Tacanan is a family of languages spoken in Bolivia, with Ese’ejja also spoken in Peru. It may be related to the Panoan languages. Many of the languages are endangered.

Family division

Toromono may be extinct. Another possibly extinct Tacanan language is Mabenaro; Arasa has been classified as Tacanan, but appears to have more in common with Panoan.

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Kayuvava, Tupi, and Arawak language families due to contact.

Varieties

Below is a full list of Tacanan language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Tacanan languages. Sample vocabulary of four Tacanan languages, along with Proto-Panoan for comparison, from Nikulin (2019): ! gloss !! Ese Ejja !! Araona !! Cavineña !! Tacana !! Proto-Panoan ! liver ! tongue ! blood ! you (sg.) ! hand ! earth ! meat ! stone ! bone ! (finger)nail ! fat ! tooth

Verbal morphology

Associated motion

Tacanan languages, in particular Cavineña and Ese Ejja, have among the richest associated motion systems in the world's languages.