Mochica language

{{Short description|Extinct language formerly spoken on Peru's northwest coast}}

{{distinguish|Uru of Ch'imu|Moche (disambiguation){{!}}Moche}}

{{Expand language|topic=|langcode=es|otherarticle=Idioma mochica|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Mochica

| nativename = Yunga

| states = Peru

| region = Lambayeque, and Jequetepeque

| extinct = {{Circa|1920}}

| familycolor = American

| fam1 =

| iso3 = omc

| linglist = omc

| glotto = moch1259

| glottorefname = Mochica

| map = Mochica language.png

| mapcaption = Approximate extent of Mochica before replacement by Spanish.

| ethnicity = Sican culture

| revived = exist{{Citation |last=Eloranta |first=Rita |title=New Mochica and the challenge of reviving an extinct language |date=2020-08-11 |work=Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics |volume=29 |pages=253–274 |editor-last=Sessarego |editor-first=Sandro |url=https://benjamins.com/catalog/ihll.29.11bar |access-date=2025-04-13 |place=Amsterdam |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |language=en |doi=10.1075/ihll.29.11bar |isbn=978-90-272-0738-8 |last2=Bartens |first2=Angela |editor2-last=Colomina-Almiñana |editor2-first=Juan J. |editor3-last=Rodríguez-Riccelli |editor3-first=Adrián|url-access=subscription }}

| family = Language isolate

}}

Mochica is an extinct language formerly spoken along the northwest coast of Peru and in an inland village. First documented in 1607, the language was widely spoken in the area during the 17th century and the early 18th century. By the late 19th century, the language was dying out and spoken only by a few people in the village of Etén, in Chiclayo. It died out as a spoken language around 1920, but certain words and phrases continued to be used until the 1960s.

{{cite book

| last1 = Adelaar

| first1 = Willem F. H.

| author-link1 = Willem Adelaar

| year = 1999

| chapter = Unprotected languages, the silent death of the languages in Northern Peru

| editor1-last = Herzfeld

| editor1-first = Anita

| editor2-last = Lastra

| editor2-first = Yolanda

| title = The social causes of the disappearance and maintenance of languages in the nations of America: papers presented at the 49° International Congress of Americanists, Quito, Ecuador, July 7–11, 1997

| publisher = Hermosillo: USON

| isbn = 978-968-7713-70-0

}} A revival movement has appeared in recent times.

Classification

Mochica is usually considered to be a language isolate,{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Lyle |author-link=Lyle Campbell |editor1-last=Grondona |editor1-first=Verónica |editor2-last=Campbell |editor2-first=Lyle |date=2012 |title=The Indigenous Languages of South America |chapter=Classification of the indigenous languages of South America |series=The World of Linguistics |volume=2 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=59–166 |isbn=978-3-11-025513-3}} but has also been hypothesized as belonging to a wider Chimuan language family. Stark (1972) proposes a connection with Uru–Chipaya as part of a Maya–Yunga–Chipayan macrofamily hypothesis.{{cite journal|last1=Stark|first1=Louisa R.|title=Maya-Yunga-Chipayan: A New Linguistic Alignment|journal=International Journal of American Linguistics|volume=38|issue=2|year=1972|pages=119–135|issn=0020-7071|doi=10.1086/465193|s2cid=145380780 }}

Denominations

The yunga form is mentioned in the work of Fernando de la Carrera, "yunca" is another form mentioned by varieties of Quechua, "muchic" is only mentioned by the Augustinian father Antonio de la Calancha in 1638, in 1892 Ernst Middendorf it germanizes as "muchik", the form "chimu" is a hypothesis on the part of Middendorf in accordance with the knowledge of that time in the 19th century, when he considered Mochica as a language of the Chimos, but which is currently discarded because the language of the Chimú is actually the Quingnam language.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} An informal group called by linguistics neo-mochica uses the artificial form "muchik", when the most historically used form is "mochica" or "yunga".

