Vilela language
Extinct language of Argentina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vilela (Waka, Atalalá, Chulupí~Chunupí)[2] is a moribund language last spoken in the Resistencia area of Argentina and in the eastern Chaco near the Paraguayan border. Dialects were Ocol, Chinipi, Sinipi; only Ocol survives. The Vilela people call themselves Wakambabelte (/wɑqhambaβelte/[3]) 'Waka speakers'.[4][5] There were 2 semispeakers as of 2007.
NativetoArgentina
Regioneastern Chaco
EthnicityVilela (Wakambabelte)
Native speakers
2 semispeakers (2007)[1]| Vilela | |
|---|---|
| Waka | |
| Native to | Argentina |
| Region | eastern Chaco |
| Ethnicity | Vilela (Wakambabelte) |
Native speakers | 2 semispeakers (2007)[1] |
Lule–Vilela
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | vil |
| Glottolog | vile1241 |
| ELP | Vilela |
Map of the Vilela language | |
 Vilela is classified as Extinct by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
The last Vilela people were absorbed into the surrounding Toba people and Spanish-speaking townsfolk.
Dialects
Loukotka (1968) lists the following varieties of Vilela.[6]
- Chunupi - formerly spoken on the confluence of the San Francisco River and Bermejo River in the vicinity of La Encrucijada, Valtolema, Ortega, Esquina Grande and Laguna Colma.
- Pasain - formerly spoken in the vicinity of Macapillo, Argentine Chaco.
- Ocole - formerly spoken between Lacangayá and Laguna Colma.
- Omoampa - formerly spoken from Ortega as far as Miraflores.
- Macomita - once spoken west of the Juramento River, province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
- Yecoamita - once spoken northwest of the Teuco River, Formosa province.
- Sinipi - formerly spoken on the Bermejo River in the vicinity of Lacangayá.
Phonology
Vilela appears to have the five vowels /a e i o u/ of Spanish and approximately the following consonants:
