Pumé language

Pumé
Yaruro
pũmɛ̃́ mãɛ̃́
Native toVenezuela
RegionApure
EthnicityPumé people
Native speakers
9,500 (2015)
Language codes
ISO 639-3yae
Glottologpume1238
ELPYaruro
Linguasphere81-KAA-aa
  Pumé

The Pumé language (also called Yuapín or Yaruro, also spelled Llaruro or Yaruru) is an indigenous language isolate spoken by 9,500 of the Pumé people, along the Orinoco, Cinaruco, Meta, and Apure rivers of Venezuela. It is not well classified; it may be distantly related to the extinct Esmeraldeño language or the Chocoan language family.

Demographics

The Pumé people refer to their own language as pũmɛ̃́ mãɛ̃́, ‘language of the Pumé’. The language is vigorously spoken by approximately 9,500 people as of 2015. Speakers live in the central Apure Llanos of western Venezuela, mainly in the Arauca, Cunaviche, Capanaparo, and Cinaruco river areas. In Capuruchano subdivision, the Pumé do not live close to any rivers.: 1283 

Classification

Pumé has been considered a language isolate since Filippo Salvatore Gilii's 1782 book Saggio di storia americana. However, there have been a number of suggestions for its further linguistic affiliation with a number of families. Pache (2016) considers Pumé to be related to the Chocoan languages, citing evidence from lexical and sound correspondences. Some shared lexical items between Pumé and Chocoan (Pache (2016) cites Yaruro and Epena forms from the Intercontinental Dictionary Series):

PuméChocoan
dac͡ço ‘eye, face,’ c͡ço ‘seed, fruit, nut’Epena tautʰu ‘forehead’
da ‘eye’ (used in complex forms)Proto-Chocoan **da ‘eye region,’ **da-ˈbu ‘eye,’ Epena ˈtau ‘eye’
duɾi ‘after’Proto-Chocoan **duˈɾi ‘tail’
ɡõã ‘meat, flesh,’ goe ‘blood’Proto-Emberá *uˈa ‘blood’
hu ‘bone,’ hu c͡çia ‘strong’Proto-Chocoan **huˈa ‘arm, hand,’ Epena huaˈtau ‘strong’
i ‘skin’Proto-Emberá *ˈe ‘skin’
ĩbu ‘nose’Proto-Chocoan **kẽˈbu ‘nose’
ic͡çi ‘hand’Epena iˈsia ‘wing’

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Saliba-Hodi, Arawak, Bora-Muinane, Choko, Witoto-Okaina, and Waorani language families due to contact.

EnglishPuméHodi
villagebærʊ-pæ̃balo
to drinkui ‘water’woi
to cutkoaʰkʷai
to lie downãrẽʰjali
firekʰõdæʰkule
brotherajĩ-hãjẽ ‘little brother’
"alligator" [caiman]ariaulẽ
cloudɡõãrãkʷa
bloodɡoeiʰkwə
venomɲeetowejẽtohai
waspmumo
to go back/to walkmanau ‘to walk’; mana ‘way’mãnã ‘to go back’
EnglishPuméProto-Bora-Muinane
spidermãkã*paaɡa-
sweet potatoʧerameMuinane ʤírúúmɨba
snakepoana*buua
smokeʧʰʊ*ttsu
cassavapae*paikuumɯɯ
nightpe*pəkko
sundo*nɯʔ-
EnglishPuméWaorani
you (plural)mɛnɛrɔmĩnitõ
beeẽmiæamo
pathnõtaa-dõ
househõõ-kõ
skyãdeõ-õdæ
to sleepmõãbõ
peccaryaboeaamo
hotkʊa-kʊ-aãgõã

Phonology

Yaruro has one of the largest phonologies in the region, with 19 consonants and 15 vowels making for a total of 34 phonemes.

Consonants

Labial Dental Postalveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
aspirated pʰ tʰ kʰ
voiced b d ɡ
Affricate voiceless c͡ç
aspirated tʃʰ
voiced ɟ͡ʝ
Fricative β h
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Tap ɾ

Vowels

Front Central Back
unrounded rounded
High oral i ɯ u
nasal ĩ ɯ̃ ũ
Close-mid e ɤ o
Open-mid oral ɛ ɔ
nasal ɛ̃ ɔ̃
Low oral a
nasal ã

Orthography

The Pumé alphabet was devised in 1982.

Further reading

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Mosonyi, Esteban Emilio; Zamponi, Raoul (2023-01-30), "29 Yaruro (Pumé)", in Epps, Patience; Michael, Lev (eds.), Volume 2 Language Isolates II: Kanoé to Yurakaré: An International Handbook, De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 1283–1322, doi:10.1515/9783110432732-016, ISBN 978-3-11-043273-2, retrieved 2026-05-11
  2. ↑ Pache, Matthias (2016). "Pumé (Yaruro) and Chocoan: Evidence for a New Genealogical Link in Northern South America". Language Dynamics and Change. 6 (1): 99–155. doi:10.1163/22105832-00601001. ISSN 2210-5824.
  3. ↑ Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.