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Trumai, Arawak, Kandoshi, Muniche, Barbakoa, Cholon-Hibito, Kechua, Mapudungun, Kanichana, and Kunza language families due to contact. Jolkesky (2016) also suggests that similarities with Amazonian languages may be due to the early migration of Mochica speakers down the Marañón and Solimões.{{cite thesis|last=Jolkesky |first=Marcelo Pinho de Valhery |date=2016 |url=http://www.etnolinguistica.org/tese:jolkesky-2016-arqueoecolinguistica |title=Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas |type=Ph.D. dissertation |location=Brasília |publisher=University of Brasília |edition=2}}

Speakers

file: Mascara lambayeque ( museo de Sican).jpg

It is proven and accepted by linguists that it was spoken by those of the Sican culture, it is not proven that it was spoken by those of the Moche culture, and it is ruled out that it was spoken by the chimos, since it is proven that they spoke Quingnam.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Varieties

The only varieties are according to each researcher who compiled their vocabulary, so we have the variety of Ernst Middendorf, Compañon, Bruning, etc.

Geographic distribution

File:Geolinguistica del mochica siglo XVII.jpg

According to the list of the vicar of Reque and author of the aforementioned Art, Fernando de la Carrera, the peoples who in 1644 spoke the Mochica language were as follows:

  • In the corregimiento of Trujillo: James, Magdalene of Cao, Chocope, Chicama valley, Paijan.
  • In the corregimiento of Saña: St. Peter of Lloc, Chepen, Jequetepeque, Guadalupe, New Town, Eten, Chiclayo, St. Michael, St. Lucia, Parish of Saña, Lambayeque with four rooms, Reque, Monsefú, Ferreñafe, Tucum, Illimo, Pacora, Morrope and Jayanca.
  • In the corregimiento of Piura: Motupe, Salas (annex of Penachi), Copis (annex of Olmos), Frías and Huancabamba.
  • In the corregimiento of Cajamarca: Santa Cruz, San Miguel de la Sierra, Ñopos, San Pablo, the doctrine of the rafts of the Marañón, a bias of Cajamarca, Cachén, Guambos and many other places in the Cajamarca mountain range, such as the Condebamba valley.{{Citation | title=Moche A Peruvian Coastal Community : Gillin, John : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming, página 7 | url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.215848 | access-date=6 April 2024}}

Phonology

= Consonants =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

! colspan="2" |Dental/
Alveolar

!Post-
alveolar

!Palatal

!Velar

colspan="2" |Plosive

|{{IPA link|p}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|t}}

|

|{{IPA link|c}}

|{{IPA link|k}}

colspan="2" |Affricate

|

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ts}}

|{{IPA link|tʃ}}

|

|

colspan="2" |Fricative

|{{IPA link|ɸ}}

|{{IPA link|ð}}

|{{IPA link|s}}

|{{IPA link|ʃ}}

|

|

colspan="2" |Nasal

|{{IPA link|m}}

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|n}}

|

|{{IPA link|ɲ}}

|{{IPA link|ŋ}}

colspan="2" |Trill

|

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|r}}

|

|

|

rowspan="2" |Lateral

!glide

|

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|l}}

|

|{{IPA link|ʎ}}

|

fricative

|

| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|ɬ}}

|

|

|

colspan="2" |Approximant

|{{IPA link|w}}

| colspan="2" |

|

|{{IPA link|j}}

|

  • /ð/ may also be heard as [d̪] in free variation.

= Vowels =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!

!Front

!Central

!Back

Close

|{{IPA link|i}}

| rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|ɨ}} ~ {{IPA link|ə}}

|{{IPA link|u}}

Mid

|{{IPA link|e}}

|{{IPA link|o}}

Open

|

|{{IPA link|a}}

|

  • /ɨ/ may also range to [ə].{{Cite book |last=Eloranta-Barrera Virhuez |first=Rita Silvia |url=https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/563_fulltext.pdf |title=Mochica: grammatical topics and external relations |publisher=Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden dissertation |year=2020 |isbn=978-94-6093-348-6}}

Typology

Mochica is typologically different from the other main languages on the west coast of South America, namely the Quechuan languages, Aymara, and the Mapuche language. Further, it contains rare features such as:

  • a case system in which cases are built on each other in a linear sequence; for example, the ablative case suffix is added to the locative case, which in turn is added to an oblique case form;
  • all nouns have two stems, possessed and non-possessed;
  • an agentive case suffix used mainly for the agent in passive clauses; and
  • a verbal system in which all finite forms are formed with the copula.

