Ashéninka language

Not to be confused with Asháninka language.

Ashéninka
Campa
Native to	Peru
Ethnicity	Ashéninka people
Native speakers	50,000 (2001–2002)
Language family	Arawakan Southern Campa Ashéninka
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: prq – Perené cpu – Pichis cpc – Apurucayali cpb – Ucayali-Yurúa cjo – Pajonal cpy – South Ucayali (spurious)
Glottolog	ashe1271  (Asheninka)

Ashéninka (Ashéninca, Ashéninga) is an indigenous American language of the Arawakan family spoken in Peru. According to the indigenous peoples database of the Peruvian Ministry of Education, the Ashéninka people are 9,005 individuals. The Ethnologue gives much higher figures for the different Ashéninka varieties.

The Glottolog distinguishes five different Ashéninka languages (Perené, Pichis, Apurucayali, Pajonal and Ucayali-Yurúa). This classification was established by David Payne in his Apurucayali Axininca grammar, but he referred to these different varieties as dialects and not as different languages. Therefore, the present state of research does not allow to know until which extent the different Ashéninka varieties are mutually intelligible among them and with Asháninka. However, Heitzman says that the Pajonal and Ucayali varieties are mutually intelligible and Payne says that Asháninka speakers can communicate with Ashéninka Perené speakers, but not with Ashéninka Apurucayali speakers.

Ashéninka is a locally official language in Peru, as are all native Peruvian languages. It and its relatives are also known by the largely pejorative term Campa.