Waorani language

Not to be confused with Guaraní language, Aushiri language, or Warao language.

Sabela
Huaorani / Waorani
Wao Terero
Native to	Ecuador, Peru
Region	Oriente or Ecuadorian Amazon
Ethnicity	1,800 Huaorani people (2012)
Native speakers	1,700 (2004)
Language family	Language isolate
Official status
Official language in	Ecuador: indigenous languages official in own territories
Language codes
ISO 639-3	auc
Glottolog	waor1240

The Waorani (Huaorani) language, commonly known as Sabela (also Wao, Huao, Auishiri, Aushiri, Ssabela ; autonym: Wao Terero; pejorative: Auka, Auca) is a language isolate spoken by the Huaorani people, an indigenous group living in the Amazon Rainforest between the Napo and Curaray Rivers in Ecuador. A small number of speakers with so-called uncontacted groups may live in Peru.

Phonology

Huaorani distinguishes nasal vowels from oral ones. Syllable structure is (C)V, with frequent vowel clusters.

p	t		k
b	d~ɾ	ɟ~j	ɡ
m	n	ɲ	ŋ
w

	Front		Non-front
	Plain	Nasal	Plain	Nasal
Close	i	ĩ
Mid	e	ẽ	ɵ~o~ɤ	ɵ̃~õ~ɤ̃
Open	æ	æ̃	a	ã

Dialects

Huaorani has three dialects: Tiguacuna (Tiwakuna), Tuei (Tiwi Tuei, Tiwi), and Shiripuno.

Genetic relations

Sabela is not known to be related to any other language. However, it forms part of Terrence Kaufman's Yawan proposal.

External links

• Lengua Sabela
• Huaorani - Spanish Dictionary
• Waorani language dictionary online from IDS (select simple or advanced browsing)

Bibliography

• Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
• Greenberg, Joseph H. (1987). Language in the Americas. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language History in South America: What We Know and How to Know More. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), Amazonian Linguistics: Studies in Lowland South American languages (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70414-3.
• 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.
• Peeke, M. Catherine. (2003). A Bibliography of the Waorani of Ecuador. SIL International. Retrieved 2007 December 26 from http://www.sil.org/silewp/2003/silewp2003-006.pdf
• Pike, Evelyn G and Rachel Saint. 1988. Workpapers Concerning Waorani discourse features. Dallas, TX: SIL.
• Rival, Laura. Trekking through History: The Huaorani of Amazonian Ecuador, Columbia University Press, 2002.