The Jirajaran languages are group of extinct languages once spoken in western

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in the regions of

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and

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. All of the Jirajaran languages appear to have become extinct in the early 20th century.

Languages

Based on adequate documentation, three languages are definitively classified as belonging to the Jirajaran family: *Jirajara, spoken in the state of

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*Ayomán, spoken in the village of Siquisique in the state of

*Gayón, spoken at the sources of the Tocuyo River in the state of

Loukotka includes four additional languages, for which no linguistic documentation exists: *Coyone, spoken at the sources of the

Portuguesa River The Portuguesa River (Spanish: ''Río Portuguesa'', also ''Río la Portuguesa'', ''Río de la Portuguesa'') is a river of Venezuela. It is part of the Orinoco River basin, and is a tributary of the Apure River (which is, in turn, a tributary of th ...

in the state of Portuguesa *Cuiba, spoken near the city of Aricagua *Atatura, spoken between the Rocono and Tucupido rivers *Aticari, spoken along the Tocuyo River Mason (1950) lists: *Gayón (Cayon) *Ayomán *Xagua **Cuiba (?) *Jirajara

Classification

The Jirajaran languages are generally regarded as isolates. Adelaar and Muysken note certain lexical similarities with the Timotean languages and typological similarity to the

Chibchan languages The Chibchan languages (also Chibchan, Chibchano) make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian Area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa ...

, but state that the data is too limited to make a definitive classification. Jahn, among others, has suggested a relation between the Jirajaran language and the

Betoi language Betoi (''Betoy'') or Betoi-Jirara is an extinct language of Colombia and Venezuela, south of the Apure River near the modern border with Colombia. The names Betoi and Jirara are those of two of its peoples/dialects; the language proper has no kno ...

s, mostly on the basis of similar ethnonyms. Greenberg and Ruhlen classify Jirajaran as belonging to the Paezan language family, along with the

s, the

Páez language Páez (also Paez, Paes; or the autonym Nasa Yuwe 'Nasa language') is a language of Colombia, spoken by the Páez people. Crevels (2011) estimates 60,000 speakers out of an ethnic population of 140,000. The language is spoken by the second larges ...

, the

Barbacoan languages Barbacoan (also Barbakóan, Barbacoano, Barbacoana) is a language family spoken in Colombia and Ecuador. Genealogical relations The Barbacoan languages may be related to the Páez language. Barbacoan is often connected with the Paezan language ...

and others.

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Sape, Timote-Kuika, and Puinave-Kak language families due to contact.

Typology

Based on the little documentation that exists, a number of typological characteristics are reconstructable: ;1. VO word order in transitive clauses :apasi mamán (Jirajara) :I.cut my.hand :''I cut my hand'' ;2. Subjects precede verbs :depamilia buratá (Ayamán) :the.family is.good :''The family is good'' ;3. Possessors which precede the possessed :shpashiú yemún (Ayamán) :arc its.rope :''the arc of the rope'' ;4. Adjectives follow the nouns they modify :pok diú (Jirajara) :hill big :''big hill'' ;5. Numerals precede the nouns they quantify :boque soó (Ayamán) :one cigarette :''one cigarette'' ;6. Use of

postpositions Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in traditional grammar, simply prepositions), are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in'', ''under'', ''towards'', ''before'') or mark various ...

, rather than prepositions :angüi fru-ye (Jirajara) :I.go Siquisique-to :''I go to Siquisique.''

Vocabulary comparison

Jahn (1927) lists the following basic vocabulary items. : Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items. :

References