| Betoi | |
| Also Known As: | Jirara |
| States: | Venezuela |
| Region: | Orinoco Llanos |
| Extinct: | mid 19th century |
| Familycolor: | American |
| Family: | Betoi–Saliban? |
| Dia1: | Situfa |
| Dia2: | Airico |
| Dia3: | Lolaca |
| Dia4: | Jirara |
| Dia5: | Betoi |
| Dia6: | Ele |
| Iso3: | none |
| Linglist: | qtd |
| Glotto: | beto1236 |
| Glottorefname: | Betoi-Jirara |
Betoi (Betoy) or Betoi-Jirara is an extinct language of Colombia and Venezuela, south of the Apure River near the modern border with Colombia. The names Betoi and Jirara are those of two of its peoples/dialects; the language proper has no known name. At contact, Betoi was a local lingua franca spoken between the Uribante and Sarare rivers and along the Arauca. Enough was recorded for a brief grammatical monograph to be written (Zamponi 2003).
Betoi is generally seen as an isolate, though Kaufman (2007) included it in Macro-Paesan.
Zamponi (2017) finds enough lexical resemblances between Betoi and the Saliban languages to conclude that a genealogical relationship is plausible.[1]
Historically a dialect cluster, varieties include Betoi, Jirara, Situfa, Ayrico, Ele, Lucalia, Jabúe, Arauca, Quilifay, Anabali, Lolaca, and Atabaca.[2]
Below is a full list of Betoi varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.[3]
Lexicon of Betoi compiled by Zamponi (2003) from various sources:[4]
| English gloss | Betoi | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| earth (soil) | dafibú, umena | ||
| country | ajabó | ||
| sky | teo-tucu | lit. ‘house of the sun’ | |
| sun | teo, theo, teo-umasoi | lit. ‘sun-man’ | |
| moon | teó-ro | lit. ‘sun-woman’ | |
| star | silicó | ||
| ucasú, ocasú | |||
| wind | fafuala | ||
| lightning | buní | ||
| rain | ofacú | ||
| water | ocú, ocudú, oculiba | ||
| lake | ocú | = ‘water’ | |
| stone | inakí | ||
| fire | fútui, futuit | ||
| day | munitá | ||
| month | teo-ró | = ‘moon’ | |
| year | ucasú, ocasú | = ‘Pleiades’ | |
| living being (animal, rational being) | ubad-, sg. ubadoi, pl. ubadola | ||
| man | humas-, umas-, sg. humasoi, pl. humasola | ||
| woman | ro, pl. roducajaná | ||
| monkey | sorroy | ||
| jaguar | ufi | ||
| bird | cosiú, cusí | ||
| duck | cuiviví | ||
| hen | focará | ||
| k.o. mosquito | sumí | ||
| fish | dujiduca | duca may be the demonstrative enclitic ‘this’ | |
| ants (collective) | irruqui | ||
| cock | toteleló | ||
| honey | alalaba | ||
| forest | quaja, ucaca-ajabo | ajabo = ‘country’ | |
| polypody (k.o. fern) | sorroy umucosó | lit. ‘hand of monkey’ | |
| maize | romú | ||
| body | ejebosi | ||
| head | osacá | ||
| hair | ubuca | ||
| forehead | afubá | ||
| face | afucá | ||
| eye | ufonibá | ||
| nose | iusaca | ||
| mouth | afubó | ||
| lip | afubé | ||
| tooth | oxoki | ||
| tongue | inecá | ||
| throat | emalafadá | ||
| arm | dafucá | ||
| hand | umucosó, umocoso | ||
| finger | umucurrú | ||
| leg, foot | emocá | ||
| thigh | uduba | ||
| heart | ijiba | ||
| belly | utucú | ||
| shoulder | telisá | ||
| father | babí, babbí | ||
| mother | mamá | ||
| ancestors | ojabolá | pl. | |
| house | tucú, pl. tucujaná | ||
| road | maná | ||
| needs (requirements) | duiji | ||
| spirit, devil | memelú | ||
| God | Diosó | < Spanish Dios | |
| Father, missionary | Babí | = ‘father’ | |
| devil | memelú-fofei | lit. ‘bad spirit’ | |
| will | ojaca, ajaca |
| English gloss | Betoi | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| advise | babasa-, o- -eba | -eba = ‘make, do’ | |
| assail | rolea- | ||
| bathe | do- | ||
