Language family of western Venezuela
The Jirajaran languages are group of extinct languages once spoken in western Venezuela in the regions of Falcón and Lara. All of the Jirajaran languages appear to have become extinct in the early 20th century.[1]
Languages
Based on adequate documentation, three languages are definitively classified as belonging to the Jirajaran family:[1]
- Jirajara, spoken in the state of Falcón
- Ayomán, spoken in the village of Siquisique in the state of Lara
- Gayón, spoken at the sources of the Tocuyo River in the state of Lara
Loukotka includes four additional languages, for which no linguistic documentation exists:[2]
Mason (1950) lists:[3]
- Gayón (Cayon)
- Ayomán
- Xagua
- Jirajara
Classification
The Jirajaran languages are generally regarded as isolates. Adelaar and Muysken note certain lexical similarities with the Timotean languages and typological similarity to the Chibchan languages, but state that the data is too limited to make a definitive classification.[1] Jahn, among others, has suggested a relation between the Jirajaran language and the Betoi languages, mostly on the basis of similar ethnonyms.[4] Greenberg and Ruhlen classify Jirajaran as belonging to the Paezan language family, along with the Betoi languages, the Páez language, the Barbacoan languages and others.[5]
Language contact
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Sape, Timote-Kuika, and Puinave-Kak language families due to contact.[6]
Typology
Based on the little documentation that exists, a number of typological characteristics are reconstructable:[7]
- 1. VO word order in transitive clauses
apasi mamán
I.cut my.hand
'I cut my hand'
- 2. Subjects precede verbs
depamilia buratá
the.family is.good
'The family is good'
- 3. Possessors which precede the possessed
shpashiú yemún
arc its.rope
'the arc of the rope'
- 4. Adjectives follow the nouns they modify
pok diú
hill big
'big hill'
- 5. Numerals precede the nouns they quantify
boque soó
one cigarette
'one cigarette'
- 6. Use of postpositions, rather than prepositions
angüi fru-ye
I.go Siquisique-to
'I go to Siquisique.'
Vocabulary comparison
Jahn (1927) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[4]
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[2]
Further reading
- Oramas, L. (1916). Materiales para el estudio de los dialectos Ayamán, Gayón, Jirajara, Ajagua. Caracas: Litografía del Comercio.
- Querales, R. (2008). El Ayamán. Ensayo de reconstrucción de un idioma indígena venezolano. Barquisimeto: Concejo Municipal de Iribarren.
References
Wiktionary has word lists at
Appendix:Jirajaran word lists - ^ a b c Adelaar, Willem F. H.; Pieter C. Muysken (2004). The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 129–30. ISBN 0-521-36275-X.
- ^ a b Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian Languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center. pp. 254–5.
- ^ Mason, John Alden (1950). "The languages of South America". In Steward, Julian (ed.). Handbook of South American Indians. Vol. 6. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143. pp. 157–317.
- ^ a b Jahn, Alfredo (1973) [1927]. Los Aborígenes del Occidente de Venezuela (in Spanish). Caracas: Monte Avila Editores, C.A.
- ^ Greenberg, Joseph; Ruhlen, Merritt (2007-09-04). "An Amerind Etymological Dictionary" (PDF) (12 ed.). Stanford: Dept. of Anthropological Sciences Stanford University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
- ^ Costenla Umaña, Adolfo (May 1991). Las Lenguas del Área Intermedia: Introducción a su Estudio Areal (in Spanish). San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. pp. 56–8. ISBN 9977-67-158-3.