Mataguayo–Guaicuru, Mataco–Guaicuru or Macro-Waikurúan is a proposed language family consisting of the Mataguayan and Guaicuruan languages. Pedro Viegas Barros claims to have demonstrated it. These languages are spoken in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia.

Genetic relations

Jorge Suárez linked Guaicuruan and Charruan in a Waikuru-Charrúa stock. Kaufman (2007: 72) has also added Lule–Vilela and Zamucoan, while Morris Swadesh proposed a Macro-Mapuche stock that included Matacoan, Guaicuruan, Charruan, and Mascoyan. Campbell (1997) has argued that those hypotheses should be further investigated, though he no longer intends to evaluate it.

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Arawakan, Tupian, Trumai, and Ofayé language families due to contact, pointing to an origin of Proto-Mataguayo-Guaicuruan in the Upper Paraguay River basin.

Classification

Internal classification by Jolkesky (2016): ( = extinct)

Chaco linguistic area

Campbell and Grondona (2012) consider the languages to be part of a Chaco linguistic area. Common Chaco areal features include SVO word order and active-stative verb alignment.