Yaruro language
The Yaruro language (also spelled Llaruro or Yaruru; also called Yuapín or Pumé) is an indigenous language spoken by Yaruro people, along the Orinoco, Cinaruco, Meta, and Apure rivers of Venezuela. It is not well classified; it may be an isolate, or distantly related to the extinct Esmeralda language.
| Yaruro | |
|---|---|
| Pumé | |
| Region | Venezuela |
| Ethnicity | Yaruro people |
Native speakers | 7,900 (2001 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | yae |
| Glottolog | pume1238 |
| ELP | Yaruro |
Demographics
The Yaruro people refer to their own language as pũmɛ̃́ mãɛ̃́ ‘language of the Yaruro/Pumé’). The language is vigorously spoken by approximately 9,500 people as of 2015. Speakers live in the central Apure Llanos of western Venezuela, mainly in the Arauca, Cunaviche, Capanaparo, and Cinaruco river areas. In Capuruchano subdivision, the Yaruro do not live close to any rivers.[2]: 1283
Genetic relations
Pache (2016) considers Yaruro to be related to the Chocoan languages, citing evidence from lexical and sound correspondences. Some shared lexical items between Yaruro and Chocoan (Pache (2016) cites Yaruro and Epena forms from the Intercontinental Dictionary Series):[3]
Yaruro Chocoan dac͡ço ‘eye, face,’ c͡ço ‘seed, fruit, nut’ Epena tautʰu ‘forehead’ da ‘eye’ (used in complex forms) Proto-Chocoan **da ‘eye region,’ **da-ˈbu ‘eye,’ Epena ˈtau ‘eye’ duɾi ‘after’ Proto-Chocoan **duˈɾi ‘tail’ ɡõã ‘meat, flesh,’ goe ‘blood’ Proto-Emberá *uˈa ‘blood’ hu ‘bone,’ hu c͡çia ‘strong’ Proto-Chocoan **huˈa ‘arm, hand,’ Epena huaˈtau ‘strong’ i ‘skin’ Proto-Emberá *ˈe ‘skin’ ĩbu ‘nose’ Proto-Chocoan **kẽˈbu ‘nose’ ic͡çi ‘hand’ Epena iˈsia ‘wing’
Language contact
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Saliba-Hodi, Arawak, Bora-Muinane, Choko, Witoto-Okaina, and Waorani language families due to contact.[4]
| English | Yaruro | Hodi |
|---|---|---|
| village | bærʊ-pæ̃ | balo |
| to drink | ui ‘water’ | woi |
| to cut | koa | ʰkʷai |
| to lie down | ãrẽ | ʰjali |
| fire | kʰõdæ | ʰkule |
| brother | ajĩ- | hãjẽ ‘little brother’ |
| "alligator" [caiman] | ari | aulẽ |
| cloud | ɡõãrã | kʷa |
| blood | ɡoe | iʰkwə |
| venom | ɲeetowe | jẽtohai |
| wasp | mu | mo |
| to go back/to walk | manau ‘to walk’; mana ‘way’ | mãnã ‘to go back’ |
| English | Yaruro | Proto-Bora-Muinane |
|---|---|---|
| spider | mãkã | *paaɡa- |
| sweet potato | ʧerame | Muinane ʤírúúmɨba |
| snake | poana | *buua |
| smoke | ʧʰʊ | *ttsu |
| cassava | pae | *paikuumɯɯ |
| night | pe | *pəkko |
| sun | do | *nɯʔ- |
| English | Yaruro | Waorani |
|---|---|---|
| you (plural) | mɛnɛrɔ | mĩnitõ |
| bee | ẽmi | æamo |
| path | nõ | taa-dõ |
| house | hõ | õ-kõ |
| sky | ãde | õ-õdæ |
| to sleep | mõã | bõ |
| peccary | aboea | amo |
| hot | kʊa-kʊ-a | ãgõã |
Phonology
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[6]
gloss Yaruro hand ichi foot taho man oí water ui star boé earth dabú dog arerí jaguar panaumé snake póʔo house xoʔo boat dzyará
Further reading
- Obregón Muñoz, H. (1981). Léxico yaruro-español, español-yaruro. Caracas: Ministerio de Educación.
Notes
- Yaruro at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- Epps, Patience; Michael, Lev, eds. (2023). Amazonian Languages: Language Isolates. Volume II: Kanoé to Yurakaré. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-043273-2.
- Pache, Matthias J. 2016. Pumé (Yaruro) and Chocoan: Evidence for a New Genealogical Link in Northern South America. Language Dynamics and Change 6 (2016) 99–155. doi:10.1163/22105832-00601001
- Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
- Alexandra Y. Aikhenvlad & R. M. Dixon (1999). p. 378.
- Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
External links
