View source for Xincan languages

{{Short description|Extinct language family of Guatemala}}
{{Expand language|topic=|langcode=es|otherarticle=Lenguas xincas|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox language family
| name          = Xincan
| region        = [[Guatemala]]
| ethnicity     = 16,200 [[Xinca people]] (2003 census)
| extinct       = 1970s (3 semi-speakers reported)
| familycolor   = American
| family        = One of the world's primary [[language family|language families]]
| child1        = ''[[Yupiltepeque language|Yupiltepeque]]'' †
| child2        = ''[[Jumaytepeque language|Jumaytepeque]]'' (†)
| child3        = ''[[Chiquimulilla language|Chiquimulilla]]'' (†)
| child4        = ''[[Guazacapán language|Guazacapán]]'' (†)
| child5        = ''[[Sinacantán language|Sinacantán]]'' †
| iso3          = xin
| glotto        = xinc1237
| glottorefname = Xincan
| map           = Xincan languages.png
| mapcaption    = Geographic distribution of the Xincan languages. Solid blue is the recorded range, transparent is the range attested by toponyms.
}}

'''Xinca''' (or ''Xinka'', Sinca, or ''Szinca'') is a small extinct family of [[Mesoamerican languages]]; formerly, the language was regarded as a single [[language isolate]]. Xinca was once spoken by the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous]] [[Xinca people]] in southeastern [[Guatemala]], much of [[El Salvador]], and parts of [[Honduras]].

They have also historically been referred to as '''Popoluca''' or '''Popoluca-Xinca'''; [[Popoluca]] being a [[Nahuatl]] term for unintelligible speech.<ref>Solano y Perez Lila, Francisco de. Areas lingüísticas y población de habla indígena de Guatemala en 1772. Spain, Departamento de Historia de América de la Universidad de Madrid, 1969.</ref>

==Classification==
The Xincan languages have no demonstrated affiliations with other language families. Lehmann (1920) tried linking Xincan with [[Lencan languages|Lencan]], but the proposal was never demonstrated.<ref name=Campbell>Lyle Campbell, 1997. ''American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America''</ref> An automated computational analysis ([[Automated Similarity Judgment Program|ASJP]] 4) by Müller et al. (2013)<ref name="ASJP-4">Müller, André, Viveka Velupillai, Søren Wichmann, Cecil H. Brown, Eric W. Holman, Sebastian Sauppe, Pamela Brown, Harald Hammarström, Oleg Belyaev, Johann-Mattis List, Dik Bakker, Dmitri Egorov, Matthias Urban, Robert Mailhammer, Matthew S. Dryer, Evgenia Korovina, David Beck, Helen Geyer, Pattie Epps, Anthony Grant, and Pilar Valenzuela. 2013. ''[https://asjp.clld.org/static/WorldLanguageTree-004.zip ASJP World Language Trees of Lexical Similarity: Version 4 (October 2013)]''.</ref> also found lexical similarities between Xincan and [[Lencan languages|Lencan]]. However, since the analysis was automatically generated, the grouping could be either due to mutual lexical borrowing or genetic inheritance.

The Xincan languages were formerly regarded as one language isolate. However, the most recent studies suggest they were indeed a language family.{{Clarify|date=July 2023|reason=isnt this the same?}}

===Languages===
There were at least four Xincan languages, each of which is now [[extinct language|extinct]].<ref name="Campbell" /> Yupiltepeque was spoken in [[Jutiapa Department]], while the rest were spoken in [[Santa Rosa Department (Guatemala)|Santa Rosa Department]]. Campbell also suggests that the [[Alagüilac language]] of [[San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán]] may have in fact been a Xincan language.

*'''[[Yupiltepeque language|Yupiltepeque]]''': extinct by 1920. Once also spoken in [[Jutiapa]].
*'''[[Jumaytepeque language|Jumaytepeque]]''': discovered in the early 1970s by [[Lyle Campbell]], spoken near the top of [[Volcán Jumaytepeque]]. This is the most divergent variety, and is not mutually intelligible with that of [[Chiquimulilla]]. All fluent native speakers of the language have died, but it may have some semi-speakers remaining.
*'''[[Chiquimulilla language|Chiquimulilla]]''': extinct
*'''[[Guazacapán language|Guazacapán]]''': extinct, some semi-speakers remain.

To these, ''[[Glottolog]]'' adds
*'''[[Sinacantán language|Sinacantán]]'''<ref>{{glottolog|xinc1245|Sinacantan}}</ref>

Sachse (2010) considers all Xincan speakers today to be semi-speakers, with the completely fluent speakers having already died.

