The Piaroa–Saliban, also known as Saliban (in spanish : Sálivan), are a small proposed language family of the middle Orinoco Basin, which forms an independent island within an area of Venezuela and Colombia (northern llanos) dominated by peoples of Carib and Arawakan affiliation.
Piaroa and Wirö (or "Maco") form a Piaroan branch of the family.
The extinct Ature language, once spoken on the Orinoco River near the waterfalls of Atures, Venezuela, is unattested but was said to be 'little different' from Saliba, and so may have formed a Saliban branch of the family.[2][3]
Zamponi (2017) notes resemblances between the extinct Betoi language and Piaroa–Saliban. He considers a genealogical relationship plausible, though data on Betoi is scarce.[3]
There are lexical similarities with the Hotï language (Jodï), and this has been interpreted as evidence for a Jodï–Saliban language family.[6][7] However, the similarities have also been explained as contact.[3]
Jolkesky (2009) includes Piaroa-Saliba, Betoi and Hodi in a Duho family along with Ticuna–Yuri.[4]
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Piaroa–Saliban languages.[2]
^ abcZamponi, Raoul (2017). Betoi-Jirara, Sáliban, and Hodɨ: Relationships among Three Linguistic Lineages of the Mid-Orinoco Region. Anthropological Linguistics, Volume 59, Number 3, Fall 2017, pp. 263-321.
^Labrada, Jorge Emilio Rosés. 2015. "Is Jodï a Sáliban Language?." Paper presented at the Workshop on Historical relationships among languages of the Americas, Leiden, 2-5 September 2015. 18pp.
^ abLabrada, Jorge Emilio Rosés (2019). "Jodï-Sáliban: A Linguistic Family of the Northwest Amazon". International Journal of American Linguistics. 85 (3): 275–311. doi:10.1086/703238. S2CID198801032.
Bibliography
Benaissa, T. (1991). Vocabulario Sáliba-Español Español Sáliba. Lomalinda: Alberto Lleras Camargo.
Feddema, H. (1991). Diccionario Piaroa - Español. (Manuscript).
Krute, L. D. (1989). Piaroa nominal morphosemantics. New York: Columbia University. (Doctoral dissertation).
Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The native languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), Atlas of the world's languages (pp. 46–76). London: Routledge.