Morphology

Some suffixes in Mochica as reconstituted by Hovdhaugen (2004):

  • sequential suffix: -top
  • purpose suffix: -næm
  • gerund suffixes: -læc and -ssæc
  • gerund suffix: -(æ)zcæf
  • gerund suffix: -(æ)d

Lexicon

Some examples of lexical items in Mochica from Hovdhaugen (2004):Hovdhaugen, Even (2004). Mochica. Munich: LINCOM Europa.

=Nouns=

Possessed and non-possessed nouns in Mochica:

class="wikitable sortable"

! gloss !! possessed noun !! non-possessed noun

'lord'çiecçiequic
'father'efefquic
'son'eizeizquic
'nostrils'fonfænquic
'eyes'locɥlucɥquic
'soul'moixmoixquic
'hand'mæcɥmæcɥquic
'farm'uizuizquic
'bread, food'xllonxllonquic
'head'falpængfalpic
'leg'tonængtonic
'human flesh'ærquengærquic
'ear' (but med in medec 'in the ears')medengmedquic
'belly, heart' (pol and polæng appear to be equivalents)polæng / polpolquic
'lawyer'capæcnencæpcæsscapæcnencæpæc
'heaven'cuçiascuçia
'dog'fanussfanu
'duck'fellussfellu
'servant'ianassyana
'sin'ixllæssixll
'ribbon'llaftussllaftu
'horse'colædcol
'fish'xllacædxllac
'(silver) money'xllaxllædxllaxll
'maiz'mangæmang
'ceiling'cɥapæncɥap
'creator'chicopæcæsschicopæc
'sleeping blanket'cunurcunuc
'chair' (< fel 'to sit')filurfiluc
'cup' (< man 'to drink, to eat')manirmanic
'toy' (< ñe(i)ñ 'to play')ñeñurñeñuc

Locative forms of Mochica nouns:

class="wikitable sortable"

! noun stem !! locative form

fon 'nostrils'funæc 'in the nostrils'
loc 'foot'lucæc 'on the feet'
ssol 'forehead'ssulæc 'in the forehead'
locɥ 'eye'lucɥæc 'in the eyes'
mæcɥ 'hand'mæcɥæc 'in the hand'
far 'holiday'farræc 'on holidays'
olecɥ 'outside'olecɥæc 'outside'
ssap 'mouth'ssapæc 'in the mouth'
lecɥ 'head'lecɥæc 'on the head'
an 'house'enec 'in the house'
med 'ear'medec 'in the ears'
neiz 'night'ñeizac 'in the nights'
xllang 'sun'xllangic 'in the sun'

=Quantifiers=

Quantifiers in Mochica:

class="wikitable sortable"

! quantifier !! meaning and semantic categories

felæppair (counting birds, jugs, etc.)
lucpair (counting plates, drinking vessels, cucumbers, fruits)
cɥoquixllten (counting fruits, ears of corn, etc.)
cæssten (counting days)
pongten (counting fruits, cobs, etc.)
ssopten (counting people, cattle, reed, etc., i.e. everything that is not money, fruits, and days)
chiænghundred (counting fruits, etc.)

=Numerals=

Mochica numerals:

class="wikitable sortable"

! Numeral !! Mochica

1onæc, na-
2aput, pac-
3çopæl, çoc-
4nopæt, noc-
5exllmætzh
6tzhaxlltzha
7ñite
8langæss
9tap
10çiæcɥ, -pong, ssop, -fælæp, cɥoquixll
20pacpong, pacssop, etc.
30çocpong, çocssop, etc.
40nocpong, nocssop, etc.
50exllmætzhpong, exllmætzhssop, etc.
60tzhaxlltzhapong, tzhaxlltzhassop, etc.
70ñitepong, ñitessop, etc.
80langæsspong, langæssop, etc.
90tappong, tapssong, etc.
100palæc
1000cunô

