Kallawaya etymology

What is it about?

This paper deals with the etymology of Kallawaya, a mixed and secret language of the Bolivian highlands. It describes which languages contributed to the heterogeneous lexocon of the Kallawaya and also critically re-assess the role of the alleged main lexifier language, Pukina.

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Why is it important?

The article is the first to provide a comprehensive etymlogical analysis of Kallawaya, taking into consideration not only languages of the Andean region but also those spoken in the Bolivian lowlands and at the Peruvian-Chilean coast. Furthermore, the results of the etymology analysis strongly suggest that Pukina, up to now considered to be most important lexifier of Kallawaya, plays a less significant role in the etymology of Kallawaya.