Vilela (''Uakambalelté, Atalalá, Chulupí~Chunupí'')
[Not to be confused with Niwaklé, which is also called Chulupí~Chunupí.] is an extinct language last spoken in the
Resistencia area of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and in the eastern
Chaco near the
Paraguayan
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
border. Dialects were ''Ocol, Chinipi, Sinipi''; only Ocol survives. The people call themselves ''Waqha-umbaβelte'' 'Waqha speakers'.
The last Vilela people were absorbed into the surrounding
Toba people
The Toba people, also known as the Qom people, are one of the largest indigenous groups in Argentina who historically inhabited the region known today as the Pampas of the Central Chaco. During the 16th century, the Qom inhabited a large part of ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
-speaking townsfolk.
Dialects
Loukotka (1968) lists the following dialects of Vilela.
*Chunupi - formerly spoken on the confluence of the San Francisco River and
Bermejo River
The Bermejo River (Spanish, Río Bermejo) is a river in South America that flows from Bolivia to the Paraguay River in Argentina. The river is generally called Bermejo in spite of its different names along its way, but it also has its own Native ...
in the vicinity of
La Encrucijada,
Valtolema, Ortega, Esquina Grande and
Laguna Colma.
*Pasain - formerly spoken in the vicinity of
Macapillo, Argentine Chaco.
*Ocole - formerly spoken between
Lacangayá and
Laguna Colma.
*Omoampa - formerly spoken from Ortega as far as Miraflores.
*Macomita - once spoken west of the
Juramento River, province of
Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...
, Argentina.
*Yecoamita - once spoken northwest of the
Teuco River
The Bermejo River (Spanish, Río Bermejo) is a river in South America that flows from Bolivia to the Paraguay River in Argentina. The river is generally called Bermejo in spite of its different names along its way, but it also has its own Nativ ...
, Formosa province.
*Sinipi - formerly spoken on the
Bermejo River
The Bermejo River (Spanish, Río Bermejo) is a river in South America that flows from Bolivia to the Paraguay River in Argentina. The river is generally called Bermejo in spite of its different names along its way, but it also has its own Native ...
in the vicinity of Lacangayá.
Phonology
Vilela appears to have the five vowels /a e i o u/ of Spanish and approximately the following consonants:
Notes
References
*Lozano, Elena (1970). ''Textos Vilelas''. La Plata: CEILP.
*Lozano, Elena (1977). ''Cuentos secretos vilelas: I. La mujer tigre.'' VICUS Cuadernos. Lingüística, Vol.I: 93-116.
*Golluscio, Lucia A. and Raoul Zamponi (2019). El vilela del siglo XVIII. Indiana 36. 43-68, A1-A56.
{{South American languages
Languages of Argentina
Lule–Vilela languages
Extinct languages of South America
Languages extinct in the 21st century