Esmeralda language
Esmeralda, or Esmeraldeño (also called Takame or Atacame), is an extinct language isolate formerly spoken in the coastal region of Ecuador, specifically in the western part of Esmeraldas Province. The only existing data for Atacame was collected by J.M. Pallares in 1877.
Esmeralda language
Esmeralda, or Esmeraldeño (also called Takame or Atacame), is an extinct language isolate formerly spoken in the coastal region of Ecuador, specifically in the western part of Esmeraldas Province. The only existing data for Atacame was collected by J.M. Pallares in 1877.
Esmeralda, or Esmeraldeño (also called Takame or Atacame), is an extinct language isolate formerly spoken in the coastal region of Ecuador, specifically in the western part of Esmeraldas Province. The only existing data for Atacame was collected by J.M. Pallares in 1877.
It has been proposed that the language is connected to the still-spoken Pumé language of Venezuela. It also has some lexical similarities with the extinct Yurumanguí language, as well with the southern Barbacoan language Tsafiki (especially plant and animal names).
Esmeralda may have had a 5-vowel or 3-vowel system.
| Bilabial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occlusive | |||||
| Affricate | |||||
| Fricative | |||||
| Nasal | |||||
| Vibrant | |||||
| Approximant |
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.
gloss Esmeralda
hand di
foot taha
man ilóm
water uivi
star muʔxabla
earth dula
dog kine
jaguar mutokine
snake piama
house kiama
boat diala
- Seler, Eduard (1902). "Die Sprache der Indianer von Esmeraldas" [The language of the Indians of Esmeraldas]. Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur Amerikanischen Sprach- und Alterthumskunde [Collected treatises on American linguistics and archaeology] (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin: A. Asher & Company. pp. 49–64 – via Google Books.
This article is sourced from Wikipedia and is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esmeralda_language