Yurumanguí language

Yurumanguí is an extinct language 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 Estrada, who included them in the report of his travels of 1768. Thereafter the language and its speakers disappear from the historical record.

Father Romero's word list was discovered in the archives and published, with analysis and commentary, by Rivet (1942), who argued that the language was a member of the Hokan language family. This claim is considered poor and unconvincing; a critique is given by Poser (1992). Swadesh (1963) saw connections with Opaye and Chamicura (Maipurean). Adelaar notes similarities with Esmeralda (Takame). However, it is generally considered unclassifiable due to the paucity of data.

Loukotka (1968) included a number of purported languages from the same region in a Yurimangui stock in his language classification. These are Timba, Lili (at Calí), Yolo/Paripazo, Jamundi, and Puscajae/Pile. However, he notes that nothing is known of any of them.

Bibliography

• Loukotka, Čestmír (1968) Classification of South American Indian Languages. University of California, Los Angeles.
• Poser, William J. (1992) The Salinan and Yurumanguí Data in Language in the Americas. International Journal of American Linguistics 58.2.202-22.PDF
• Rivet, Paul (1942) Un dialecte Hoka Colombien: le Yurumangí. Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris 34.1-59.

References