| -den | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Peru |
| Region | Department of Cajamarca |
| Ethnicity | Guzmango |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
unclassified (Hibito–Cholon?) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
 -den | |
A virtually unknown and extinct Indigenous language of Peru, formerly spoken in Cajamarca Department, is referred to as -den from its characteristic toponym (also as -don, -ten, -ton, -din, -tin). It is known from only three words and is associated with the kingdom of Cuismancu (Guzmango), centred in the province of Contumazá.1 It may have been related to the Hibito–Cholon languages,2 and may even be identical to other such languages of the region known solely from their distinctive toponyms such as Chachapoya.3
Vocabulary
Three words found in a document commissioned by a member of the Cuismancu royal family are attributed to the -den language by Alfredo Torero.4 These words are ñus 'lady', losque 'young girl', and mizo 'female servant'.1
References
References
- Adelaar, Willem F. H.; Muysken, Pieter (2004). The languages of the Andes. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge (G.B.): Cambridge University press. p. 405. ISBN 978-0-521-36275-7.
- Urban, Matthias (2021). "Cholón and the linguistic prehistory of Northern Peru: triangulating toponymy, substrate lexis, and areal typology". Linguistic Discovery. 17 (1). doi:10.1349/PS1.1537-0852.A.513. ISSN 1537-0852.
- Urban, Matthias (2024-12-31), "Small and extinct languages of Northern Peru", in Urban, Matthias (ed.), The Oxford Guide to the Languages of the Central Andes (1 ed.), Oxford University PressOxford, pp. 419–437, doi:10.1093/oso/9780198849926.003.0014, ISBN 978-0-19-884992-6, retrieved 2026-02-02
- Ramón, Gabriel; Andrade Ciudad, Luis (2021). "LA “LENGUA GUZMANGO” EN CAJAMARCA COLONIAL: CONTEXTO Y PERSPECTIVAS". Chungará (Arica) (ahead): 0–0. doi:10.4067/S0717-73562021005002101. ISSN 0717-7356.