Reconstructing Diversity: The Marañón River Basin in North Peru

Presented by Dr Simon Overall

Language and Culture Research Centre - 2022 Colloquia Series

Monday 13 June 2022 | 3.00pm (AEST)

^{Zoom link:} 

^{https://jcu.zoom.us/j/9400553818?pwd=WUI0ckNxNDRManpFR1E5VnJKRUNpQT09  Password: 821181}

^{The Marañón River basin is an area of remarkable linguistic diversity. Some of its languages are members of widespread families, or from small families without members outside the area, and some are isloates. The modern-day situation is what remains of an even more complex one that existed at the time of 16th century European incursions. A number of now-extinct languages are attested in colonial records, but the scant data only give hints of their possible genetic affiliations. This talk reports on work in reconstructing the genetic and areal connections between languages in the Marañón basin. It addresses the challenges presented by the extant evidence and asks whether insights from studies on language obsolescence can help to interpret some of the incomplete data available.}

_{Image: pixabay.com}