Leco is a language isolate of Bolivia, spoken east of Lake Titicaca in La Paz Department, including the communities of Atén and Apolo in Franz Tamayo Province. Long reported extinct, it is now known to survive among 20 to 40 speakers out of an ethnic Leco population of about 13,500, and UNESCO classifies it as critically endangered. Leco is generally considered an isolate, though Terrence Kaufman has proposed linking it with the Sechura-Catacao languages in a hypothetical Macro-Lecoan family, and a connection to the extinct Puquina language has also been suggested; neither proposal is considered established.
Facts
RegionLa Paz Department, Bolivia, east of Lake Titicaca (Aten and Apolo, Franz Tamayo Province) 1 Speaker CountEthnologue (2012) reports 20 speakers; other sources in the literature give a range of 20 to 40. Proto-Language StatusAs a language isolate, Leco has no securely established relatives and no reconstructed proto-language. Kaufman (1994) proposed grouping it with the Sechura-Catacao languages as a Macro-Lecoan family, and a link to the extinct Puquina languages has also been suggested; neither proposal is broadly accepted. 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Leco Language
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Leco, also written as Leko, is a language isolate that, though long reported to be extinct, is spoken by 20-40 individuals in areas east of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia.
Classification section
Kaufman (1994: 64) groups Leco together with the Sechura-Catacao languages as part of a proposed Macro-Lecoan family.
Lead section, final clause
is spoken by 20-40 individuals in areas east of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia
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