| Huarpean | |
|---|---|
| Warpean | |
| Ethnicity | Huarpe people |
| Geographic distribution | Cuyo Province, Argentina |
| Linguistic classification | Macro-Warpean ? Macro-Jibaro ?
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | huar1251 |
 | |
Huarpe (Warpe) was a small language family of central Argentina (historic Cuyo Province) that consisted of two closely related languages. They are traditionally considered dialects, and include Allentiac (Alyentiyak, Huarpe) and Millcayac (Milykayak). A third, Puntano of San Luis, was not documented before the languages became extinct.
Kaufman (1994) tentatively linked Huarpe to the Mura-Matanawi languages in a family he called Macro-Warpean. However, he noted that "no systematic study" had been made, so that it is best to consider them independent families. Swadesh and Suárez both connected Huarpe to Macro-Jibaro, a possibility that has yet to be investigated.
Varieties classified by Loukotka (1968) as part of the Huarpe language cluster (all unattested unless noted otherwise, i.e. for Chiquiyama and Comechingon):[1]
Varieties of the Huarpe-Comechingon linguistic group cited from Canals Frau (1944) by Mason (1950):[2]
Pericot y Garcia (1936) lists Zoquillam, Tunuyam, Chiquillan, Morcoyam, Diamantino (Oyco), Mentuayn, Chom, Titiyam, Otoyam, Ultuyam, and Cucyam.[2]
The two languages had apparently similar sound systems, and were not dissimilar from Spanish, at least from the records we have. Barros (2007) reconstructs the consonants as follows:
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Plosive | p | t | k | ||
| Affricate | ts | tʃ | |||
| Fricative | s | ʃ | h | ||
| Semivowel | w | j | (ɰ) | ||
| Lateral | l | ʎ | |||
| Trill | r |
Allentiac had at least six vowels, written a, e, i, o, u, ù. The ù is thought to represent the central vowel [ɨ].
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Huarpean languages.[1]
