Esmeralda, or ''Esmeraldeño'' (also called ''Takame'' or ''Atacame''), is an
extinct language isolate formerly spoken in the coastal region of
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, specifically in the western part of
Esmeraldas Province
Esmeraldas () is a province in northwestern Ecuador. The capital is Esmeraldas.
The province is home to the Afro-Ecuadorian culture.
Demographics
Ethnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010:
* Mestizo 44.7%
* Afro-Ecuadorian 43.9%
...
. The only existing data for Atacame was collected by J.M. Pallares in 1877.
Classification
It has been proposed that the language is connected to the still-spoken
Yaruro language
The Yaruro language (also spelled ''Llaruro'' or ''Yaruru''; also called Yuapín or Pumé) is an indigenous language spoken by Yaruro people, along the Orinoco, Cinaruco, Meta, and Apure rivers of Venezuela. It is not well classified; it may ...
of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. It also has some lexical similarities with the extinct
Yurumanguí language
Yurumanguí is an extinct language that was spoken along the Yurumanguí River of Colombia. It is known only through a short list of words and phrases recorded by Father Christoval Romero and given by him to Captain Sebastián Lanchas de Estrad ...
,
as well with the southern
Barbacoan language Tsafiki (especially plant and animal names).
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.
:
Further reading
*
References
Indigenous languages of South America
Esmeralda–Yaruroan languages
Languages of Ecuador
Language isolates of South America
Extinct languages of South America
{{IndigenousAmerican-lang-stub