Piaroa language

Last updated
Piaroa
De'aruwa
Native to Colombia and Venezuela
Ethnicity Piaroa people
Native speakers
(13,000–14,000 cited 2001) [1]
Piaroa–Saliban
  • Piaroan
    • Piaroa
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3 pid
Glottolog piar1243
ELP
Piaroa.png

Piaroa is an Indigenous language of Venezuela and Colombia by the Piaroa people. Loukotka (1968) reports that it is spoken along the Sipapo River, Orinoco River, and Ventuari River. [2]

Contents

The Wirö language (commonly called Maco-Wirö) is closely related, the two forming the Piaroan branch of the family. [3]

Alternate names

Piaroa is called by many names, including variations of Wotuja [4] and Huottüja. It is also called Guagua, Kuakua, Quaqua, Adole, Ature, and Wo’tiheh.

Phonology

Consonants
Bilabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
nor.lab.nor.lab.
Stop Plainptkkʷʔ
Aspiratedpʰ~ɸtʰkʰkʰʷ
Ejectivepʼtʼkʼkʷʼ
Glottalˀbˀd
Affricate Plaint͡ʃ~t͡s
Aspiratedt͡sʰ
Ejectivet͡sʼ
Fricative shˣhˣʷ
Nasal mn
Flap/Lateral ɾʎ
Approximant j~dʲw

Palatalization of /k, kʰ, kʼ, hˣ/ may occur when before front vowels as [kʲ, kʲʰ, kʲʼ, hʲ].

/pʰ/ may also be heard as a fricative [ɸ] in free variation.

Sounds /j/ and /t͡ʃ/ may have allophones of [dʲ, t͡s].

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close iɨu ɯ
Mid eɤ~o
Open æɑ~ɒ

Vowels /ɤ, ɑ/ are rounded as [o, ɒ] when after labial sounds. [5]

References

  1. ↑ "Endangered Languages Project – Piaroa" . Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  2. ↑ Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages . Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  3. ↑ Zamponi, R. 2017 'Betoi-Jirara, Sáliban, and Hodɨ: relationships among three linguistic lineages of the mid-Orinoco region'. Anthropological Linguistics 59: 263-321.
  4. ↑ Censo indígena de Venezuela, 1992 (Volume 1 ed.). Venezuela Oficina Central de Estadística e Informática. 1993. p. 516.
  5. ↑ Mosonyi, Esteban E. (2002). Elementos De Gramática Piaroa: Algunas Consideraciones Sobre Sus Clases Nominales (PDF).
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