Guinau language

Guinau
Guinau
Guinao
Native to	Venezuela
Region	Merevarí River
Ethnicity	Guinau
Extinct	(date missing)
Language family	Arawakan Rio Negro Guinau; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Linguist List	qth "Guiano"[ sic ]
Glottolog	guin1258

Last updated November 08, 2025

Guinau is an extinct Arawakan language of Venezuela,^[1] formerly spoken along the Merevarí River, a tributary of the Caura River.^[2] It has been sometimes considered a dialect of closely related Baré.^[3] It is classified in the Rio Negro branch by Ramirez and França (2019).^[4]

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968)

Loukotka (1968) gives the following basic vocabulary items for Guinau:^[5]


gloss	Guinau
head	in-chéue
eye	na-uízyi
hand	n-kábi
water	úne
fire	chéke
sun	gamũhũ
house	báni
tapir	zéma
maize	yúnu
one	abamédzya
two	abiamáka

Schomburgk (1848)

⟨ae, ui⟩ represent one sound.^[2]


Guinau	Gloss	Guinau	Gloss	Guinau	Gloss
nisi	hair	totoli	knee	yamkassi	forest
intshebu	head	katabu	leg	wamityo	savannah
teiburri	front	unkui	ankle	tshaeke-weima	firewood
‘nawisi	eyes	intshibe	foot	tsaba	mountain
intseibu	eyelashes	intshibihanshi	toes	tshiba	rock
intseibitzi	eyebrow	intshibi-arahu	large toe	tshimari-tshebi	bow
‘nawisi tate	eyelid	intshibi-hityu	little toe	tshimari	arrow
intshe	nose	abba	father	wataba	blowpipe
‘noma	mouth	amma	mother	hoih	war club
intariha	lips	papa aeyeweni	grandfather	makuri	poisoned arrow
‘nahae	teeth	paki homorra	grandmother	ennehri	poisoned blowdart
tashini	tongue	yaenari	son	takaru	basket for carrying burdens
‘nuabbi	neck	integh	daughter	tshachi	basket peculiar to the Guinau
kaukshi	cheeks	enari	husband¹	umatagh	pot
kakuta	chin	hennau	wife	urukuma	matappa
intsanima	beard	yiwieni	brother	manari	sieve for sifting cassava flour
‘noaku	shoulder	matyu	sister	tshiba	cassava rasp or grater
takanne	elbow	apaharikari, apaheu	man	manokanna	jaguar
inkabo-akui	wrist	arriekyebo, apahoko	woman	murayu	forest deer
inkabo	hand	emi	boy	purrika	"savannah deer" (Pampas deer?)
kabhanshi	finger	hinahutyu	girl	karriaku	"smallest deer" (gray brocket?)
nabau-ita	fingernail	kati	earth	kwashi	dog
inkabo-yau	thumb	tsheke	fire	tsaema	tapir
inkabo	first finger	waenu	heaven	weiyurumish	agouti
inkabo-yetsebi	second finger	kamuhu	sun	weiyuru	laba
inkabo-metahi	third finger	kewari	moon	ontsaha	fish
inkabo-hityuna	little finger	yuwinti	stars	wamiri	cock
intana	arm	kaburitu	clouds	hinnau	hen
untoko	breast	awetshi	wind	merishi	collared peccary
undura	belly	hia	rain	kerauka	white-lipped peccary
taiïburu	navel	keimari	thunder	wuisha	calabash
‘nishinni	heart	kanhi	lightning	paru	plantain
pashita	ribs	oni	water	mekuru	banana
‘naeta	skin	arahauko	river	kantyeri	cassava
‘nuiya	blood	pani	house	tsari	cassava bread
‘naetina	flesh	moimahi	grass	teweshi	yam
‘nabi	back	tamon-hiha	tree	ka-uh	sweet potato
pashi	thigh	tamona-yeka	flower	urari	curare poison


