Chapacuran
Chapacura–Wanham
Geographic distribution	Brazil (Rondônia), Bolivia
Linguistic classification	Wamo–Chapakúra ? Chapacuran
Subdivisions	Madeira Guapore
Language codes
Glottolog	chap1271
Distribtion of Chapacuran languages

The Chapacuran languages are a nearly extinct Native American language family of South America. Almost all Chapacuran languages are extinct, and the four that are extant are moribund, with the exception of Wari'. They are spoken in Rondônia in the southern Amazon Basin of Brazil and in northern Bolivia.

According to Kaufman (1990),^[1] the Chapacuran family could be related to the extinct Wamo language.

List of Chapacuran languages from Angenot (1997):^[2]

Birchall et al. (2013) classify the dozen known Chapacuran languages as follows:^[3]

All languages are rather closely related.

Extinct languages for which Loukotka says 'nothing' is known, but which may have been Chapacuran, include Cujuna, Mataua, Urunumaca, and Herisobocono. Similarities with Mure appear to be loans.^[4]

Birchall, Dunn & Greenhill (2016) give the following phylogenetic tree of Chapacuran, based on a computational phylogenetic analysis.^[5]

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Irantxe, Puinave-Kak, and Arawa language families due to contact.^[6]

Below is a full list of Chapacuran language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.^[7]

• Chapacura / Huachi / Tapacura - extinct language once spoken on the Blanco River and around Lake Chitiopa, Santa Cruz province, Bolivia.
• Irene / Moré - spoken on the Guaporé River, Azul River, and Mamoré River, Beni province, Bolivia.
• Itoreauhip - spoken between the Guaporé River and Azul River in Bolivia.
• Quitemo - once spoken on the Uruvaito River, Santa Cruz province, Bolivia.
• Nape - once spoken in the same country on Lake Chitiopa.
• Mure - once spoken on the San Martín River in Bolivia.
• Rocorona - once spoken on the San Martín River.
• Herisebocon - once spoken on the Rapulo River near the old mission of San Borja, Bolivia. (Unattested.)
• Wañám / Huanyam / Pawumwa - spoken between the São Miguel River and São Domingo River, territory of Rondônia, Brazil.
• Abitana - spoken as a dialect of the Wañám language at the sources of the São Miguel River, Brazil.
• Kumana / Cautario - spoken between the Guaporé River and Cautario River, Rondônia.
• Pacahanovo / Uari Wayõ - spoken on the Pacaás Novos River, Rondônia.
• Kabixi - spoken between the São Miguel River and Preto River, Rondônia, now perhaps extinct.
• Mataua - spoken in the western area of the Cautario River. (Unattested.)
• Urunamacan - spoken to the north of the Wañám tribe, Rondônia, Brazil. (Unattested.)
• Uómo / Miguelheno - spoken on the São Miguel River. (Unattested.)
• Tapoaya - spoken by an unknown tribe at the sources of the Cautario River. (Unattested.)
• Cujuna - spoken by a very little known tribe, now perhaps extinct, to the north of the Kumaná tribe. (Unattested.)
• Urupá / Ituarupa - spoken on the Urupá River, Rondônia.
• Yarú - spoken by a few families on the Jaru River.
• Yamarú - extinct language once spoken on the Jamari River. (Unattested.)
• Torá / Tura - formerly spoken on the Marmelos River and Paricá River, state of Amazonas; now by a few individuals on the Posta Cabeça d'anta, state of Amazonas.

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Chapacuran languages.^[7]

Below are Proto-Chapacuran (Proto-Chapakura) reconstructions from the Diachronic Atlas of Comparative Linguistics (DiACL) online,^[8] cited from Angenot de Lima (1997).^[9] English glosses are from DiACL, and the original Portuguese glosses are from Angenot de Lima (1997). For the full list of original Portuguese glosses, see the corresponding Portuguese article.

Proto-Chapacuran	English gloss	Portuguese gloss	Scientific name
*haɾam	to button
*hoɾam	chin
*ja:	to say, to speak
*jaw	pillar, to grind with a stone
*jaʔ	to bathe
*jikat	penis
*jowin	monkey species	macaco-prego	Sapajus
*ju:	to keep secret	seguir às escondidas
*juk	to push, to remove
*kamaɲʔ	bland, without salt
*kap	caterpillar species
*kapam	pamonha (traditional food)
*kaɾaʔ/*hwaɾaʔ	large, fat
*kat, *kawʔ	river dolphin
*kat, *ɾat	to yawn
*katim	foot
*katinʔ	large tick
*katʃak/*katʃok	to tickle, tickling
*katʃin	pineapple
*kawʔ	to eat
*kawa:	tree species	árvore-rochinha
*kawa:	kind of small arrow, used by children playing
*kawit	parrot species	papagaio-curica
*kedzek	to lick
*kenum	cocoa
*kijiʔ	to descend, to lower
*kinam	jaguar, dog
*kipun	tail
*kipwin	(to be) cold
*kitam	bridge, jirau grill[10]	ponte, grelha para moquear
*kiw	to bite, to chew
*kiwoʔ	arrow (generic)
*koki:	piranha
*kom	to sing (people)
*komeN	sun
*koɾa:	paddle
*koɾan	palm species	palmeira-carundaí	buriti?
*kotem	red, ripe
*kotok/*koɾok	to knock down fruits by beating the tree
*kɾam	elbow, joint
*kɾan	ant species	formiga-saúva	Atta
*kɾik	to see, to observe, to look
*kɾom	to enter, inside
*kuk	to pull, to drag
*kunʔ	tree species	árvore-cachimbeira, jequitibá-vermelho; sal	Cariniana rubra
*kunu:	to stink, bad smell
*kut	to pick, to catch
*kwaɾaʔ	common armadillo
*ma(w)	to go
*madzan	kind of yam	batata-cará
*makiʔ	to come, to arrive
*manaʔ	anger, brave
*mapak	corn
*mapawʔ	club, baton
*mapom	fat, grease
*mapwip	kind of small bow
*maɾam	to paint, to write
*mawi:	to steal, thief
*mawin	annatto (tree species), wood for making fire		Bixa orellana
*mekuʔ	crab
*mem	red, ripe
*mikop	paca
*mitʃem	black
*mo:	to run
*mokon	rope, cord, string, thread
*mom	to swell because of illness, to have a tumor
*moɾoʔ	flour
*mowawʔ	tucumã palm larva	broca do tucumã	larva of Astrocaryum aculeatum
*mowin	pus, infection, tumour
*muɾinʔ	swallow
*mwijak	wild hog
*n(e/o)n	to whistle with help from the hand
*nak	to smell, to sniff
*naɾan	pitch/tar (of jatobá tree); light	breu (de jatobá); luz	Hymenaea courbaril
*natan	face, front
*nok	to hate, to reject
*nok	to suckle
*nopon	tree species	árvore-itaúba	Mezilaurus itauba
*pa:	to beat, to slap
*padzaw	pubic hair
*pakaʔ	red, ripe
*pana:	tree (generic), wood, log
*papat	bamboo species, kind of arrow, bomboo knife	taquara (esp.); flecha (esp.); faca de bambu
*papop	wind
*paɾV:	bow (generic)
*patiʔ	animal (generic), fish
*pawʔ	to tie (up)
*paʔ	to kill, to hunt, to beat to death
*pijeʔ	newborn child
*pikot	giant armadillo	tatu gigante
*pipon	bird species	cujubim	Pipile cujubi
*piɾamʔ	squirrel	quoati-puru, esquilo
*pitʃak	to scratch, to itch
*pitʃi:	horn
*piwan	tarantula	aranha caranguejeira
*piʔ	to dance
*pok	thigh, upper leg
*pon	to fart
*pot	to pull out
*pot	to get, to tear, to extract
*potʃ	to cook; to spit	cozinhar; cuspir
*poʔ	to wake up, to rouse
*pɾin	parakeet
*pɾu:	to kill, to hit a target with an arrow
*pu:	to blow, to light a fire
*puɾek	to miss the target with an arrow