Sample text

File:Bajo y Tamboril para baylar cantando. Tonada del Chimo.jpg

The only surviving song in the language is a single tonada, {{lang|es-PE|Tonada del Chimo}}, preserved in the Codex Martínez Compañón among many watercolours illustrating the life of Chimú people during the 18th century:

{{Poem quote|text=1st voice: {{lang|omc|Ja ya llũnch, ja ya llõch}}

{{lang|omc|Ja ya llũnch, ja ya lloch}}{{sic}}

{{lang|omc|In poc cha tanmuisle pecan muisle pecan e necam}}

2nd voice: {{lang|omc|Ja ya llũnch, ja ya llõch}}

{{lang|omc|Ja ya llũnch}}

1st voice: {{lang|omc|E menspocehifama le qui}}

{{lang|omc|ten que consmuiſle Cuerpo lens}}

{{lang|omc|e menslocunmunom chi perdonar moitin Roc}}

2nd voice: {{lang|omc|Ja ya llõch}}

{{lang|omc|Ja ya llũnh,[sic] ja ya llõch}}

1st voice: {{lang|omc|Chondocolo mec checje su chriſto}}

{{lang|omc|po que si ta mali muis le cuer po[sic] lem.}}

{{lang|omc|lo quees aoscho perdonar}}

{{lang|omc|me ñe fe che tas}}

2nd voice: {{lang|omc|Ja ya llũnch, ja ya llõch}}

{{lang|omc|Ja ya llũnch, ja ya llõch}}

|source={{cite book |title=Trujillo del Perú . Volumen 2 |publisher=Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes |page=180 |url=https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/trujillo-del-peru--volumen-ii/html/966bf129-a181-4dd1-996b-ac44db7844e2_187.html |access-date=13 September 2023 |language=es |chapter=Bajo y Tamboril para baylar cantando. [Índice:] Tonada del Chimo.}}}}

Quingnam, possibly the same as Lengua (Yunga) Pescadora, is sometimes taken to be a dialect, but a list of numerals was discovered in 2010 and is suspected to be Quingnam or Pescadora, not Mochica.

Comparison

It was common in the 19th century to relate Mochica mainly to Mandarin, Japanese{{cite book | author=Hoyle, R. L. | date= 1938 | title=Lós mochicas |pages=42| publisher=Casa editora “La Crónica” y “Variedades”, s. a. ltda. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0kEJAQAAMAAJ&q=lambayeque+japones+mochica}} and Quechua.{{cite book | author=Douay, L.| date= 1891 |title=Études étymologiques sur l'antiquité américaine | pages = 103| publisher=J. Maisonneuve | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVoTAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22llampallik%22&pg=PA103}} Currently it is discarded and is considered an isolated language.{{cite book | vauthors=((Eloranta-Barrera Virhuez, R.)) | date= 2020 | title=Mochica: grammatical topics and external relations | publisher=LOT | series=LOT Dissertations series | url=https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/563_fulltext.pdf | pages=15|isbn=978-94-6093-348-6}}

A simple way to check this is to use its our fathers for comparative linguistic purposes:

class="wikitable"

!Verse in Matthew 6

! Mochica of the "Art of the Yunga Language"{{cite journal | author=Salas García, J. A. | journal=Boletín de la Academia Peruana de la Lengua | title=El Padre Nuestro en la lengua mochica | pages=69–111 | date=30 June 2011 | issn=2708-2644 | doi=10.46744/bapl.201101.002| doi-access=free }}

! Quechua{{cite book | vauthors=((Tavárez, D.)) | date=14 December 2017 | title=Words and Worlds Turned Around: Indigenous Christianities in Colonial Latin America | publisher=University Press of Colorado | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NlY_DwAAQBAJ&dq=yayayku+hanaq&pg=PA88 | pages=88|isbn=978-1-60732-684-7}}

! Japanese{{cite book | date= 1904 | title=Shin yaku zensho : New Testament in romaji, being a transliteration of the Japanese Authorized Version | pages=11| publisher=American Bible Society, Japan Agency | url=http://archive.org/details/shinyakuzenshon00unkngoog}}

