Guamo ( Wamo or Guamotey) is an extinct language of Venezuela. Kaufman (1990) finds a connection with the
Chapacuran languages convincing.
Varieties
Varieties that may have been dialects or closely related languages:
*Guamo of San José - on the
Santo Domingo River, Zamora
*Dazaro - once spoken in Zamora on the
Guanare River
*Guamontey - once spoken from the mouth of the
Zárate River to the
Apure River
The Apure River is a river of southwestern Venezuela, formed by the confluence of the Sarare and Uribante near Guasdualito, in Venezuela, at , and flowing across the Llanos into the Orinoco. It provides significant transportation in the area.
Ori ...
(unattested)
*Tayaga - once spoken between the
Arauca River
The Arauca River () rises in the Andes Mountains of north-central Colombia and ends at the Orinoco in Venezuela. For part of its run it is the boundary between Colombia and Venezuela. The major city on its banks is Arauca, Arauca, Arauca, Col ...
and
Apure River
The Apure River is a river of southwestern Venezuela, formed by the confluence of the Sarare and Uribante near Guasdualito, in Venezuela, at , and flowing across the Llanos into the Orinoco. It provides significant transportation in the area.
Ori ...
, in
Apure State
Apure State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida (state), Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas (state), Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations ...
(unattested)
*Atapaima - once spoken at the mouth of the
Guanaparo River,
Guárico State
Guárico State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Juan de Los Morros and the largest city is Calabozo, other important city centers include Valle de la Pascua and Zaraza, Guárico, Zaraza. Gu ...
, Venezuela (unattested)
*Guárico - extinct principal language
Guárico State
Guárico State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Juan de Los Morros and the largest city is Calabozo, other important city centers include Valle de la Pascua and Zaraza, Guárico, Zaraza. Gu ...
, once spoken on the
Guárico River
Guárico River is a river in Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands ...
,
Portuguesa River, and
Apure River
The Apure River is a river of southwestern Venezuela, formed by the confluence of the Sarare and Uribante near Guasdualito, in Venezuela, at , and flowing across the Llanos into the Orinoco. It provides significant transportation in the area.
Ori ...
(unattested)
*Guire - once spoken on the middle course of the
Tiznados River,
Orituco River, and
Guaritico River,
Guarico State (unattested)
*Payme - once spoken at the mouth of the
Guárico River
Guárico River is a river in Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands ...
(unattested)
Dialect comparison
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Santa Rosa and San José dialects of Guamo.
:
1778 word list
''Guama'' is primarily attested in a word list from 1778. The list has been reproduced below, with the original Spanish orthography maintained for the Guama forms.
[Anonymous. 1928 778 Traduccion de algunas voces de la lengua Guama. In ''Lenguas de América'', 382-393. Madrid.]
References
Bibliography
*
{{South American languages
Indigenous languages of the South American Northeast
Languages of Venezuela
Extinct languages of South America
Language isolates of South America