Gorgotoqui language
Encyclopedia
Gorgotoqui is a currently undocumented extinct language
of the Chiquitanía region of the eastern Bolivia
n lowlands.
During the period of the Jesuit missions to the Chiquitos
, Gorgotoqui was the most numerous language of the area. It became a lingua franca
and the sole language of the Jesuit mission (ICOMOS 1990:59). A Jesuit priest wrote a grammar, but no-one has been able to locate it "in recent years" (Adelaar & Muysken 2004:32), and no other documentation has survived. Thus a language that was regionally important during the colonial era disappeared under pressure from more successful indigenous peoples (Adelaar 2007:326); this appears to have occurred in under half a century (Alarcón 2001:101).
Loukotka (1968) classified Gorgotoqui as a language isolate
, but Kaufman (1990) left it unclassified
because of a lack of data. From comments that the several languages of the missions "had nothing in common" (Oliva & Pazos 1895:15), we can only conclude that it was not close to any other local language.
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
of the Chiquitanía region of the eastern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n lowlands.
During the period of the Jesuit missions to the Chiquitos
Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
The Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos are in the Santa Cruz department of eastern Bolivia. Six of the missions have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The missions are distinguished by the fusion of European and American Indian cultural influences...
, Gorgotoqui was the most numerous language of the area. It became a lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
and the sole language of the Jesuit mission (ICOMOS 1990:59). A Jesuit priest wrote a grammar, but no-one has been able to locate it "in recent years" (Adelaar & Muysken 2004:32), and no other documentation has survived. Thus a language that was regionally important during the colonial era disappeared under pressure from more successful indigenous peoples (Adelaar 2007:326); this appears to have occurred in under half a century (Alarcón 2001:101).
Loukotka (1968) classified Gorgotoqui as a language isolate
Language isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
, but Kaufman (1990) left it unclassified
Unclassified language
Unclassified languages are languages whose genetic affiliation has not been established by means of historical linguistics. If this state of affairs continues after significant study of the language and efforts to relate it to other languages, as in the case of Basque, it is termed a language...
because of a lack of data. From comments that the several languages of the missions "had nothing in common" (Oliva & Pazos 1895:15), we can only conclude that it was not close to any other local language.