Guinau	Gloss	Guinau	Gloss
yawari	coaita	kewakanni	day
piyawu	bat	ewi	knife
wari	savnnah dog	supara	cutlass
kabihi	South American coati	maria	axe
ibiha	yawari	wotshi	fishhooks
tebishima	pale-throated sloth	mavassi	razor
waetu	nine-banded armadillo	kirre-kirre	file
marano	Brazilian three-banded armadillo	meiyuru	glass beads
keyu	capybara	kurarashi	red glass beads
kurishai	Brazilian porcupine	irashi	scissors
ikuri	giant anteater	wannamari	looking glass
karihu	Brazilian squirrel	arripiriru	pin
muna	Bolivian river dolphin	makutsi	needle
kukui	harpy eagle	tsaeworrioko	blue, green
kweh	toco toucan	kannioko	red
tshiwari	black curassow	kritoko	yellow
dako	bellbird	kahauko	black
iïya	hoatzin	parioko	white
kwano	rock manakin	aha	yes
maradi	guan	egho marina	no
kuyuwi	white-headed guan	nia	to weep
karima	anhinga	tshakeitaba akakutyu	to laugh
tujuju	jabiru
marima	cocoi heron
wanare	waccara (white crane)
kunashimitzi	roseate spoonbill
huroma	Muscovy duck
visishiu	white-faced whistling duck
kuttua	neotropic cormorant
warrara	Arrau turtle
tarrikea	"small turtle"
kaiman	American crocodile
arraiyemanno	lizard
warramaka	green iguana
turraena	timber rattlesnake
mattari	boa constrictor
tshibau	frog
tukurau	blacksmith tree frog
timarui	ocellate river stingray
umaha	redeye piranha
yarinuni	Electrophorus electricus
mawishi	blunt shell
kuibashi	"savannah shell"
matutu	shell sp.
takutaku	shell sp.
toma-kurimashi	crab
tshitabo	shrimp
tsiwoyu	scorpion
araru	tarantula
ikyeba	Scolopendra morsitans
tawai	grasshopper
hannejo	mosquito
tshika	Tunga penetrans
mawni	sandfly
ureta	flea
tshaeweta	louse
pareita	1
yamika	2
piampatyam	3
kereha	4
abba kawika	5
yamunakatsi	6
abba kabo watyam kab	8
tshannaha ishaka akati	9
abba kubba-kack	10
tshohi	north
abbabatassi	south
kamahu atsina	east
kamahu asslabo	west
kibau	night

Notes

Also means "'man' in a general sense"

References

↑ Moseley, Christopher; Asher, Ronald E. (1994). Atlas of the world's languages. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-01925-5.
1 2 Schomburgk, Robert H. (June 1848). "Contributions to the Philological Ethnography of South America". Proceedings of the Philological Society. 3 (74): 228–237. doi:10.1111/j.1467-968X.1848.tb00093.x. ISSN 2050-5914.
↑ Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. (1999). "The Arawak language family". In Dixon, Robert M. W.; Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. (eds.). The Amazonian languages. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge (GB): Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0-521-57021-3.
↑ Ramirez, Henri; França, Maria Cristina Victorino de (2019-09-23). "Línguas Arawak da Bolívia". LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas. 19: e019012. doi:10.20396/liames.v19i0.8655045. ISSN 2177-7160.
↑ Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Wilbert, Johannes (ed.). Classification of South American Indian Languages (PDF) (4th ed.). Latin American Center, UCLA: Latin American Center, University of California Los Angeles. p. 239. ISBN 9780879031077.

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[1] Moseley, Christopher; Asher, Ronald E. (1994). Atlas of the world's languages. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-01925-5.

[:0-2] 1 2 Schomburgk, Robert H. (June 1848). "Contributions to the Philological Ethnography of South America". Proceedings of the Philological Society. 3 (74): 228–237. doi:10.1111/j.1467-968X.1848.tb00093.x. ISSN 2050-5914.

[3] Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. (1999). "The Arawak language family". In Dixon, Robert M. W.; Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. (eds.). The Amazonian languages. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge (GB): Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0-521-57021-3.

[4] Ramirez, Henri; França, Maria Cristina Victorino de (2019-09-23). "Línguas Arawak da Bolívia". LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas. 19: e019012. doi:10.20396/liames.v19i0.8655045. ISSN 2177-7160.

[5] Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Wilbert, Johannes (ed.). Classification of South American Indian Languages (PDF) (4th ed.). Latin American Center, UCLA: Latin American Center, University of California Los Angeles. p. 239. ISBN 9780879031077.

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