Paezan (also Páesan, Paezano, Interandine) may be any of several

hypothetical A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obser ...

or obsolete language-family

proposals Proposal(s) or The Proposal may refer to: * Proposal (business) * Research proposal * Proposal (marriage) * Proposition, a proposal in logic and philosophy Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Proposal'' (album) Films * ''The Proposal'' ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

named after the Paez language.

Proposals

Currently, Páez (Nasa Yuwe) is best considered either a

language isolate Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The nu ...

or the only surviving member of an otherwise

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in h ...

(Adelaar & Muysken 2004, Gordon 2005, Matteson 1972, Fabre 2005). It has often been grouped with other languages in a ''Paezan'' family, but several of these proposals are based on a historical error. Even before the discovery of the error, Campbell (1997: 173) stated, "There is no consensus upon Paezan, and opinions vary greatly".

Páez, Panzaleo, Andaquí

One of the most often repeated statements (e.g. Loukota 1968; Kaufman 1990, 1994) is the supposed connection between Páez and the extinct

Panzaleo Panzaleo (''Pansaleo, Quito, Latacunga'') is a poorly attested and unclassified indigenous American language that was spoken in the region of Quito until the 17th century. Attestation Much of the information on Panzaleo comes from toponyms of ...

(also known as Pansaleo, Latacunga, or Quito), formerly spoken in highlands of

. However, Panzaleo is poorly documented and the

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

for this relationship is weak and may be from

language contact Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. When speakers of different languages interact closely, it is typical for th ...

. Thus, Panzaleo may best be considered an

unclassified Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...

isolate (Adelaar & Muysken 2004: 393-397; Campbell 1997). The Andaquí isolate (also extinct) is often connected with Páez in a Paezan grouping. Documentation is a 20-page list of words and expressions by an anonymous author published in 1928 and another word list collected in 1854 by a priest (Manuel María Albis). There are a number of similarities in vocabulary between Andaquí and Páez, as noted by Jolkesky (2015)Jolkesky, Marcelo. 2015.
Semejanzas léxicas entre el Páez, el Andakí y el Tinígua
'. and others. In other aspects, the differences are greater. Jolkesky (2015) also found lexical similarities with Tinigua.

Páez and Coconucan

The Coconucan languages were first grouped together with Páez by Henri Beuchat & Paul Rivet in 1910 (under a larger ''Chibchan'' family, which is considerably more inclusive than the conservative

Chibchan 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 ...

recognized today). Curnow (1998) shows this is based on misinterpretation of a ''Moguex''

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the ...

of Douay (1888), which is a mix of Páez and Guambiano/Totoró. The error has led to subsequent classifiers (e.g. Kaufman 1990, 1994; Campbell 1997; Greenberg 1956, 1987; Tovar & Larruceau de Tovar 1984) to group Páez with Guambiano, missing the obvious identification of Coconucan as Barbacoan. Matteson's 1972 comparison of Páez and Guambiano vocabularies show just a 5.2% overlap, less than comparisons between Páez and

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greate ...

, Quechua and Proto-

(respectively 17%, 12%, and 14%). Following

linguists Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...

such as Matteson (1972), Curnow (1998), Curnow & Liddicoat (1998), and Adelaar & Muysken (2004), the Coconucan languages are now placed under Barbacoan. The question of connections between Páez, Panzaleo, and Andaquí remains open.

More distant relations

Prior to Curnow's correction, the Paez–Coconucan "family" had been connected to various other families. Greenberg included Paezan in a ''

Macro-Chibchan Macro-Chibchan is a proposed grouping of the languages of the Lencan, Misumalpan, and Chibchan families into a single large phylum (macrofamily). History The Lencan and Misumalpan languages were once included in the Chibchan family proper, but ...

'' (or ''Chibchan–Paezan'') stock with Barbacoan,

Chocoan The Choco languages (also Chocoan, Chocó, Chokó) are a small family of Native American languages spread across Colombia and Panama. Family division Choco consists of six known branches, all but two of which are extinct. *The Emberá langua ...

, Jirajaran, and the isolates Betoi, Kamsá (Sibundoy), Yaruro, Esmeraldeño,

Mochica The Moche civilization (; alternatively, the Mochica culture or the Early, Pre- or Proto- Chimú) flourished in northern Peru with its capital near present-day Moche, Trujillo, Peru from about 100 to 700 AD during the Regional Development Epoc ...