==History==
Xincan languages have many loanwords from [[Mayan languages]] especially in agricultural terms, suggesting extensive contact with [[Mayan peoples]].<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1264909 ''Mayan Loan Words in Xinca'']</ref> According to Campbell, Xinca also has a "vast number of Mixe-Zoquean loanwords", suggesting contact with now extinct [[Mixe-Zoque]] varieties of the Guatemalan Pacific coast.<ref>Campbell, Lyle, et al. The linguistics of Southeast Chiapas, Mexico. United States, New World Archaeological Foundation, Brigham Young University, 1988. pg. 309</ref> 

In the 16th century the territory of the Xinca extended from the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast to the mountains of [[Jalapa (department)|Jalapa]]. In 1524 the population was conquered by the [[Spanish Empire]]. Many of the people were forced into slavery and compelled to participate in the conquest of modern-day [[El Salvador]]. It is from this that the names for the town, river, and bridge "Los Esclavos" (The Slaves) are derived in the area of [[Cuilapa]], [[Santa Rosa Department (Guatemala)|Santa Rosa]].
 
After 1575, the process of Xinca cultural extinction accelerated, mainly due to their exportation to other regions. This also contributed to a decrease in the number of Xinca-language speakers. One of the oldest references concerning this language was presented by the archbishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz during a visit to the diocese of [[Taxisco]] in 1769.

===Contemporary situation===
Xinca was most recently spoken in seven municipalities and a village in the departments of [[Santa Rosa Department, Guatemala|Santa Rosa]] and [[Jutiapa Department|Jutiapa]]. In 1991, it was reported that the language had only 25 speakers; the 2006 edition of the ''Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'' reported fewer than ten.<ref name="ELL">{{ELL2|Xinca}}</ref> Nonetheless, of the 16,214 Xinca who responded to the 2002 census,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ine.gob.gt/Nesstar/Censo2002/survey0/dataSet/dataFiles/dataFile1/var26.html|title=XI Censo Nacional de Población y VI de Habitación (Censo 2002) – Pertenencia de grupo étnico|year=2002|publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística|access-date=2009-12-22}}</ref> 1,283 reported being Xinka speakers, most probably semi-speakers or people who knew a few words and phrases of the languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ine.gob.gt/Nesstar/Censo2002/survey0/dataSet/dataFiles/dataFile1/var27.html|title=XI Censo Nacional de Población y VI de Habitación (Censo 2002) – Idioma o lengua en que aprendió a hablar|year=2002|publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203173713/http://www.ine.gob.gt/Nesstar/Censo2002/survey0/dataSet/dataFiles/dataFile1/var27.html|archive-date=December 3, 2009|url-status=dead|access-date=2009-12-22}}</ref> However by 2010, all completely fluent speakers have died, leaving only semi-speakers who know the languages.

==Distribution==
Xincan languages were once more widespread, which is evident in various toponyms with Xincan origins (Campbell 1997:166). These toponyms are marked by such locative prefixes as ''ay''- "place of" (e.g. Ayampuc, Ayarza), ''al''- "place of" (Alzatate), ''san''- "in" (e.g. Sansare, Sansur), or with the locative suffixes -''(a)gua'' or -''hua'' "town, dwelling" (e.g. Pasasagua, Jagua, Anchagua, Xagua, Eraxagua).

Kaufman (1970:66) lists the following towns as once being Xinca-speaking.<ref>Kaufman, Terrence. 1970. ''Proyecto de alfabetos y ortografías para escribir las lenguas mayances''. Antigua: Editorial José de Pineda Ibarra.</ref>

*[[Yupiltepeque]]
*[[Jumaytepeque]] (Nueva Santa Rosa)
*[[San Juan Tecuaco]]
*[[Chiquimulilla]]
*[[Taxisco]]
*[[Santa María Ixhuatán]]
*[[Guazacapán]]

Sachse (2010), citing colonial-era sources, lists the following villages in [[Santa Rosa Department, Guatemala|Santa Rosa Department]] and [[Jutiapa Department]] as having Xinca speakers during the Spanish colonial era.

