The Jirajaran languages are group of extinct languages once spoken in western Venezuela in the regions of Falcón and Lara. All of the Jirajaran languages appear to have become extinct in the early 20th century. According to Glottolog, its languages constitute a language isolate.
Languages Based on adequate documentation, three languages are definitively classified as belonging to the Jirajaran family:
Jirajara, spoken in the state of Falcón Ayomán, spoken in the village of Siquisique in the state of Lara Gayón, spoken at the sources of the Tocuyo River in the state of Lara
Loukotka includes four additional languages, for which no linguistic documentation exists:
Coyone, spoken at the sources of the Portuguesa River in the state of Portuguesa, sometimes considered a synonym for Gayon 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 (not to be confused with Achawa language) 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, 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 languages, mostly on the basis of similar ethnonyms. Greenberg and Ruhlen classify Jirajaran as belonging to the Paezan language family, along with the Betoi languages, the Páez language, the Barbacoan languages 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 reconstructible:
1. VO word order in transitive clauses
2. Subjects precede verbs
3. Possessors which precede the possessed
4. Adjectives follow the nouns they modify
5. Numerals precede the nouns they quantify
6. Use of postpositions, rather than prepositions
Vocabulary comparison Jahn (1927) lists the following basic vocabulary items.
{|class="wikitable sortable" |+Comparison of Jirajaran vocabulary, based on Jahn (1927) |- !width="75"|English !width="75"|Ayomán !width="75"|Gayón !width="75"|Jirajara |- |fire||dug||dut, idú||dueg |- |foot||a-sengán||segué||angán |- |hen||degaró||digaró||degaró |- |house||gagap||hiyás||gagap |- |snake||huhí, jují||jují||túb |- |sun||iñ||yivat||yuaú
Further reading Oramas, L. (1916). Materiales para el estudio de los dialectos Ayamán, Gayón, Jirajara, Ajagua. Caracas: Litografía del Comercio. Querales, R. (2008). El Ayamán. Ensayo de reconstrucción de un idioma indígena venezolano. Barquisimeto: Concejo Municipal de Iribarren.
References