Yao (Jaoi, Yaoi, Yaio, Anacaioury) is an extinct Cariban language of Trinidad and French Guiana, attested in a single 1640 word list recorded by Joannes de Laet. It is thought that the Yao people migrated from the Orinoco to the islands perhaps a century earlier, after the Kaliña.[1] The name 'Anacaioury' is that of a number of chiefs encountered over a century or so.
| Yao | |
|---|---|
| Jaoi | |
| Yebarana | |
| Native to | Trinidad, French Guiana |
| Era | 17th century |
Cariban
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | yaoa1239 |
Yao is too poorly attested to classify within Cariban with any confidence, though Terrence Kaufman links it to the extinct Tiverikoto.[2] A few of the attested words are:
nonna or noene 'moon', weyo 'sun', capou 'céu', chirika 'star', pepeïte 'wind', kenape 'rain', soye 'earth', parona 'sea', ouapoto 'fire', aroua 'jaguar', pero 'dog' (from Spanish).[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Tassinari (2003) No Bom da Festa, p 122–125
- ^ Kaufman, Terrence (1994). Moseley, Christopher; Asher, R.E. (eds.). Atlas of the World's Languages. New York: Routledge. pp. 73–74. ISBN 0-415-01925-7.
 | This article related to the Indigenous languages of the Americas is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |