Uru language
Uru–Chipaya language spoken in Bolivia
title: "Uru language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["languages-of-bolivia", "uru–chipaya-languages", "endangered-indigenous-languages-of-the-americas", "extinct-languages", "endangered-languages"] description: "Uru–Chipaya language spoken in Bolivia" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uru_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Uru–Chipaya language spoken in Bolivia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Uru |
| altname | Iru Itu |
| nativename | Uchumataqu |
| state | Bolivia |
| region | Lake Titicaca, near the Desaguadero River |
| ethnicity | 230 Uru people (2007) |
| extinct | |
| ref | e19 |
| familycolor | American |
| fam1 | Uru–Chipaya |
| iso3 | ure |
| glotto | uruu1244 |
| glottorefname | Uru |
| map2 | Lang Status 01-EX.svg |
| mapcaption2 | |
| notice | IPA |
| dia1 | Uru of Ch'imu |
| dia2 | Uru of Sun Island |
| map | Chipaya_-_mapa_etnia.svg |
| mapcaption | Map of Uru-Chipaya languages |
| :: |
| name = Uru | altname = Iru Itu | nativename = Uchumataqu | state = Bolivia | region = Lake Titicaca, near the Desaguadero River | ethnicity = 230 Uru people (2007) | extinct = | ref = e19 | familycolor = American | fam1 = Uru–Chipaya | iso3 = ure | glotto = uruu1244 | glottorefname = Uru | map2 = Lang Status 01-EX.svg | mapcaption2 = | notice = IPA | dia1 = Uru of Ch'imu | dia2 = Uru of Sun Island | map = Chipaya_-_mapa_etnia.svg | mapcaption = Map of Uru-Chipaya languages
The Uru language, more specifically known as Iru-Itu, and Uchumataqu, is an extinct language formerly spoken by the Uru people. In 2004, it had 2 remaining native speakers out of an ethnic group of 140 people in the La Paz Department, Bolivia near Lake Titicaca, the rest having shifted to Aymara and Spanish. The language is close enough to the Chipaya language to sometimes be considered a dialect of that language.
Uru is also called Ochosuma (Uchuzuma), a historical name for the Uru ethnic group.
In 2010, there was 1 single native speaker left of this language. By 2012 the language had no speakers left. However, the Uru community has been interested in revitalizing their language and maintaining their culture.
Identification
Since one of the Urus' names for their language was "Pukina", Uchumataqu has previously been mistakenly identified with Puquina. While the personal and possessive pronouns of the unrelated Puquina bear limited similarities to those of Arawakan languages, Uru differs drastically from Arawakan languages in its person-marking system and its morphology. The pronoun system of Uchumataqu is naturally very similar instead to its close relative Chipaya. Uchumataqu has also borrowed grammatical and lexical morphemes from prolonged exposure to Aymara, with which it is not related, however. Unlike Aymara, Uru is not polysynthetic and has a phonemic five-vowel system /a e i o u/, while Aymara has a three-vowel system /a i u/. One contrast between Uru and the related Chipaya is that Uru does not identify gender morphologically as Chipaya does.
Dialects
There are mentions of two Uru dialects: Uru of Ch'imu and Sun Island, though it is unclear whether the former was a dialect or its own language. Uru of Ch'imu was spoken in the town of Ch'imu and was first recorded in 1929, and, while not published, there are detailed notes of the language in existence. The second variety was spoken on Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca and was first described in the 1960s though there it is far less documented.
Phonology
Consonants
::data[format=table]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | Plosive | voiceless | aspirated | ejective | Affricate | voiceless | ejective | Fricative | Nasal | Trill | Approximant | lateral | central |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Vowels
::data[format=table]
| Front | Back | short | long | short | long | Close | Mid | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Orthography
Uru did not have a standardized orthography but when written it used the English alphabet or the IPA.
Sample texts
| lang1 = ure | abbreviations = NSP:non-speaker
References
References
- (2010). "Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger". UNESCO.
- Campbell, Lyle. (2012). "The Indigenous Languages of South America". De Gruyter Mouton.
- Danielsen, Swintha. (2010). "Review of "Uchumataqu: The Lost Language of the Urus of Bolivia. A Description of the Language as Documented between 1894 and 1952. Indigenous Languages of Latin America"". Anthropological Linguistics.
- Adelaar, Willem F. H.. (2004). "The Language of the Andes". Cambridge Language Surveys.
- Pena, Jaime. (2009). "Uchumataqu: The Lost Language of the Urus of Bolivia. A Grammatical Description of the Language as Documented between 1894 and 1952.". Studies in Language.
- Adelaar, Willem F. H.. (2004). "The languages of the Andes". Cambridge; New York : Cambridge University Press.
- Hannß, Katja. (2008). "Uchumataqu: The lost language of the Urus of Bolivia: A grammatical description of the language as documented between 1894 and 1952". Leiden: Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies (CNWS), Universiteit Leiden.
- Hannss, Katja. (2009). "Uchumataqu (Uro)". La Paz: Plural Editores.
- "Autopsy of Uru".
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