ThePumé language (also calledYuapín orYaruro, also spelledLlaruro orYaruru) is an indigenous language spoken by thePumé people, along theOrinoco,Cinaruco,Meta, andApure rivers ofVenezuela. It is not well classified; it may be anisolate, or distantly related to the extinctEsmeralda language.
The Pumé people refer to their own language aspũmɛ̃́ mãɛ̃́ ‘language of the 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 Pumé do not live close to any rivers.[2]: 1283
^Epps, Patience; Michael, Lev, eds. (2023).Amazonian Languages: Language Isolates. Volume II: Kanoé to Yurakaré. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.ISBN978-3-11-043273-2.
^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
^Alexandra Y. Aikhenvlad & R. M. Dixon (1999). p. 378.
† indicates anextinct language,italics indicates independent status of a language,bold indicates that a language family has at least 6 members, * indicates moribund status
