Mapoyo language

Mapoyo
Mapoyo
Native to	Venezuela
Region	Suapure River
Ethnicity	520 Mapoyo & Yabarana (2007)
Native speakers	3? (2014)
Language family	Carib Venezuelan Carib Mapoyo–Tamanaku Mapoyo-Yabarana Mapoyo; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mcg
Glottolog	mapo1246
ELP	Mapoyo ; Yawarana ;
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Last updated September 30, 2025

Mapoyo is a Carib language spoken along the Suapure and Parguaza Rivers, Venezuela. The ethnic population of Mapoyo proper is about 365.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	p	t		k	ʔ
Nasal	m	n	ɲ
Fricative	β	s			h
Rhotic		ɾ
Approximant	w		j

/h/ can be heard as a palatal [ç] when preceding a voiceless plosive.
/n/ can be heard as a velar [ŋ] when preceding a velar /k/.
/β/ can be heard as a voiced stop [b], when after a voiceless plosive or glottal /ʔ/.
/s/ can be heard with an allophone of [ts] when word-initially, or after a glottal /ʔ/.
/j/ can be heard as a voiced fricative [ʝ], when before a back vowel.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i	ɨ	u
Mid	e	ɘ	o
Low		a

Sounds /i, u/ are reduced to [ɪ, ʊ] in syllable-final position.
/ɘ/ is heard as a lower [ə] sound when preceding /h/, or following /β/.
/a/ is heard as [ɑ] when occurring after an initial bilabial sound.^[3]

References

↑
↑ "Context 30317: Mapoyo (Source: Personal communication about Mapoyo, Yawarana, Pémono, and Tamanaku) | Endangered Languages Project". www.endangeredlanguages.com. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
↑ Medina, Francia (1997). Introducción a la Fonética y a la Fonología Mapoyo (Caribe). Caracas: Universidad Central de Venezuela.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)

Granadillo, Tania. 2019. El mapoyo y la rama venezolana de lenguas caribes. Cadernos de Etnolingüística, volume 7, número 1, julho/2019, p. 43-55.

External links

Yabarana word list

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[e18-1] ↑

[2] "Context 30317: Mapoyo (Source: Personal communication about Mapoyo, Yawarana, Pémono, and Tamanaku) | Endangered Languages Project". www.endangeredlanguages.com. Retrieved 2025-09-29.

[3] Medina, Francia (1997). Introducción a la Fonética y a la Fonología Mapoyo (Caribe). Caracas: Universidad Central de Venezuela.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)

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