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
20 core words in Aguaruna
Water
yumi
/jumi/
Fire
úkam
/úkam/
Sun
etsá
/etsá/
Moon
nántu
/nántu/
Mother
dukú
/dukú/
Father
apá
/apá/
Eat
yuwámu
/juwámu/
Drink
úmag
/úmaɡ/
Love
amaja
/amaha/
Heart
anéntai
/anɛ́ntaj/
Tree
númi
/númi/
House
jegámu
/heɡámu/
Dog
yawá
/jawá/
Cat
micha
/mitʃa/
Hand
uwéj
/uwéh/
Eye
jíi
/híː/
Hello
pujámek
/puhámɛk/
Thank you
see
/sɛː/
One
makichik
/makitʃik/
Good
ímia
/ímia/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Jivaroan languages
| Meaning | Aguaruna | Achuar | Shuar | Jaqaru | Lakota | Dakota | Beja |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | yumi /jumi/ | yumi /jumi/ | yumi /jumi/ | uma /uma/ | mní /mní/ | mní /mní/ | yam /jam/ |
| Fire | úkam /úkam/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | nina /nina/ | pȟéta /pˣéta/ | phéta /pʰéta/ | neʼaat /neʔaːt/ |
| Sun | etsá /etsá/ | etsa /etsa/ | etsa /etsa/ | ñiwi /ɲiwi/ | wí /wí/ | aŋpétuwí /aŋpétuwí/ | yint /jint/ |
| Moon | nántu /nántu/ | nantu /nantu/ | nantu /nantu/ | phaxshi /pʰaχʃi/ | haŋhépi wí /haŋhépi wí/ | haŋyétuwí /haŋjétuwí/ | tirig /tiɾiɡ/ |
| Mother | dukú /dukú/ | nukur /nukuɾ/ | nukur /nukuɾ/ | mama /mama/ | iná /iná/ | iná /iná/ | indee /iːndeː/ |
| Father | apá /apá/ | apar /apaɾ/ | apar /apaɾ/ | awki /awki/ | até /até/ | até /até/ | baab /baːb/ |
| Eat | yuwámu /juwámu/ | yuata /juata/ | yuata /juata/ | mankaña /mankaɲa/ | yúta /júta/ | yúta /júta/ | tame /tame/ |
| Drink | úmag /úmaɡ/ | umarta /umaɾta/ | umarta /umaɾta/ | umaña /umaɲa/ | yatkáŋ /jatkáŋ/ | yatkáŋ /jatkáŋ/ | gwaʼa /ɡʷaʕa/ |
| Love | amaja /amaha/ | anentin /anentin/ | anentaiti /anentaiti/ | munasiña /munasiɲa/ | thečhíȟila /tʰetʃʰíxila/ | thečhíȟida /tʰetʃʰíχida/ | kima /kima/ |
| Heart | anéntai /anɛ́ntaj/ | enentai /enentai/ | enentai /enentai/ | chuyma /tʃujma/ | čhaŋté /tʃʰaŋté/ | čhaŋté /tʃʰaŋté/ | ginʼa /ɡinʕa/ |
| Tree | númi /númi/ | numi /numi/ | numi /numi/ | qhura /qʰuɾa/ | čháŋ /tʃʰáŋ/ | čháŋ /tʃʰáŋ/ | hindeb /hindeb/ |
| House | jegámu /heɡámu/ | jea /dʒea/ | jea /dʒea/ | uta /uta/ | thípi /tʰípi/ | thípi /tʰípi/ | gaw /ɡaw/ |
| Dog | yawá /jawá/ | yawa /jawa/ | yawá /jaˈwa/ | anu /anu/ | šúŋka /ʃúŋka/ | šúŋka /ʃúŋka/ | yas /jas/ |
| Cat | micha /mitʃa/ | micha /mitʃa/ | micha /mitʃa/ | phishi /pʰiʃi/ | igmúŋke /iɡmúŋke/ | igmúŋ /iɡmúŋ/ | kabsoot /kabsoːt/ |
| Hand | uwéj /uwéh/ | uwej /uwedʒ/ | uwej /uwedʒ/ | amrra /amra/ | napé /napé/ | napé /napé/ | ay /aj/ |
| Eye | jíi /híː/ | jii /dʒiː/ | jii /dʒiː/ | nayri /najɾi/ | ištá /iʃtá/ | ištá /iʃtá/ | liili /liːli/ |
| Hello | pujámek /puhámɛk/ | pujamek /pudʒamek/ | pujamek /pudʒamek/ | kamishti /kamiʃti/ | háu /háu/ | háu /háu/ | salaam /salaːm/ |
| Thank you | see /sɛː/ | mai-tikut /majtikut/ | yuminsajme /juminsadʒme/ | yuspaa /juspaː/ | philámayaye /pʰilámajaje/ | pidámayaye /pidámajaje/ | baraʼoo /baɾaʕoː/ |
| One | makichik /makitʃik/ | kichik /kitʃik/ | chikichik /tʃikitʃik/ | maya /maja/ | waŋží /waŋʒí/ | waŋžidaŋ /waŋʒidaŋ/ | gaal /ɡaːl/ |
| Good | ímia /ímia/ | penker /peŋkeɾ/ | penker /peŋkeɾ/ | shuma /ʃuma/ | wašté /waʃté/ | wašté /waʃté/ | dabaab /dabaːb/ |
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