Zaparo language

The Záparo or Zápara language (also called kayapwe) is an SOV language that belongs to the Zaparoan family. It is extinct in Ecuador and Peru

The first contacts with the Zápara ethnic group occurred in 1667 (Reeve 1988). In 1850 Osculati calculated that the ethnic group consisted of about 20,000 people; just three-quarters of a century later, about 1,000 individuals remained (Tessman 1930). Their traditional territory was located about 100 km east of the current Ecuadorian city of Puyo, in the middle course of the Bobonaza River. This river, in turn, separated them from the territory of the Achwar (Jíbaro linguistic family).

Some groups of Záparas from the Curaray River migrated north, settling on the Colombian bank of the Putumayo River. In 1940, the members of this group were 14 people, and since then they have not been mentioned again in the literature, so they have probably become extinct or integrated into other ethnic groups, losing their language and culture.

Several factors contributed to the extinction of the language. On the one hand, the sharp demographic decline due to exotic diseases such as smallpox, tuberculosis and pneumonia. On the other hand, the forced displacements and mistreatment resulting from the advance of the white Creole settlers, which also contributed to the decrease in the population. Finally, integration with other ethnic groups with whom they maintained regular relations, such as the Quichua of the eastern Ecuadorian lowlands (Quechua linguistic family II B) and the Jíbara-speaking Achwar (Reeve 1988, Stark 1985).

Currently the Zápara people have several initiatives to recover and maintain the ancestral language such as the creation of a dictionary.

Geographic distribution

• Between the rivers Curaray and Bobonaza, province of Pastaza, Ecuador. According to Andrade (2001) and Juncosa (2000) the Zápara inhabit the communities of the river Curaray, Conambo (Llanchamacocha/Witsauke; Jandiayacu/Masaraka and Mazaramu/Aremanu), Pinduyacu River (Cuyacocha and Akamaro), Torimbo and Balsaura.
• Zopara communities live in the provinces of Loreto and Maynas, Loreto region, Peru.

Number of speakers

The estimates of specialists differ, but they all agree on pointing out the risk of extinction. The ethnic population would be about 400 people, 200 in Ecuador and the same number in Peru, almost all of them speakers of Quichua as their first language. Gordon [2005] indicates a single speaker. Andrade [2001] estimates 5 speakers, between 70 and 90 years old. Juncosa [2000] is the one that gives the highest figure: 24 people. Efforts are being carried out to revitalize the language, which is taught in two Ecuadorian schools, and promoted by the Zápara Nationality Association of the Province of Pastaza in conjunction with UNESCO.

Phonology

The phonology of Záparo is relatively simple, with only four vowels and 15 consonants. Consonant groups are cancelled, except when they are implied [ʔ].