Memory of the World - Latin America and the Caribbean
Vocabulary of the Chiquita Language Grammatical and Lexicographic Volumes Atributed to Father Ignacio Chomé
These six volumes preserved and attributed to the Jesuit missionary Ignacio Chomé 16961768 represent the most remarkable collection of lexicographical and grammatical studies on Chiquitano or Besiro and ancient Zamuco the two main languages spoken in the Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site These volumes perfectly document the attention Jesuits devoted to indigenous cultures and the importance of linguistic studies in the missions The volumes also include early materials produced by other Jesuits and used by Chomé the chief expert in these languages and the greatest linguist during the colonial period of the former viceroyalty of Peru and the Audiencia of Charcas The quantity and quality of his studies are such that nothing of its kind is comparable This data is extremely important for current linguistic studies on the contact and history of two currently spoken languages that are part of the cultural identity of Bolivia northern Argentina and Paraguay Chiquitano and Ayoreo which is closely related to ancient Zamuco the documentation of which would have been lost forever without Chomé´s work
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) -