Yaruro language explained

Yaruro
Nativename:Pumé
Region:Venezuela
Ethnicity:Yaruro people
Speakers:7,900
Date:2001 census
Ref:e18
Familycolor:American
Fam1:Esmeralda–Yaruro ?
Iso3:yae
Glotto:pume1238
Glottorefname:Pumé

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.

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.[1]

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):[2]

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.[3]

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 walkmanau ‘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
pae
  • paikuumɯɯ
night pe
  • pəkko
sun do
  • nɯʔ-
English Yaruro Waorani
you (plural) mɛnɛrɔ mĩnitõ
bee ẽmi æamo
path taa-dõ
house õ-kõ
sky ãde õ-õdæ
to sleep mõã
aboea amo
hot kʊa-kʊ-a ãgõã

Phonology

Consonants

LabialDentalPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasalpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Plosivevoicelesspronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Affricatevoicelesspronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /ink/
Fricativevoicelesspronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Rhoticpronounced as /ink/
Lateralpronounced as /ink/
Approximantpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Highpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Midpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Lowpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
[4]

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[5]

gloss Yaruro
hand ichi
foot taho
man
water ui
star boé
earth dabú
dog arerí
jaguar panaumé
snake póʔo
house xoʔo
boat dzyará

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Epps . Patience . Michael . Lev . Amazonian Languages: Language Isolates. Volume II: Kanoé to Yurakaré . Walter de Gruyter . Berlin . 2023 . 978-3-11-043273-2.
  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.
  3. Jolkesky . Marcelo Pinho de Valhery . 2016 . Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas . Ph.D. dissertation . Brasília . University of Brasília . 2.
  4. Alexandra Y. Aikhenvlad & R. M. Dixon (1999). p. 378.
  5. Book: Loukotka, Čestmír . Čestmír Loukotka . Classification of South American Indian languages . registration . UCLA Latin American Center . 1968 . Los Angeles.