Saraveca language

Last updated
Saraveca
Sarave
Saraveca
Native to Bolivia
RegionEastern lowlands
EthnicitySarave(ca)
Extinct after 2000
possibly some rememberers
Arawakan
Language codes
ISO 639-3 sar
Glottolog sara1331
ELP Saraveca
Lang Status 01-EX.svg

Saraveca is an extinct Arawakan language once spoken in Bolivia by the Sarave. [1] [2] By 1962, most people has switched to Chiquitano. [3]

Numbers

It is said [4] [5] to be the only language with a numeral system based exclusively on five, although quinary systems exist. To some extent this is also an areal feature of other South American languages; many form their numbers 6–9 as "five + one", "five + two" and so on.

Saraveca numerals [1]
NumberSaraveca
oneatia
twoiñama
threeanahama
fourazarakapa
fiveara-piaiče

References

  1. 1 2 de Créqui-Montfort, G.; Rivet, P. (1913). "Linguistique Bolivienne. La Langue Saraveka". Journal de la Société des américanistes. 10: 497–540. ISSN   0037-9174.
  2. Danielsen, Swintha (January 2013). "Evaluating historical data (wordlists) in the case of bolivian extinct languages". STUF - Language Typology and Universals. 66 (3). doi:10.1524/stuf.2013.0014. ISSN   2196-7148.
  3. Saraveca language at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  4. Wells, David (1997). The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers. Penguin UK. p. 60. ISBN   978-0-14-026149-3.
  5. "Numerals and numeral systems | Examples & Symbols | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2025-01-01.