Shiwiar, also known as Achuar, Jivaro and Maina, is a Chicham language spoken along the Pastaza and Bobonaza rivers in Ecuador. Shiwiar is one of the thirteen indigenous languages of Ecuador.[2] All of these indigenous languages are endangered.[2]
Speakers
Shiwiar is a language spoken by the Achuar people of the Amazonian region of Ecuador.[3] The Achuar people also speak Spanish, Shuar, and Kichwa along with their native language, Shiwiar.[3] Shuar belongs to the same language family as Shiwiar – Jivaroan.[3]
Although the Achuar live in the Amazon Basin, the extracting of oil and raw materials from Ecuador through mining has displaced the Achuar communities and endangered their homes.[4]
While Ecuador's official language is Spanish, the Achuar people along with other indigenous groups have the right to use their own languages in education through the official language policies of Ecuador legalized in Decree No. 000529, Article 27, and the Dirección Nacional de Educación Indígena Intercultural Bilingüe (DINEIIB).[5]
/a,ã/ (but not the long /aː/) have the following allophones: open central unrounded [a̠,ã̠], open-mid front unrounded [ɛ,ɛ̃], close-mid front unrounded [e,ẽ] and close-mid back rounded [o,õ].[8][what is their distribution?]
^ abMoseley, C., ed. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. ISBN978-92-3-104095-5. OCLC610522460.
^ abcCrevels, M. (2012). "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking". In Campbell, L.; Grondona, V. (eds.). The Indigenous Languages of South America. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 167–234. doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167. ISBN978-3-11-025803-5.
^King, K. A.; Haboud, M. (2002). "Language Planning and Policy in Ecuador". Current Issues in Language Planning. 3 (4): 359–424. doi:10.1080/14664200208668046.
Fast Mowitz, G. (1975), Sistema fonológico del idioma achual (in Spanish), Lima: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano
Lev, Michael; Stark, Tammy; Chang, Will (2012). "Phonological inventory of Achuar-Shiwiar". The South American Phonological Inventory Database (version 1.1.3 ed.). Berkeley: University of California: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages Digital Resource.
Mowitz, G.; Warkentin de Fast, R.; Fast Warkentin, D. (1996), Diccionario achuar-shiwiar–castellano, Lingüística peruana, 36 (in Spanish), Lima: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano
Kohlberger, M. (2020). A Grammatical Description of Shiwiar (PhD thesis). Leiden University. hdl:1887/123115.