*pwe:	to sit
*pwikun	stone, rock
*pwin	to leave behind
*pwiɾan	boa
*pwit	to break, to cut, to extract, to unrip
*pwiti:	large horsefly
*pwitsi:	palm species	palmeira-totai	Acrocomia aculeata subsp. totai
*pwitsop	porcupine, hedgehog
*pwiw	flower
*ɾi:(tan)	banana (generic)
*tajin	charcoal
*takat	wax (honey, ear, for arrow, etc.)
*takawʔ	kind of fish	peixe-cará	Geophagus brasiliensis
*takiʔ	to fly, to leave flying
*tan	leaf, one
*tapan	monkey species	macaco-saguim	Callitrichidae; Callithrix jacchus
*tapiw	agouti
*tapot	straw, cover/roofing of house
*tata:	father (1SG.POSS)
*tataw	rope made of tree fibers; horn	envira (esp.); chifre
*tatsam	to laugh, to smile
*tatʃiʔ	husband
*tawan	lazy, sulky, disobedient
*tawi:	bee (generic), honey
*tawit	fence, surrounded
*taʔ	to cut
*tikat	to finish
*tim	heart
*tipan	arm
*tipat	wing
*tipoʔ	to follow a trail
*titimʔ/*tiɾimʔ	to lie down
*tok	to drink
*tok	eye, grain, seed, stone
*toke:	chestnut, Brazil nut
*tom	to burn, black
*tomiʔ	to say, to speak
*ton	to knock down fruits by beating the tree
*top	to explode, to break corn
*topak	mouth, lips, to speak
*topan	skin, peel, bark
*topop	basket (generic)
*toɾo:	to swell, to ferment, to cause swelling
*totʃam	clay
*totʃik	bee species, honey	abelha-lambeolho; seu mel	Leurotrigona muelleri
*towa:	turtle, tortoise; rubber cylinder (?)	tartaruga, tracaja, jabuti; tambor de caucho
*towan	kind of fruit	fruta-murisi	Byrsonima crassifolia
*towaʔ	white, bright color, daybreak/dawn
*towin	parrot species	papagaio-curica
*toʔ	to beat, to open, to crack, to cut
*tɾakom	bamboo, taboca (bamboo species)	bambu; taboca	Guadua weberbaueri
*tɾakop	fermented drink
*tɾamaʔ	man
*tɾamwin	red macaw
*tɾan tɾan	guan bird	jacu	Penelope
*tɾapo:	white hair
*tɾawan	liver; palm species, fish species	fígado; palmeira-patua; patua; surubim	Pimelodidae
*tɾik	coal, ember
*tɾot	aricuri palm leaf		Syagrus coronata
*tʃak	to suck on a fruit
*tʃek	day
*tʃijat	net
*tʃik	one
*tʃikinʔ	nail, claw; traíra (fish species)	unha, garra; traíra (peixe)	Erythrinidae
*tʃin	to throw
*tʃitot	country, to plant
*tʃiw	(to be) cold
*tʃok	to suck "noisily", to make a "sucking" sound
*tʃom	to step; to insist	pisar, bater o pé
*tʃopin	to spit
*tʃoraw	swallow
*tʃowiʔ	rain, winter
*tʃup	to kiss "noisily"
*tun	hair, coat
*tut	to walk
*wak	to add, to pile up
*waki:	toad species
*wan	to copulate, to have sex
*wana:	way, path, road
*waɲam	Indian of enemy tribe
*waɾak	sap, sperm, vaginal secretion
*watam	kind of fruit
*watʃik	common opossum	mucura	Didelphis marsupialis
*wet	to marry
*weʔ	to vomit
*wijak	to scrape with a knife
*wijam	small
*wina:	to raise an animal, to tame/domesticate
*wina:	grandson
*winimʔ	to wait, to except
*witʃiʔ	to roast on coal/ember
*ʔajiʔ	older brother
*ʔaka:	to sing (of bird), to cackle, to cry
*ʔakom	water; river; rain
*ʔakop	manioc, cassava
*ʔam	edge, margin
*ʔamiʔ	to give
*ʔamon	excrements, feces, intestines, belly
*ʔamwi:	very, much
*ʔaɲ	to cry
*ʔanin	younger sister
