Pumé language
Indigenous language spoken in Venezuela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pumé language (also called Yuapín or Yaruro, also spelled Llaruro or Yaruru) is an indigenous language spoken by the Pumé people, along the Orinoco, Cinaruco, Meta, and Apure rivers of Venezuela. It is not well classified; it may be an isolate, or distantly related to the extinct Esmeralda language.
Demographics
The Pumé people refer to their own language as pũmɛ̃́ 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
Classification
Pache (2016) considers Pumé to be related to the Chocoan languages, citing evidence from lexical and sound correspondences. Some shared lexical items between Pumé and Chocoan (Pache (2016) cites Yaruro and Epena forms from the Intercontinental Dictionary Series):[3]
Pumé Chocoan dac͡ço ‘eye, face,’ c͡ço ‘seed, fruit, nut’ Epena tautʰu ‘forehead’ da ‘eye’ (used in complex forms) Proto-Chocoan **da ‘eye region,’ **da-ˈbu ‘eye,’ Epena ˈtau ‘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,’ Epena huaˈtau ‘strong’ i ‘skin’ Proto-Emberá *ˈe ‘skin’ ĩbu ‘nose’ Proto-Chocoan **kẽˈbu ‘nose’ ic͡çi ‘hand’ Epena iˈsia ‘wing’
Phonology
Vocabulary
Language contact
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Saliba-Hodi, Arawak, Bora-Muinane, Choko, Witoto-Okaina, and Waorani language families due to contact.[6]
| English | Pumé | 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 | Pumé | 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 | Pumé | 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 |
Further reading
- Obregón Muñoz, H. (1981). Léxico yaruro-español, español-yaruro. Caracas: Ministerio de Educación.