! Chinese{{Citation | title=Matthew 6 of the Chinese Pinyin Bible | url=https://www.wordproject.org/bibles/pn/40/6.htm#0 | access-date=7 April 2024}}

! English{{Citation | title=The Holy Bible. RSVCE | url=http://honlam.org/rsvce/index.html | access-date=13 April 2024}}

style="text-align:center;" | 9Mæich ef, acaz loc cuçiang nic, tzhæng oc mang licæm mæchaYayayku, hanaq pachakunapi kaq. Sutiyki muchasqa kachun.ten ni mashimasu warera no chichi yo, negawaku wa, mi na wo agamesase tamae.wǒmen zaì tiān shang de fù, yuàn rén dōu zūn nǐde míng wéi shèng .Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
style="text-align:center;" | 10piycan ñof tzhæng cuçias, eiæpmang tzhæng polæng mæn, mo æizi capæc cuçiang nic mæn.Qapaq kayniyki ñuqaykuman hamuchun. Munayniyki rurasqa kachun, imanam hanaq pachapihinataq, kay pachapipas.Mi kuni wo kitarase tamae. Mi kokoro no ten ni naru gotoku, chi ni mo nasase tamae.Yuàn nǐde guó jiànglín, yuàn nǐde zhǐyì xíng zaì dì shang, rútóng xíng zaì tiān shang .Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
style="text-align:center;" | 11Aio ineng, inengô mæich xllon, piy can ñof allô mo lun.Punchawninkuna tantaykukta kunan quwayku.Warera no nichiyō no kate wo kyō mo atae tamaeWǒmen rìyòng de yǐnshí, jīnrì cìgĕi wǒmen .Give us this day our daily bread;
style="text-align:center;" | 12Efque can ñof ixllæss aie aca naix efco xllãg muss eio mæich, çio mæn.Huchaykuktari pampachapuwayku, imanam nuqaykupas tutqayktunan huchallikuqlcunakta pampachaykuhina.Warera ni oime aru mono wo warera ga yurusu gotoku. Warera no oime wo mo yurushi tamae.Miǎn wǒmen de zhaì, rútóng wǒmen miǎn le rén de zhaì .And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors;
style="text-align:center;" | 13Amoz tocæn ñof xllang muss emællæc zær enicnam næm lecɥ nan ef coñof pissin quichAmataq kachariwaykuchu watiqayman urmanqaykupaq. Yallinraq, mana allimanta qispichiwayku.Warera wo kokoromi ni awasezu, aku yori sukui idashi tamaeBú jiào wǒmen yùjiàn shìtan, jiù wǒmen tuōlí xiōngè, ( huò zuò tuōlí è zhĕ ) yīnwei guódù, quánbǐng, róngyào, quán shì nǐde, zhídào yǒngyuǎnAnd lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.

Learning program

The Cultural Office of the district of Mórrope has launched a program to teach the Mochica language in an effort to preserve the region’s ancient cultural legacy. The initiative has been well received by local residents and adopted by numerous schools. Additional cultural activities—such as the crafting of ceramics and decorated gourds (mates)—have also been introduced as part of the revitalization effort.{{cite web |title=Lengua Muchik: Entrevista sobre su recuperación en Mórrope |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBru1X3PDWo |website=YouTube |access-date=7 June 2025}}

Previously considered a dead language, Mochica is now taught in 38 schools and has around 80 speakers.{{cite web |title=La lengua muchik ya tiene 80 muchik hablantes |url=https://larazon.pe/la-lengua-muchik-ya-tiene-80-muchik-hablantes/ |website=La Razón |access-date=7 June 2025}}

Further reading

  • Brüning, Hans Heinrich (2004). Mochica Wörterbuch / Diccionario mochica: Mochica-castellano, castellano-mochica. Lima: Universidad San Martín de Porres.
  • Hovdhaugen, Even (2004). Mochica. Munich: LINCOM Europa.
  • Schumacher de Peña, G. (1992). El vocabulario mochica de Walter Lehmann (1929) comparado con otras fuentes léxicas. Lima: UNSM, Instituto de Investigación de Lingüística Aplicada.

References

{{Reflist}}