, Cunza (Atacameño), Itonama, and Yurumanguí.

Morris Swadesh Morris Swadesh (; January 22, 1909 – July 20, 1967) was an American linguist who specialized in comparative and historical linguistics. Swadesh was born in Massachusetts to Bessarabian Jewish immigrant parents. He completed bachelor's and ma ...

's ''Paezan'' included Páez, Barbacoan, Coconucan, Andaquí, Cunza, Kapixana, and Mashubí. Kaufman's (1990, 1994) '' Macro-Páesan "cluster"'' proposal included "Paesan" (as explained above)–Barbacoan, Cunza–Kapixana, Betoi, Itonama, and Warao.

References

Bibliography

* Adelaar, Willem F. H.; & Muysken, Pieter C. (2004). ''The languages of the Andes''.

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

language surveys. Cambridge University Press. *

Beuchat Beuchat International, better known as Beuchat, is a company that designs, manufactures and markets underwater equipment. It was established in 1934 in Marseille, France, by Georges Beuchat, who descended from a Swiss watchmaking family. Geo ...

, Henri; & Rivet, Paul. (1910). Affinités des langues du sud de la Colombie et du nord de l'Équateur. ''Le Mouséon'', ''11'', 33-68, 141-198. * Branks, Judith; Sánchez, Juan Bautista. (1978). ''The drama of life: A study of life cycle

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

among the Guambiano, Colombia, South America'' (pp xii, 107). Summer Institute of Linguistics Museum of Anthropology Publication (No. 4). Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics Museum of Anthropology. * Brend, Ruth M. (Ed.). (1985). ''From

phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

to discourse: Studies in six Colombian languages'' (p. vi, 133). Language Data, Amerindian Series (No. 9). Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics. * Campbell, Lyle. (1997). ''American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America''. New York: Oxford University Press. . * Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. (1981). Comparative Chibchan phonology. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania). * Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. (1991). ''Las lenguas del área intermedia: Introducción a su estudio areal''. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. * Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. (1993). ''La familia chibcha''. In (M. L. Rodríguez de Montes (Ed.), ''Estado actual de la classificación de las lenguas indígenas de Colombia'' (pp. 75–125). Bogotá: Instituto Caro y Cuervo. * Curnow, Timothy J. (1998). Why Paez is not a Barbacoan language: The nonexistence of "Moguex" and the use of early sources. ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', ''64'' (4), 338-351. * Curnow, Timothy J.; & Liddicoat, Anthony J. (1998). The Barbacoan languages of Colombia and Ecuador. ''Anthropological Linguistics'', ''40'' (3). * Douay, Léon. (1888). Contribution à l'américanisme du Cauca (Colombie). ''Compte-Rendu du Congrès International des Américanistes'', ''7'', 763-786. * Fabre, Alain. (2005). ''Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos''. (To appear). * Greenberg, Joseph H. (1960). General classification of Central and South American languages. In A. Wallace (Ed.), ''Men and cultures: Fifth international congress of anthropological and ethnological sciences (1956)'' (pp. 791–794). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. * Greenberg, Joseph H. (1987). ''Language in the Americas''. Stanford: Stanford University Press. * Heinze, Carol (Ed.). (1978). ''Estudios chibchas 2'' (pp. iv, 140). Serie Sintáctica (No. 9). Bogota: Ministerio de Gobierno and Instituto Lingüístico de Verano. * Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), ''Amazonian linguistics: Studies in lowland South American languages'' (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press. . * Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The native languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), ''Atlas of the world's languages'' (pp. 46–76). London: Routledge. * Key, Mary R. (1979). ''The grouping of South American languages''. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag. * Landaburu, Jon. (1993). Conclusiones del seminario sobre classificación de lenguas indígenas de Colombia. In (M. L. Rodríguez de Montes (Ed.), ''Estado actual de la classificación de las lenguas indígenas de Colombia'' (pp. 313–330). Bogotá: Instituto Caro y Cuervo. * Loukotka, Čestmír. (1968). ''Classification of South American Indian languages''. Los Angeles: Latin American Studies Center, University of California.

External links

* Proel
Sub-tronco Paezano
* Proel

{{South American languages Languages of Colombia Languages of Ecuador Macro-Paesan languages Proposed language families