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 be an
isolate, or distantly related to the extinct
Esmeralda language.
Demographics
The Yaruro people refer to their own language as pũmɛ̃́ mãɛ̃́ ‘language of the Yaruro/Pumé’). The language is vigorously spoken by approximately 9,500 people as of 2015. Speakers live in the central Apure Llanos of western Venezuela, mainly in the Arauca, Cunaviche, Capanaparo,
and Cinaruco river areas. In Capuruchano subdivision, the Yaruro do not live close to any rivers.[2]: 1283
^Epps, Patience; Michael, Lev, eds. (2023). Amazonian Languages: Language Isolates. Volume II: Kanoé to Yurakaré. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
ISBN978-3-11-043273-2.
^Pache, Matthias J. 2016. Pumé (Yaruro) and Chocoan: Evidence for a New Genealogical Link in Northern South America. Language Dynamics and Change 6 (2016) 99–155.
doi:
10.1163/22105832-00601001