{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}
*[[Guanagazapa]] (Guanagazapan), in [[Escuintla Department]]
*[[Guaymango]]
*[[Itiquipaque]] (also known as [[Atiquipaque]] or [[Nextiquipaque]])
*[[Tepeaco]]
*[[Tacuilula]]
*[[Taxisco]]
*[[Guazacapán]]
*[[Chiquimulilla]]
*[[Sinacantán]]
*[[Nancinta]]
*[[Tecuaco]]
*[[Santa María Ixhuatán|Ixhuatán]] (Izguatlán)
{{col-2}}
*[[Jumaytepéque]]
*[[Jalpatagua]]
*[[Jutiapa]]
*[[Comapa, Jutiapa|Comapa]]
*[[Yupiltepeque]]
*[[Atescatempa]]
*[[La Zacualpa]]
*[[Contepeque]]
*[[Achuapa]]
*[[Valle Tierra Blanca]] (parish of Tacuilula)
*[[Santa Ana, El Salvador|Santa Ana]] (parish of Xinacantán)
*[[San Juan Mixtán]] (a trilingual village where Spanish, [[Nahuatl]], and Xinca were spoken)
{{col-end}}

== Phonology ==
The phonological system of Xincan languages had some variance, as evidenced by the variations in recorded phonology exhibited among semi-speakers of the two remaining languages.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Christopher |title=A comparative grammar of Xinkan |publisher=University of Utah |year=2010}}</ref>

=== Vowels ===
It is generally agreed upon that the Xincan languages have 6 vowels.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/15691|title=Reconstructive description of eighteenth-century Xinka grammar|last=Frauke|first=Sachse|last2=Letteren|first2=Faculteit der|website=openaccess.leidenuniv.nl|language=en|access-date=2018-06-22}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|i iː}}
| {{IPAlink|ɨ ɨː}}
| {{IPAlink|u uː}}
|-
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPAlink|e eː}}
|
| {{IPAlink|o oː}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPAlink|a aː}}
|
|}

=== Consonants ===
These charts show the consonants of two languages, used by the final semi-speakers of the language.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Jumaytepeque consonants
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" |[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!{{small|plain}}
!{{small|[[Sibilant consonant|sibilant]]}}
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]]/<br>[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!<small>plain</small>
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
![[Ejective consonant|<small>ejective</small>]]
|{{IPAlink|pʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|tʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡sʼ}}
|{{IPA link|t͡ʃʼ}}
|
|{{IPAlink|kʼ}}
|
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|d}}
|
|
|
|({{IPA link|ɡ}})
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
| {{IPAlink|ɬ}}
| {{IPAlink|s}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʂ}}
|
| {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
!<small>plain</small>
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Glottalization|glottalized]]</small>
|{{IPA link|mʼ}}
|{{IPA link|nʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
!<small>plain</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|
| {{IPAlink|j}}
|
| {{IPAlink|w}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Glottalization|glottalized]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|lʼ}}
|
|{{IPA link|jʼ}}
|
|{{IPA link|wʼ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Trill consonant|Trill]]
!<small>plain</small>
|
| {{IPAlink|r}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Glottalization|glottalized]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|rʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Yupiltepeque consonants
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" |[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!{{small|plain}}
!{{small|[[Sibilant consonant|sibilant]]}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
|{{IPAlink|p}}
|{{IPAlink|t}}
|
|
|{{IPAlink|k}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!<small>plain</small>
|
|
|
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|
|
|-
![[Ejective consonant|<small>ejective</small>]]
|
|
|{{IPAlink|t͡sʼ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
|{{IPAlink|ɬ}}
|{{IPAlink|s}}
|{{IPAlink|ʃ}}
|
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
!<small>plain</small>
|{{IPAlink|m}}
|{{IPAlink|n}}
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Glottalization|glottalized]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|nʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|
|{{IPAlink|j}}
|{{IPAlink|w}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|{{IPAlink|r}}
|
|
|
|
|}
Many younger semi-speakers also used the phonemes /b, d, g, f, ŋ/ due to greater influence from Spanish.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
{{sister project |project=wiktionary |text=[[Wiktionary]] has a word list at '''''[[Wiktionary:Appendix:Xinca word lists|Appendix:Xinca word lists]]'''''}}
*[[Alagüilac language]]
*[[Macro-Chibchan languages]]
*[[Classification of indigenous languages of the Americas|Classification of Indigenous languages of the Americas]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* Campbell, Lyle (1997). ''American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-509427-1}}.
* Sachse, Frauke (2010). ''[https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/15691 Reconstructive description of eighteenth-century Xinka grammar]''. Utrecht: Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics. {{ISBN|9789460930294}}.
* Rogers, Chris Rogers. (2016) ''The Use and Development of the Xinkan Languages''. University of Texas Press

== External links ==

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbXae2y6hNU
{{Mesoamerican families}}
{{Language families}}
{{Languages of Guatemala}}
{{Languages of El Salvador}}
{{North American languages}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Xincan languages| ]]
[[Category:Language families]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Central America]]
[[Category:Languages of Guatemala]]
[[Category:Jutiapa Department]]
[[Category:Santa Rosa Department, Guatemala]]
[[Category:Languages of El Salvador]]
[[Category:Mesoamerican languages]]
[[Category:Endangered unclassified languages]]
[[Category:Macro-Chibchan languages]]