker /peŋkeɾ/ | penker /peŋkeɾ/ | shuma /ʃuma/ | カイシャーン /kaiʃaːɴ/ | boori /boːri/ | boori /boːri/ |
| Cuckoo | ikáncham /iˈkantʃam/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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