| Sapé | |
|---|---|
| Kaliana | |
| Sapé[1] | |
| Pronunciation | [sapé] |
| Native to | Venezuela |
| Region | Paragua and Karuna rivers |
| Ethnicity | 9 (2011 census)[2] |
| Extinct | November 2018, with the death of Ramón Quimillo Lezama[2] 2 semispeakers (2019) |
Arutani–Sape ?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | spc |
| Glottolog | sape1238 |
| ELP | Sapé |
 Sapé is classified as Critically Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Sapé, also calledKaliana orCaliana, is an extinct language recently spoken along theParagua River and Karuna River. There were only about a few dozen speakers in the mid-1900s, and by the 2000s, only a few elderly speakers were found. Sapé may be alanguage isolate.
Sape is one of the most poorly attested extant languages inSouth America, and there is no comprehensive linguistic description of the language other than scattered word lists.[3][4]
Word lists have been collected by Armellada & Matallana (1942),[5] Migliazza (1978),[6] Walter Coppens,[7] and Francia Medina.[8] There are unpublished field notebooks byFèlix Cardona i Puig from the 1930s-1940s containing linguistic data of Sapé.[9]
Perozo et al. (2008: 175–176) was also able to collect 44 words and 5 short phrases from semi-speakers living in theNinam villages of Boca de Ichún and Kavamaikén and thePemon village of Karunkén in Venezuela.[10] Some of the Sapé semi-speakers have since moved to Yuwapí Merú, a village located on the Middle Paragua. There may also be semi-speakers of Sapé living in the Pemon village of Venevené (Benebené, Veneveken).[9]
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Kaliána.[11]
| gloss | Kaliána |
|---|---|
| one | koki |
| two | ikiria |
| three | komoña |
| head | koyanukú |
| eye | kam-kukú |
| tooth | kaká |
| man | mínõ |
| water | inám |
| fire | txokó |
| sun | yám |
| manioc | téntu |
| jaguar | pudzyín |
| house | enaĩ |
According to Rosés Labrada & Medina (2019), the last fluent speakers of Sapé were Elena Lezama, who died in 2004, and Ramón Quimillo Lezama, who died in November 2018. However, at least 2 semi-speakers remain.[9] Traditionally located along the Karún River and the UpperParagua River, most Sapé have assimilated intoPemon-speaking villages.
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with theWarao,Chibchan,Puinave-Kak,Jirajara,Tukano (especiallyCubeo andWanano),Arutani, andMáku language families due to contact.[12]
Similarities withChibchan are primarily with the Magdalena subgroup.[12]: 326