Malibu languages
| Malibu | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
Department of Magdalena, Colombia |
| Linguistic classification: | unclassified |
| Subdivisions: |
|
| Glottolog: | (not evaluated) mali1242 (Malibu proper)[1] |
Pre-contact distribution of the Malibu languages
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|
The Malibu languages are a poorly attested group of extinct languages once spoken along the Magdalena River in Colombia. Material exists only for two of the numerous languages mentioned in the literature: Malibú and Mocana.
Classification[edit]
The Malibu languages have previously been grouped into a single family with the Chimila language.[2] However, Chimila is now known to be a Chibchan language,[3] and Adelaar & Muysken regard the grouping of Chimila with the Malibu languages as "without any factual basis".[4]
Family division[edit]
Rivet initially listed three Malibu tribes, each with its own language:[5]
- Malibú,[6] spoken near the Magdalena River from Tamalameque to Tenerife
- Mocaná, spoken by the Mokaná people in the region east of Cartagena
- Pacabuey, also known as Sompallón or Laguna Malibu, spoken near the Zapatoza lagoon
To this list, Loukotka adds six more languages (excluding Chimila):[2]
- Papale, spoken on the Fundación River
- Coanoa or Guanoa, spoken on the Cesar River
- Zamirua, spoken on the Ariguaní River
- Cospique, spoken somewhere in the Department of Magdalena
- Mompox, spoken near the city of Santa Cruz de Mompox
- Calamari, spoken along the coast south of Cartagena to Coveñas
Vocabulary[edit]
Rivet gives a brief list of words from Malibú and Mocana, but does not distinguish the two languages.[5] A selection of these is provided below:
- tahana – manzanilla tree
- malibu – chief
- man – small boat
- ytaylaco/yteylaco/yntelas/ytaylas – devil, deity
- entaha/enbutac – cassava
References[edit]
- ^ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Malibu proper". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ^ a b Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian Languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center. pp. 244–5.
- ^ Gordon, Raymond G., ed. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th ed.). SIL International.
- ^ Adelaar, Willem F. H.; Pieter C. Muysken (2004). The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-521-36275-X.
- ^ a b Rivet, Paul (1947). "Les indiens Malibú". Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris 36: 139–144. doi:10.3406/jsa.1947.2360.
- ^ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Malibu". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
