Leco | |
---|---|
Leko, Rik’a | |
Native to | Bolivia |
Region | La Paz Department (Bolivia): east of Lake Titicaca |
Ethnicity | 2,800 (2001) [1] |
Native speakers | 20 (2001) [1] |
Official status | |
Official language in | Bolivia |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
lec |
Glottolog |
leco1242 |
ELP | Leco |
Leco, also written as Leko, is a language isolate that, though long reported to be extinct, is spoken by 20–40 individuals in areas east of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. The Leco ethnic population was 13,527 in 2012. [4]
Although Leco is generally considered to be a language isolate, Kaufman (1994: 64) groups Leco together with the Sechura–Catacao languages as part of a proposed Macro-Lecoan family. [3] It has, also, been, suggested that Leco might be grouped with the extinct Puquina languages spoken in the south shore of Lake Titicaca. [5] [6]
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Kulle, Omurano, Taushiro, Urarina, Arawak, Cholon-Hibito, Jaqi, and Quechua language families due to contact. [7]
Apart from some brief lists of vocabulary, the main document for which Leco is known is a Christian doctrine compiled by the missionary Andrés Herrero at the beginning of the 19th century. That doctrine was published in 1905 by Lafone Quevedo, who used it as a source to make a grammatical description of the language. That work was virtually the only available document about Leco, until the linguist Simon van de Kerke (1994) located some speakers of the language and compiled some additional facts which enlarged the analysis of Quevedo.
In Grimes (1988), Leco is classified as a language isolate and is considered extinct. However, Montaño Aragón (1987) found some speakers of the language in the region of Atén and in Apolo, La Paz, in Franz Tamayo Province in the Bolivian department of La Paz, along Mapiri River in Larecaja Province (situated also in the department of La Paz).
Some speakers were relocated by van de Kerke (1994–97). These speakers, mostly men, were older than 50 years and had not habitually used the language since a long time before that. Van de Kerke relates that the speakers do not feel sufficiently secure to conduct a conversation spontaneously in Leco.
In regard to the phonology of Leco, one can point out the following (based on van de Kerke, 2009: 289–291).
Leco has six vowel phonemes: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ and /ɨ/. The opposition among the first five vowels is distinguished in the data, but the opposition between /e/ and /ɨ/ is found only in a limited number of words, as for example pele 'balsa' and pèlè 'name of plant'.
Bilabial | Alveolar |
Post- alveolar |
Velar | Glottal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | sibilant | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | t͡s | t͡ʃ | k | |
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | kʰ | ||||
ejective | pʼ | tʼ | t͡ʃʼ | kʼ | |||
voiced | b | d | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | s | h | ||||
voiced | z | ||||||
Approximant | l | j | w | ||||
Flap | ɾ |
In regard to the lexicon and the classes of words in Leco, one can mention the following (van de Kerke, 2009: 293–297):
In regard to the morphological characteristics of Leco, one can point out the following (van de Kerke, 2009: 297–313).
seneng-ki
all- DAT
hu-ku-ate
3PL-dar- PAS. 1
dulsi
candy
‘To all I gave a candy.’
