Bora-Witoto languages

Infobox Language family
name=Bora-Witóto
altname=Witotoan
region=northwestern Amazon
familycolor=American
family=Bora-Witóto
child1="Andoke"
child2=Boran
child3=Witotoan

Bora-Witóto (also Bora-Huitoto, Bora-Uitoto, or, ambiguously, Witotoan) is a proposal to unite the Bora and Witotoan language families of northeastern Peru (Loreto Department), southwestern Colombia (Amazonas Department), and western Brazil (Amazonas State). Kaufman (1990) found the proposal plausible; but 1994 he had accepted in and added the Andoque language.

Family division

*Boran (a.k.a. Bora-Muiname, Bóran, Miranyan, Miranya, Bórano)
**Bora (a.k.a. Bora-Miranya, Boro, Meamuyna)
**Muinane (a.k.a. Bora Muinane, Muinane Bora, Muinani, Muename)

*Witotoan (a.k.a. Huitoto-Ocaina, Huitotoan, Huitotoano, Witóto, Huitoto, Uitoto, Huitótoano)
**Ocaina (a.k.a. Okaina)
**Early Witoto (a.k.a. Witoto Proper)
***Nïpode (a.k.a. Nüpode, Nipode Huitoto, Nipode Witoto, Witoto Muinane, Muinane Huitoto, Muiname)
***Mïnïca-Murai
****Mïnïca (a.k.a. Witoto Meneca, Meneca, Meneka, Noaiko-Muína, Southern Witoto, Minica Huitoto, Minica)
****Murui (a.k.a. Witoto Murui, Murai, Búe, Murai Huitoto, Bue, Huitoto, Central Witoto proper, Komïne)

The classification above is based on Campbell (1997) who follows Richard Aschmann's 1993 classification and reconstruction of proto-Witotoan.

Kaufman (1994) lists Bóran and Witótoan (Huitoto-Ocaina) as separate families (they are grouped together with Andoque as "Bora-Witótoan"). He does not show internal branching. Nipode and Mïnïca are listed as dialects of a single "Meneka language" (whereas Aschmann and Campbell treat these as separate languages at different branch nodes). Kaufman also includes within his Witótoan (Huitoto-Ocaina) the following languages:

* Andoquero (a.k.a. Andokero, Miranya-Karapana-Tapuyo, Miraña, Carapana) "Amazonas, Colombia" "(†)"
* Coeruna (a.k.a. Koeruna) "Amazonas, Brazil" "(†)"
* Nonuya (a.k.a. Nyonuhu, Nonuña, Achote, Achiote) "Loreto, Peru"
* Koihoma (a.k.a. Coto, Koto, Orejón, Coixoma) "Loreto, Peru" "(†)"

Andoquero, Coeruna, and Koihoma are all extinct. Nonuya may be extinct as well. All four of these languages are not listed in Gordon (2005).

Synonymy note:

* The name "Muiname" has been used to refer to the "Muinane language (Bora Muinane)" of the Boran sub-group and also to the "Nipode language (Witoto Muinane)" of the Huitoto-Ocaina sub-group.
* The names "Koto", "Coto", and "Orejón" have been used to refer to the "Koihoma language (Coixoma)" and also to the unrelated "Orejón language" (also known as "Koto" or "Coto") of the Tucanoan language family.

Genetic relations

Kaufman's (1994) "Bora-Witótoan stock" includes the Bóran and Witótoan (Huitoto-Ocaina) sub-families and also the endangered language isolate Andoque (Andoke). Richard Aschmann considers Andoque an isolate.

Joseph Greenberg includes "Bora-Uitoto" within his "Macro-Carib" phylum.

Bibliography

* Aschmann, Richard P. (1993). "Proto Witotoan". Publications in linguistics (No. 114). Arlington, TX: SIL & the University of Texas at Arlington.
* Campbell, Lyle. (1997). "American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America". New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (Ed.). (2005). "Ethnologue: Languages of the world" (15th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. (Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com).
* Greenberg, Joseph H. (1987). "Language in the Americas". Stanford: Stanford University Press.
* Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), "Amazonian linguistics: Studies in lowland South American languages" (pp. 13-67). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70414-3.
* Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The native languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), "Atlas of the world's languages" (pp. 46-76). London: Routledge.

External links

* Ethnologue:
** [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=91419 Witotoan]
** [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=91431 Witotoan, Boran]
** [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=91420 Witotoan, Witoto]
* Proel:
** [http://www.proel.org/mundo/borawito.htm Familia Bora-Witoto]
** [http://www.proel.org/mundo/boran.htm Sub-familia Bóran]
** [http://www.proel.org/mundo/witotoan.htm Sub-familia Witoto]