Japreria language

Japrería
Japrería
Yapreria, Motilón, Yukpa-Japrería
Native to	Venezuela
Ethnicity	160 (2011)
Native speakers	170 (2002 census)
Language family	Cariban Opón–Yukpa Yukpa–Japreria Japrería; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	jru
Glottolog	japr1238
ELP	Japréria
Linguasphere	80-AAA-ba

Japrería (also known as Yapreria, Motilón, Sabril^: 239 and Yukpa-Japrería) is a Cariban language of Venezuela. It has been frequently classified as a dialect of neighbouring Yukpa, which it is closely related to.

Classification

It is debated whether or not Japreria is a dialect of Yukpa. In anthropology, the Japreria people are treated as one of the subroups of the Yukpa people. The Czech linguist Čestmír Loukotka (1968), Haydée Seijas and Marshall Durbin (1977), and Mosonyi and Mosonyi (2000), all treated Japreria as a dialect of Yukpa. However, the Ministry of Education, in a 1986 article, claimed that the Yukpa could not understand the Japreria.

Phonology

Consonants
	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Dorsal	Glottal
Nasal	m	n
Stop/Affricate	p	t	t͡ʃ	k	ʔ
Fricative		s	ʃ		h
Liquid	ʋ	ɾ	j	ʀ

/ʋ/ is labiodental, while /m, p/ are bilabial.

Vowels
	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Open	e	a	o

[ɨ] and [u] are allophones of /u/.
/a/, realized as central [ä], has a front allophone [a].^: 67

References

1 2 "Japréria". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
1 2 Japrería at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
↑ "Glottolog 5.2 - Yukpa". glottolog.org. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
1 2 Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Wilbert, Johannes (ed.). Classification of South American Indian Languages (PDF) (4th ed.). Latin American Center, UCLA: Latin American Center, University of California Los Angeles. ISBN 9780879031077.
↑ Grondona, Verónica (2012). Campbell, Lyle (ed.). The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide (PDF). Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-025803-5.
1 2 3 4 Oquendo, Luis (2004a). "La vibrante uvular y la aproximante labiodental en la lengua japreria como cultura fonológica" (PDF). Opción (in Spanish). 20 (45): 60–74.
↑ Boletín indigenista venezolano (in Spanish). Comision Indigenista. 1983.
1 2 "Japreria". SAPhon – South American Phonological Inventories. v. 2.1.0. Retrieved 6 July 2024., citing Oquendo 2004a, p. 67

de Armellada, P. Cesáreo (1957). "Los indios Japrería. Algunas noticias antiguas y modernas y comentarios sobre las mismas". Venezuela Misionera. 225.
de Armellada, Cesáreo (1956). "Los indios Japréria, una nueva tribu redescubierta". Boletín Indigenista. 16 (210): 356–365.
Dupouy, Walter (1958). "Noticias de los indios Japrería". Antropológica. 4: 1–16.
Durbin, Marshall; Seijas, Haydée (1972). "The phonological structure of the Western Carib languages of the Sierra de Perija, Venezuela". Atti del XL Congresso Internazionale degli Americanisti. Vol. 3. pp. 69–77.
Flores, Elexander (2002). Morfosintaxis del Japreria (MA thesis). Maracaibo: Universidad del Zulia.
Jaramillo Gómez, O. (1992). "Los Yuko-Yukpa". Geografía humana de Colombia. Vol. II: Nordeste indígena. Bogotá: ICCH. pp. 294–339.
Oquendo, Luis (2004b). "Is Japreria a Yukpa Dialect?". Lingua Americana. 8 (14).
Ruddle, K.; Wilbert, J. (1983). "Los Yukpa". In Coppens, W. (ed.). Los aborígenes de Venezuela. Vol. II. pp. 33–124.
Straka, H. (1980). Ocho años entre yukpas y japrerías. Caracas: Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República.

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[Multitree-1] 1 2 "Japréria". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2024.

[e25-2] 1 2 Japrería at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

[3] "Glottolog 5.2 - Yukpa". glottolog.org. Retrieved 3 October 2025.

[Loukotka1968-4] 1 2 Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Wilbert, Johannes (ed.). Classification of South American Indian Languages (PDF) (4th ed.). Latin American Center, UCLA: Latin American Center, University of California Los Angeles. ISBN 9780879031077.

[clock-5] Grondona, Verónica (2012). Campbell, Lyle (ed.). The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide (PDF). Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-025803-5.

[:1-6] 1 2 3 4 Oquendo, Luis (2004a). "La vibrante uvular y la aproximante labiodental en la lengua japreria como cultura fonológica" (PDF). Opción (in Spanish). 20 (45): 60–74.

[7] Boletín indigenista venezolano (in Spanish). Comision Indigenista. 1983.

[:0-8] 1 2 "Japreria". SAPhon – South American Phonological Inventories. v. 2.1.0. Retrieved 6 July 2024., citing Oquendo 2004a, p. 67

Japreria language

Classification

Phonology

References

Further reading