*ʔapa:	palm species	palmeira-marayau	Bactris major
*ʔapam	shoulder
*ʔapan	kind of fruit
*ʔapaʔ	maternal grandmother
*ʔapi:	thorn, needle, hook
*ʔapi:	father-in-law
*ʔapiʔ	to finish
*ʔapo:	uncle (aunt's husband)
*ʔapop	caiman	jacaré
*ʔatat	bone, leg
*ʔataw/*ʔaɾaw	back, shoulders
*ʔatin	younger brother
*ʔatɾim	house, traditional village (maloca)
*ʔatʃaʔ	younger sibling
*ʔatʃem	to sneeze
*ʔaw	to spill liquid, to bleed, to leak, to drain, to drip
*ʔawan	bitter
*ʔawan	tree species with venomous bark
*ʔawan	pig, hog, capybara
*ʔawi:	good, beautiful, tasty
*ʔawik	blood
*ʔawin	sky, height, to charge upwards
*ʔawom	cotton; clothes; dove/pigeon species	algodão; roupa; pomba (esp.)
*ʔawum	2SG
*ʔenem	brother-in-law (sister's husband)
*ʔep	pillar, to grind with a stone
*ʔeɾum	trumpeter (bird species)	jacamim	Psophia
*ʔew	burn
*ʔewu:	toucan
*ʔihwam	fish (generic)
*ʔijat	tooth, beak
*ʔijaʔ	vessel made of palm	vasilha feita de cacho de palmeira
*ʔijewʔ	paternal grandfather
*ʔiji:	palm species	palmeira-bacaba	Oenocarpus bacaba
*ʔijinʔ	fear, to fear
*ʔijoʔ	to put out, to erase
*ʔikan	kind of mosquito	mosquito-catoqui
*ʔikat	medicine man, sorcerer
*ʔikat	to break
*ʔikim	chest, thorax
*ʔikit	knife, iron instrument
*ʔiman	hole, vagina
*ʔimiʔ	kind of mosquito or fly	pium, borrachudo	Simuliidae
*ʔimwinʔ	tapir
*ʔimwiʔ	to die, dead
*ʔinamʔ	pregnant
*ʔinawʔ	bat
*ʔinaʔ	mother
*ʔipa:	to open (eyes, door)
*ʔipan	to fall, to be born
*ʔipik	latex, rubber	seringa; borracha
*ʔipwik	anteater species	tamanduá-mirim	Tamandua tetradactyla
*ʔiɾam	açaí palm	palmeira-açai
*ʔiɾiʔ	(to be) right, truth
*ʔit	body
*ʔitak	to swallow
*ʔitaʔ/*ʔiɾaʔ	to urinate
*ʔite:	father (1SG.POSS)
*ʔitʃe:	fire, firewood
*ʔitsim	night
*ʔitʃin	centipede, millipede
*ʔiwʔ	louse
*ʔiwan	to get home
*ʔiwi:	mat
*ʔiwiʔ	smoke
*ʔodzip	palm species	palmeira-najá	Attalea maripa
*ʔojam	spirit, soul of a corpse
*ʔojop	pacu (fish species)
*ʔokin	scorpion
*ʔokon	palm species	palmeira-real / buriti	Mauritia flexuosa
*ʔomaʔ	to live, to have, to exist
*ʔomi:	scrubland, bush, firm land
*ʔon	to whistle without help from the hand
*ʔonaɲ	palm species	palmeira-buruburu	Astrocaryum murumuru
*ʔonok	navel, belly button
*ʔop	to dance
*ʔopaʔ	bagre (fish species)	bagre
*ʔopi:	woodworm/beetle species	caruncho rola-bosta; besouro (esp.)
*ʔopot	kind of liana used for binding	cipó-ambé, usado para amarrar
*ʔoɾam	cheek
*ʔorawʔ	mushroom species
*ʔoro:	people of, clan of, kind of
*ʔoɾom	gourd, calabash
*ʔoɾot	to break out (2nd permanent tooth of a child)
*ʔotin	curassow (bird species)	mutum	Cracidae
*ʔoto:	gourd, calabash
*ʔotsiw	monkey species	macaco-de-cheiro amarelo	Saimiri
*ʔowam	kind of fish	peixe-jeju	Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus
*ʔowit	wart
*ʔoβi:	anum (bird species)		Crotophaga
*ʔukun	flesh (of the body), body
*ʔum	hand
*ʔumwe:	bird (generic)
*ʔupwek	head
*ʔupweɲ	to sleep
*ʔuɾin	ant species	formiga-da-castanha
*ʔutuɾ	nose
*ʔutut	urine
*ʔuwe:	older sister
*ʔuwew	paternal grandmother
*ʔuwit	name
*ʔuʔ	ant species	formiga-saraça