| Yaruro | |
|---|---|
| Pumé | |
| pũmɛ̃́ mãɛ̃́ | |
| Region | Venezuela |
| Ethnicity | Yaruro people |
Native speakers | 7,900 (2001 census)[1] |
Esmeralda–Yaruro ?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | yae |
| Glottolog | pume1238 |
| ELP | Yaruro |
 Yaruro | |
TheYaruro language (also spelledLlaruro orYaruru; also calledYuapín orPumé) is an indigenous language spoken byYaruro 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 Yaruro people refer to their own language aspũmɛ̃́ 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
Pache (2016) considers Yaruro to be related to theChocoan languages, citing evidence from lexical andsound correspondences. Some shared lexical items between Yaruro and Chocoan (Pache (2016) cites Yaruro and Epena forms from theIntercontinental Dictionary Series):[3]
| Yaruro | Chocoan |
|---|---|
| dac͡ço ‘eye, face,’c͡ço ‘seed, fruit, nut’ | Epenatautʰu ‘forehead’ |
| da ‘eye’ (used in complex forms) | Proto-Chocoan **da ‘eye region,’ **da-ˈbu ‘eye,’ Epenaˈtau ‘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,’ Epenahuaˈtau ‘strong’ |
| i ‘skin’ | Proto-Emberá *ˈe ‘skin’ |
| ĩbu ‘nose’ | Proto-Chocoan **kẽˈbu ‘nose’ |
| ic͡çi ‘hand’ | Epenaiˈsia ‘wing’ |
| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ||
| Affricate | voiceless | ts | ||||
| voiced | dz | |||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | x | h |
| voiced | v | ð | ʒ | |||
| Rhotic | ɾ | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɨ | u |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| æ | ɔ | ||
| Low | a | ɑ | |
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[5]
| gloss | Yaruro |
|---|---|
| hand | ichi |
| foot | taho |
| man | oí |
| water | ui |
| star | boé |
| earth | dabú |
| dog | arerí |
| jaguar | panaumé |
| snake | póʔo |
| house | xoʔo |
| boat | dzyará |
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with theSaliba-Hodi,Arawak,Bora-Muinane,Choko,Witoto-Okaina, andWaorani language families due to contact.[6]
| 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 |