u
what
trabajo-ra
work- LOC
chera
we
abon-da-no-ne
find- FUT- NML- INT
lamka-sich-ne
work- INF- TOP
‘In what work are we going to find work (in the town)?’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
lilwo
grasshopper
ubus-no-te
come out- NML- DCL
lal-rep/lal wara-rep
earth- ABL/earth interior- ABL
‘The grasshopper comes out from the earth / from within the earth.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
wesra
Guanay
nos-tha-te
far- DIM- DCL
‘Guanay is a little far.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
yo-phos-beka
1SG-daughter- DEL
ho-ra
this- LOC
t’e-no-te
live- NML- DCL
‘My daughter no longer lives here.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
lamka-sich
work- INF
yu-gustas-in-te
1. O-please- NEG- DCL
‘Working does not please me.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
ya-ache-ki
1SG-father- GEN
yo-moki
1SG- GEN
aycha
meat
yin-k’o-a-ka-te
1. BEN-eat- PF- AUX- DCL
‘My father has eaten the meat for me.’ (I was not able to eat any more) Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
Verbal root | PROG | NEG | NML/N/ADJ | PL | CID | AUX | PAS | DCL/INT | Person |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-o | |||||||||
Adj/N | -t | -m/-n | |||||||
-aya | -mono | -ka | -taah | ||||||
V | -cha | -in | -no | -ne | -am/-an | ||||
-ir | -a | -no(h) | |||||||
-ich | -s |
era
I
fuerza-hote-to:
strength- POS- PRS. 1
ya-ache-ki-ka
1SG-father- GEN- COMP
mo-no-mono-taah-te
say- NML- CID- PAS- DCL
‘It is said that he said "I have strength like my father".’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
chika
very
es-cha-no-te
rain- PRS- NML- DCL
lamkas-in-kama-te-am
work- NEG-work- DCL- PL. 1
‘It is raining heavily; we can not work.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
heka
you (singular)
ta
maize
bal-noku
plant- IMP. PL
‘(You [plural]) plant maize (corn)!’
yo-moki
1- GEN
warsuch
trousers
tiltil-hi-no-te
undone- CMPL- NML- DCL
‘My trousers have been completely broken.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
wotha
hill
wonon-wari-no-te
caminar-subir.por.tierra- NML- DCL
‘He/she is walking up the hill.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
yobas-aya
man- PL
yanapas-mo-no-aya-te
help- REC- NML- PL- DCL
dihwo
peanut
bal-ich-ki
plant- INF- DAT
‘The men are helping each other to plant peanuts.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
o-botha-tha-ki
2-brother- DIM- DAT
do-ko-ki-a
3. O-take- CAUS- IMP
‘Make him take your (singular) little brother!’
In Leco, one sees productive processes of reduplication. With substantives, reduplication can be interpreted as 'a heap/much of', with adjectives, 'a high degree of'; with verbs the interpretation is very diverse and not always transparent; thus we have the reduplicate verb tiltilkach 'to be undone', derived from tiltil 'undone', which expresses a state or process, for which reason it is combined also with the auxiliary kach 'to be'.
In regard to the characteristics of spoken Leco, one can point out the following:
hino
this
yobas-ne
man- TOP
palanta
platano
soh-cha-no-te
look at- PR- NML- DCL
moki-a
GEN- 3
choswai-ki
wife- DAT
‘This man is searching for platano for his wife (of another).’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
chera
we
du-kama-tean
speak-can- 1PL
Burua
Leko
da-in-tean
want- NEG- 1PL
du-ch
speak- INF
'We can speak Leco, but we do not want to speak it.
wesra
Guanay
nos
far
na-in-tha-te
be- NEG- DIM- DCL
‘Guanay is very near.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
sok’och
food
da-no-ne
want- NML- INT
iya-n
you. SG- INT
‘Do you (singular) want to eat?’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
ha-ne
who- INT
busa-cha-no-n
arrive- PRS- NML- INT
‘Who is arriving?’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
on
that
chelas-no
become sick- NML
yobas-ne
man- TOP
k’o-in-te
eat- NML- DCL
wet-ra-no-te
die- FUT- DCL
‘That sick man is not eating; he is going to die.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
on
that
chelas-no
become sick- NML
