# Charruan languages

The Charruan languages are a language family once spoken in Uruguay and the Argentine province of Entre Ríos. In 2005, a semi-speaker of the Chaná language, Blas Wilfredo Omar Jaime, was found in Entre Ríos Province, Argentina.

## Internal coherence

Charruan may actually consist of two or three unrelated families according to Nikulin (2019). Nikulin notes that many of the following languages share very few basic vocabulary items with each other.
* Chaná as spoken by Blas Wilfredo Omar Jaime
* Chaná of Larrañaga (1923)
* Charrúa of Vilardebó (1842)
* Güenoa from a short 18th-century catechesis quoted by Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro

## Languages

Four languages are considered to definitively belong to the Charruan language family, basically Chañá (Lanték), Nbeuá, Charrúa and Guenoa.
* Charruan language family
** Chaná
*** Chaná proper
*** "Mbeguá", "Beguá", or "Chaná-Beguá"
*** "Timbúes", "Chaná Timbúes", "Timbó", or "Chaná timbó"
** Charrúa
** Güenoa (Minuan)
A number of unattested languages are also presumed to belong to the Charruan family:
* Bohane – spoken near Maldonado, or Salto, in Uruguay
* Calchine – spoken in Santa Fe Province, Argentina, along the Salado River
* Caracañá – spoken along the Caracañá River, Santa Fe
* Chaná-Mbegua or Begua – spoken on the Paraná River between Crespo and Victoria
* Colastiné – spoken in Santa Fe Province near Colastiné
* Corondá – spoken in Coronda, Santa Fe Province
* Guaiquiaré – spoken in Entre Ríos on the Arroyo Guaiquiraré
* Mocoreta or Macurendá or Mocolete – spoken along the Mocoretá River in Entre Ríos Province
* Pairindi – spoken in Entre Ríos from Corrientes to the Feliciano River
* Timbu – spoken in Gaboto, Santa Fe Province
* Yaro – spoken in Uruguay between the Río Negro and the San Salvador River

## Genetic relations

Jorge Suárez includes Charruan with Guaicuruan in a hypothetical Waikuru-Charrúa stock. Morris Swadesh includes Charruan along with Guaicuruan, Matacoan, and Mascoyan within his Macro-Mapuche stock. Both proposals appear to be obsolete.

## Vocabulary comparison

The Charruan languages are poorly attested. However, sufficient vocabulary has been gathered for the languages to be compared:
    English Charrua Chaná Güenoa me m' mi-tí hum you m' mutí /em/ baté m we rampti/ am-ptí rambuí eye i-hou ocál ear i-mau / i-man timó mouth ej hek / obá hand guar nam foot / toe atit eté water hué atá sun dioi dog lohán agó white huok one yú u-gil / ngui yut two sam usan / amá three detí / datit detit / heít detit know sepé seker good / nice bilú oblí / oblé brother/sister inchalá nchalá friend huamá uamá why? / how? retám retanle* who? ua-reté past (suf.) ndau / nden edam
Lexical comparison from Nikulin (2019):
    glossChana (Jaime)CharrúaChana (Larranaga 1923)Guenoa weampti / am-, ramptirambui givearáda.jú sundioidiói gonderébajiná 'to walk'do thouempti em- / m- onegilí / güiyú ~ yugil: ugil 'único'yut isa 'only one' whoguareptíguárete sandlgoríhan mouthuváejhek thathuati / huat- whitenoáhuóc goodlatár heartimotécmontéc comenderéna notreé=mén whatr'eca 'what', r'eptiretant 'how many?' twoamásam ~ sánsan knowseker, sekér seesolá 'mirar' mountainto e womanadáukái / kái 'female' Iytí / i- ~ y- allopá sleeputaláando diabun 'vamos a dormir' footvedé veráatit killñaaú gonderébajiná 'to walk'do standreé utalábasquadé 'levantarse' mouthuváejhek handnamguar moonaratáguidai wateratáhué noseutíibar eyeocálijou eartimóimau headta ~ ta ug vedéis hairmoniitaj fireyogüínit dogagósamayoí twoamásam ~ sánsan onegilí / güiyú ~ yugil: ugil 'único'yut isa 'only one' personëewuit edam whoguareptíguárete dieñahallen namehapatam 'his name' weampti / am-, ramptirambui whatr'eca 'what', r'eptiretant 'how many?' onegilí / güiyú ~ yugil: ugil 'único'yut isa 'only one'