| be (location verb (?) and auxiliary) | -u | ||
| be (copula) | aj- | ||
| be dismayed (or astonished) | ijuca- -uma | Italian: ‘essere sbigottito’ | |
| be good | mamiaj- | mamí = ‘well’ | |
| be not (copula and auxiliary) | re- (sg.) ~ ref- (pl.) | ||
| be obedient | obai- -omucaaj- | ||
| be pitiful | dusucaaj- | ||
| bum | fafole- | ||
| call | cofa- | ||
| come | -usa | ||
| deceive | -olea, -oloa | ||
| die | -iju, rijubi- | ||
| fill | anu- -eba | -eba = ‘make, do’ | |
| forgive | -usuca | = ‘pay’ | |
| give | -umua | ||
| go | -anu | ||
| help | -ausu | ||
| illuminate | tulu- -eba | -eba = ‘make, do’ | |
| look for | be-, cula- -atu | ||
| make, do | -ebá, sa- | ||
| I must beat you | robarriabarrarráácajú | ||
| pay | -usuca | = ‘forgive’ | |
| don’t permit | jitebometú | ||
| prevent | tu- | ||
| revere | -omea | ||
| speak, say | faá- | ||
| steal | rááquirra- | ||
| take away | cumi- | ||
| take care of | -inefá | ||
| think | o- -acaa |
| English gloss | Betoi | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| beforehand | umarrá | ||
| now | maidacasí | maida ‘today’ | |
| soon, already | maydaytú, maydaitú | maida ‘today’ | |
| afterwards, later | lojenuma | numa may be the root ‘all’ | |
| yesterday | vita | ||
| today | maidda, maida | ||
| another time | jajamú | ||
| there | fá | ||
| down | umenanú | = ‘on earth’ | |
| everywhere | ubujenuma | numa may be the root ‘all’ | |
| where | día | ||
| from where | diatú | ||
| well | mamí | ||
| little by little | caibanú | ||
| casually | foirreojanudá | ||
| so | mai, may | ||
| little, a bit | bijeasi | ||
| sufficiently | fedanú | ||
| how | day | = ‘what, ?how much’ | |
| very | naisú |
| English gloss | Betoi | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | rau | ||
| you (sg.) | uju | ||
| he, she, it | yairi | ||
| we | raufisucá | ||
| you (pl.) | ujurrola | ||
| they | yarola | ||
| this one (m.) | irrí | ||
| this one (f.) | iú | ||
| this one (n.) | ijé | ||
| the same one | oanú | = ‘as’ | |
| who (sg. m.) (interrogative and relative) | madoi | ||
| who (sg. f.) (interrogative and relative) | mado | ||
| what, which, that (sg. n.) (interrogative and relative) | majaduca | ||
| what | day | = ‘how, ?how much’ |
| English gloss | Betoi | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| this | -ducá | demonstrative clitic? | |
| white | cocosiajo | ||
| sweet | olisa | ||
| bad | fofei, fofej, fofey | ||
| wise, prudent | culasa | ||
| other | ed-, sg. edoi, pl. edolatu | ||
| next, coming | edasu | ||
| one | edojojoi | ||
| two | edoi | = ‘other’ | |
| three | ibutú | = ‘and’ | |
| four | ibutú-edojojoi | lit. ‘and/three one’ | |
| five | rumucoso | lit. ‘my hand’ | |
| many | maitolá | ||
| all | -numa, sg. bagenuma, pl. bolanuma | ||
| how much | daitolá | pl. | |
| above | ubo | ||
| inside | toli | ||
| and | ibutú | ||
| but | uita | ||
| because | day | ||
| as | oanu | = ‘the same one’ | |
| no | ebamucá | ||
| true! | tugaday | ||
| how did this happen? | day día qué | day = ‘what, how, ?how much’; día ‘where’, -qué = ‘interrogative’ | |
| excl. of wonder | ayaddi | ||
| excl. of admiration | ódique | ||
| excl. of desire and uncertainty | odijá | ||
| excl. of fear | odifarracá | ||
| excl. of grief | ai asidí | ||
| interrogative marker | -qué | day = ‘what, how, ?how much’; -qué = ‘interrogative’ | |
| tag-question marker | dayqué | ||
| moreover | farrocafada, farrocafeda |
. Čestmír Loukotka . Classification of South American Indian languages . registration . UCLA Latin American Center . 1968 . Los Angeles.