k’o-in-te
eat- NML- DCL
no
not
ko-in-te
drink- NML- DCL
wet-ra-no-te
die- FUT- DCL
‘That sick man is neither eating nor drinking; he is going to die.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
ch’epe
ill
yin-soncho-a-ra
1. BEN-become sick- PF- LOC
katre-te
cot- LOC
bar-ka-cha-no-to:
lying- AUX- PRS- NML- PRS. 1
‘Because I feel ill I am lying on a cot.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Leco. [8]
gloss | Leco |
---|---|
one | ver |
two | foi |
three | chishai |
head | barua |
eye | bisiri |
hand | bu-eú |
woman | chusna |
water | dua |
sun | heno |
maize | ta |
Leco | |
---|---|
Leko, Rik’a | |
Native to | Bolivia |
Region | La Paz Department (Bolivia): east of Lake Titicaca |
Ethnicity | 2,800 (2001) [1] |
Native speakers | 20 (2001) [1] |
Official status | |
Official language in | Bolivia |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
lec |
Glottolog |
leco1242 |
ELP | Leco |
Leco, also written as Leko, is a language isolate that, though long reported to be extinct, is spoken by 20–40 individuals in areas east of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. The Leco ethnic population was 13,527 in 2012. [4]
Although Leco is generally considered to be a language isolate, Kaufman (1994: 64) groups Leco together with the Sechura–Catacao languages as part of a proposed Macro-Lecoan family. [3] It has, also, been, suggested that Leco might be grouped with the extinct Puquina languages spoken in the south shore of Lake Titicaca. [5] [6]
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Kulle, Omurano, Taushiro, Urarina, Arawak, Cholon-Hibito, Jaqi, and Quechua language families due to contact. [7]
Apart from some brief lists of vocabulary, the main document for which Leco is known is a Christian doctrine compiled by the missionary Andrés Herrero at the beginning of the 19th century. That doctrine was published in 1905 by Lafone Quevedo, who used it as a source to make a grammatical description of the language. That work was virtually the only available document about Leco, until the linguist Simon van de Kerke (1994) located some speakers of the language and compiled some additional facts which enlarged the analysis of Quevedo.
In Grimes (1988), Leco is classified as a language isolate and is considered extinct. However, Montaño Aragón (1987) found some speakers of the language in the region of Atén and in Apolo, La Paz, in Franz Tamayo Province in the Bolivian department of La Paz, along Mapiri River in Larecaja Province (situated also in the department of La Paz).
Some speakers were relocated by van de Kerke (1994–97). These speakers, mostly men, were older than 50 years and had not habitually used the language since a long time before that. Van de Kerke relates that the speakers do not feel sufficiently secure to conduct a conversation spontaneously in Leco.
In regard to the phonology of Leco, one can point out the following (based on van de Kerke, 2009: 289–291).
Leco has six vowel phonemes: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ and /ɨ/. The opposition among the first five vowels is distinguished in the data, but the opposition between /e/ and /ɨ/ is found only in a limited number of words, as for example pele 'balsa' and pèlè 'name of plant'.
Bilabial | Alveolar |
Post- alveolar |
Velar | Glottal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | sibilant | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | t͡s | t͡ʃ | k | |
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | kʰ | ||||
ejective | pʼ | tʼ | t͡ʃʼ | kʼ | |||
voiced | b | d | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | s | h | ||||
voiced | z | ||||||
Approximant | l | j | w | ||||
Flap | ɾ |
In regard to the lexicon and the classes of words in Leco, one can mention the following (van de Kerke, 2009: 293–297):
In regard to the morphological characteristics of Leco, one can point out the following (van de Kerke, 2009: 297–313).
seneng-ki
all- DAT
hu-ku-ate
3PL-dar- PAS. 1
dulsi
candy
‘To all I gave a candy.’
