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Amuesha Indian Language (Amisha, Yanesha, Lorenzo)

Language: Amuesha is an Arawakan language of South America, spoken by 5000 people in Peru. Like many Arawakan languages, Amuesha is polysynthetic with complex verb morphology and VSO word order.

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Names: Amuesha was a band or village name meaning "people of the capybara," which became applied by outsiders to the whole tribe. In their own language, the people's name for themselves is Yanesha', which means "we people." In Spanish they are often known as the Lorenzo Indians. Alternate spellings of these names include Amisha, Amoesha, Amage, Omage, Amajo, Amaje, Amuese, Amagues, Amoishe, Amuescha, Amueixa, Amueshe, Amaisha, Amuetamo; Yaneshá, Yanešač; and Lorenzan.

Amuesha Language

Amuesha language samples and resources.

Amuesha Culture and History

Information and links about the Amuesha tribe past and present.

Amuesha Language Resources

Our Online Amuesha Materials

Amuesha Vocabulary:
Our list of vocabulary words in the Amuesha language, with comparison to words in other Arawakan languages.

Amuesha Pronunciation Guide:
How to pronounce Amuesha words.

Amuesha Animal Words:
Picture dictionary of animal words in the Amuesha language.

Amuesha Colors:
Worksheet showing color words in the Amuesha language.

Amuesha Body Parts:
Online and printable worksheets showing parts of the body in the Amuesha language.

Amuesha Numbers:
Worksheet showing how to count in Amuesha.

Amuesha Food:
Worksheet with pictures of food words in the Amuesha language.

Amuesha Dictionaries, Audio Tapes and Language Resources
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Diccionario Yanesha'-Castellano
Amuesha-Spanish dictionary for sale online.

Languages of the Amazon
In-depth book about Amuesha and dozens of other Amazonian Indian languages.

Amuesha Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions

Diccionario Yanesha:
Online Spanish-Yanesha glossary, with some audio clips of spoken words.

Wikipedia: Yanesha':
Encyclopedia article on the Amuesha language including a phonological inventory.

Yanesha' Language

Yanesha' Orthography

Yanesha' Grammar

Yanesha Pronunciation

Yanesha Bibliography:
Scanned-in Yanesha language materials from the Rosetta Project.

Amoesha:
Amuesha language information including a linguistic map of Peru. Page in Spanish.

UDHR: Amuesha-Yanesha:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights translated into the Yanesha language.

Amuesha Prayers:
The Lord's Prayer and other Christian prayers translated into Amuesha.

House of Languages: Yanesha:
Information about Yanesha language usage.

Yanesha' Language:
Demographic information about Amuesha speakers from the Ethnologue of Languages.

Amuesha Language Tree:
Theories about Yanesha's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

Yanesha Language Structures:
Yanesha linguistic profile and academic bibliography.

Links, References, and Additional Information

  Amuesha-Yanesha:
  Encyclopedia articles on the Amuesha language.
  Idioma Yanesha'

Los Amuesha:
  Information about the Amueshas and their language in Spanish.
  Amuesha:
  Amuesha language links.
  Amuesha Tribe:
  Books about the Amuesha people.

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