page_title: Lencan languages
section_title: Classification
hierarchical_section_title: Lencan languages / Classification
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of nine Native American indigenous groups of El Salvador in Central America. Lenca, Cacaopera, Maya Poqomam, Maya Chorti, Xinca, Alaguilac, Mixe, Nahua Pipil, Nahua Mangue
context_page_description: Lencan is a small family of nearly extinct indigenous Mesoamerican languages.
context_section_description: There are two attested Lencan languages, both extinct (Campbell 1997:167).
  Salvadoran Lencan was spoken in Chilanga and Potó (thus the alternative language name Potón). Lencans had arrived in El Salvador about 2,000 years B.P. and founded the site of Quelepa.  One speaker remains.
  Honduran Lencan was spoken with minor dialect differences in Intibucá, Opatoro, Guajiquiro, Similatón (modern Cabañas), and Santa Elena.  Some phrases survive; it is not known if the entire language still exists.
  The languages are not closely related; Swadesh (1967) estimated 3,000 years since separation. Arguedas Cortés (1987) reconstructs Proto-Lencan with 12 consonants (including ejectives) and 5 vowels.
  Their external relationships are disputed. Inclusion within Macro-Chibchan has often been proposed; Campbell (1987) reported that he found no solid evidence for such a connection, but Constenla-Umaña (2005) proposed regular correspondence between Lencan, Misumalpan, and Chibchan.
  Campbell (2012) acknowledges that these claims of connection between Lencan, Misumalpan, and Chibchan have not yet been proved systematically, but he notes that Constenla-Umaña (2005) "presented evidence to support a relationship with two neighboring families [of languages]: Misumalpan and Lencan, which constitute the Lenmichí Micro-Phylum. According to [Constenla -maña's study (2005)], the Lenmichi Micro-Phylum first split into Proto-Chibchan and Proto-Misulencan, the common intermediate ancestor of the Lencan and the Misumalpan languages. This would have happened around 9,726 years before the present or 7,720 B.C. (the average of the time depths between the Chibchan languages and the Misulencan languages)...The respective subancestors of the Lencan and the Misumalpan languages would have separated around 7,705 before the present (5,069 B.C.), and Paya and the other intermediate ancestors of all the other Chibchan languages would have separated around 6,682 (4,676 B.C.)." 
  Another proposal links Lencan with the Xincan language family (Campbell 1997). On the other hand, Jolkesky (2017:45-54) found some compelling lexical evidence, such as pronouns and kinship terms, which may point to the inclusion of the Lencan language family in the Hokan stock.
caption: Map of El Salvador's Native American civilizations and their kingdoms:   Kingdom of the Lenca people   Kingdom of the Cacaopera people   Kingdom of the Xinca people   Kingdom Maya Poqomam people   Kingdom of Maya Ch'orti' people   Kingdom of the Alaguilac people   Kingdom of the Mixe people   Kingdom of the Mangue language   Kingdom of the Pipil people
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