Pijao language
Extinct language of Colombia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pijao (Piajao, originally Pinao[1]) is an unclassified indigenous American language that was spoken in the villages of Ortega, Coyaima (Koyai, Tupe) and Natagaima in the Magdalena River Valley of Colombia until the 1950s, by the Pijao and Panche people.[2]
Subdivisions
Pijao subtribes reported by Rivet (1943, 1944) and cited in Mason (1950):[3]
- Aype, Paloma, Ambeina, Amoya, Tumbo, Coyaima, Poina (Yaporoge), Mayto (Maito, Marto), Mola, Atayma (Otaima), Tuamo, Bulira, Ocaima, Behuni (Beuni, Biuni), Ombecho, Anaitoma, Totumo, Natagaima, Pana (Pamao), Guarro, Hamay, Zeraco, Lucira, and Tonuro.
Classification
A small vocabulary list was collected in 1943; only 30 Pijao words and expressions are known.[citation needed]
The few words which resemble Carib are thought to be loans; toponyms in Pijao country are also Carib. Durbin & Seijas (1973) did not detect significant connections between Pijao and other unclassified languages of the area: Colima, Muzo, Pantágora, and Panche, but these are even more poorly attested than Pijao.[4]
Jolkesky (2016) also notes that there are lexical similarities with the Witoto-Okaina languages.[5]
Vocabulary
| Pijao | gloss | Pijao | gloss | Pijao | gloss | Pijao | gloss | Pijao | gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| amé | tree | alamán | crocodile | nuhúgi | woman | golúpa | cassava | orái | red |
| homéro | bow | tínki | tooth | oréma | man | lún | eye | toléma | snake |
| sumén | to drink | tána | water | yaguáde | jaguar | oléma | ear | huíl | sun |
| čaguála | canoe | nasés | house | núna | moon | pegil | foot | tenú | tobacco |
| kahírre | dog | hoté | star | ñáma | hand | tápe | stone |
