Atanque, also known as Atanques or Kankuamo, is an extinct Chibchan language of Colombia,[1] once spoken in the area of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Vocabulary
There is very little information about the language, in particular with regard to grammar. Before its speakers switched to Spanish, Celedón (1892) managed to compile a brief dictionary. The following table shows a sample of the lexicon.
| gloss | Atanque |
|---|---|
| one | ijkua |
| two | moga |
| three | ména |
| head | chakúku |
| eye | úma |
| nose | michiuña |
| ear | kukkuá |
| tooth | köhka |
| man | ferúa |
| woman | amia |
| water | dita |
| fuego | guié |
| earth | nebinyàku |
| fish | uáka |
| tree | kandina |
| sun | koköbúnyo |
| moon | sakaméru |
Despite being so poorly attested, Atanque clearly belongs to the Arwako subgroup of Chibcha. In particular, it appears to be very close to Wiwa in terms of phonetic innovations.[2]
Toponyms
Traces of Atanque are also preserved in toponyms recorded in the region of Sierra Nevada.[3] Suffixes like -ka "place, site" (e.g. in Susungá-ka, Chingá-ka, Kankuá-ka) or -kua "bower" (e.g. in Birintu-kua, Risátu-kua, Kamíntu-kua) are diagnostic of an Atanque source.[4]
Notes
References
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