u
what
trabajo-ra
work- LOC
chera
we
abon-da-no-ne
find- FUT- NML- INT
lamka-sich-ne
work- INF- TOP
‘In what work are we going to find work (in the town)?’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
lilwo
grasshopper
ubus-no-te
come out- NML- DCL
lal-rep/lal wara-rep
earth- ABL/earth interior- ABL
‘The grasshopper comes out from the earth / from within the earth.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
wesra
Guanay
nos-tha-te
far- DIM- DCL
‘Guanay is a little far.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
yo-phos-beka
1SG-daughter- DEL
ho-ra
this- LOC
t’e-no-te
live- NML- DCL
‘My daughter no longer lives here.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
lamka-sich
work- INF
yu-gustas-in-te
1. O-please- NEG- DCL
‘Working does not please me.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
ya-ache-ki
1SG-father- GEN
yo-moki
1SG- GEN
aycha
meat
yin-k’o-a-ka-te
1. BEN-eat- PF- AUX- DCL
‘My father has eaten the meat for me.’ (I was not able to eat any more) Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
Verbal root | PROG | NEG | NML/N/ADJ | PL | CID | AUX | PAS | DCL/INT | Person |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-o | |||||||||
Adj/N | -t | -m/-n | |||||||
-aya | -mono | -ka | -taah | ||||||
V | -cha | -in | -no | -ne | -am/-an | ||||
-ir | -a | -no(h) | |||||||
-ich | -s |
era
I
fuerza-hote-to:
strength- POS- PRS. 1
ya-ache-ki-ka
1SG-father- GEN- COMP
mo-no-mono-taah-te
say- NML- CID- PAS- DCL
‘It is said that he said "I have strength like my father".’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
chika
very
es-cha-no-te
rain- PRS- NML- DCL
lamkas-in-kama-te-am
work- NEG-work- DCL- PL. 1
‘It is raining heavily; we can not work.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
heka
you (singular)
ta
maize
bal-noku
plant- IMP. PL
‘(You [plural]) plant maize (corn)!’
yo-moki
1- GEN
warsuch
trousers
tiltil-hi-no-te
undone- CMPL- NML- DCL
‘My trousers have been completely broken.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
wotha
hill
wonon-wari-no-te
caminar-subir.por.tierra- NML- DCL
‘He/she is walking up the hill.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
yobas-aya
man- PL
yanapas-mo-no-aya-te
help- REC- NML- PL- DCL
dihwo
peanut
bal-ich-ki
plant- INF- DAT
‘The men are helping each other to plant peanuts.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
o-botha-tha-ki
2-brother- DIM- DAT
do-ko-ki-a
3. O-take- CAUS- IMP
‘Make him take your (singular) little brother!’
In Leco, one sees productive processes of reduplication. With substantives, reduplication can be interpreted as 'a heap/much of', with adjectives, 'a high degree of'; with verbs the interpretation is very diverse and not always transparent; thus we have the reduplicate verb tiltilkach 'to be undone', derived from tiltil 'undone', which expresses a state or process, for which reason it is combined also with the auxiliary kach 'to be'.
In regard to the characteristics of spoken Leco, one can point out the following:
hino
this
yobas-ne
man- TOP
palanta
platano
soh-cha-no-te
look at- PR- NML- DCL
moki-a
GEN- 3
choswai-ki
wife- DAT
‘This man is searching for platano for his wife (of another).’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
chera
we
du-kama-tean
speak-can- 1PL
Burua
Leko
da-in-tean
want- NEG- 1PL
du-ch
speak- INF
'We can speak Leco, but we do not want to speak it.
wesra
Guanay
nos
far
na-in-tha-te
be- NEG- DIM- DCL
‘Guanay is very near.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
sok’och
food
da-no-ne
want- NML- INT
iya-n
you. SG- INT
‘Do you (singular) want to eat?’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
ha-ne
who- INT
busa-cha-no-n
arrive- PRS- NML- INT
‘Who is arriving?’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
on
that
chelas-no
become sick- NML
yobas-ne
man- TOP
k’o-in-te
eat- NML- DCL
wet-ra-no-te
die- FUT- DCL
‘That sick man is not eating; he is going to die.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
on
that
chelas-no
become sick- NML
k’o-in-te
eat- NML- DCL
no
not
ko-in-te
drink- NML- DCL
wet-ra-no-te
die- FUT- DCL
‘That sick man is neither eating nor drinking; he is going to die.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
ch’epe
ill
yin-soncho-a-ra
1. BEN-become sick- PF- LOC
katre-te
cot- LOC
bar-ka-cha-no-to:
lying- AUX- PRS- NML- PRS. 1
‘Because I feel ill I am lying on a cot.’ Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) ( help);
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Leco. [8]
gloss | Leco |
---|---|
one | ver |
two | foi |
three | chishai |
head | barua |
eye | bisiri |
hand | bu-eú |
woman | chusna |
water | dua |
sun | heno |
maize | ta |