Pre-contact distribution of the Jirajaran languages
The Jirajaran languages are group of extinct languages once spoken in western Venezuela in the regions of Falcón and Lara. All of the Jirajaran languages appear to have become extinct in the early 20th Century.[1]
Characteristics
Based on the little documentation that exists, a number of typological characteristics are reconstructable:[2]
The Jirajaran languages are generally regarded as isolates. Adelaar and Muysken note certain lexical similarities with the Timotean languages and typological similarity to the Chibchan languages, but state that the data is too limited to make a definitive classification.[1] Jahn, among others, has suggested a relation between the Jirajaran language and the Betoi languages, mostly on the basis of similar ethnonyms.[3] Greenberg and Ruhlen classify Jirajaran as belonging to the Paezan language family, along with the Betoi languages, the Páez language, the Barbacoan languages and others.[4]
Family Division
Based on adequate documentation, three languages are definitively classified as belonging to the Jirajaran family:[1]
^ abcAdelaar, Willem F. H.; Pieter C. Muysken (2004). The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 129–30. ISBN0-521-36275-X.
^Costenla Umaña, Adolfo (May 1991). Las Lenguas del Área Intermedia: Introducción a su Estudio Areal (in Spanish). San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. pp. 56–8. ISBN9977-67-158-3.
^ abJahn, Alfredo (1973) [1927]. Los Aborígenes del Occidente de Venezuela (in Spanish). Caracas: Monte Avila Editores, C.A.