Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Auaqué, Awaké, Auaké, Auake, Awake, Aoaqui, Oewaku, Uruak, Uruák, Urutani, Orotani, Ahuaqué, Oewacu,
CLASSIFICATION		Isolate, South American
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3; Glottolog
LANGUAGE CODE		atx, arut1244
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		Probably dormant, possible one or two semi-speakers. There is now enough documentation in several wordlists collected from 1958 to 2007 to show it has no discernible affiliation with any other language or family (Zamponi in press.)

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Information from: “Arutani (Venezuela and Brazil) - Language Snapshots” . Jorge Emilio Roses Labrada, Thiago Chacon, Francia Medina (2020) , Peter K. Austin · ELPublishing

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1 in Saúba, Brazil and 4 in Upper Paragua, Venezuela
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Speaker numbers have decreased due to disease, interethnic conflict, and intermarriage with larger groups.

DATE OF INFO: 2017

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Arutani is believed to be either gravely endangered or dormant.

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

The remaining speakers have a positive attitude about Arutani, but few chances to use it.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Declared an official language of Venezuela in 2008

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Shirián
Ninam

PLACES: Traditionally spoken along the Paragua and Uraricáa rivers & tributaries on the Venezuelan-Brazilian border

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
There is one speaker remaining, she lives in Sauba, a villiage in the Brazilian Amazon.

DATE OF INFO: 2019

PLACES: Brazil

Dormant
0?
Native speakers worldwide
SEMI SPEAKERS
2?
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Perhaps one or two semi-speakers? Uruák’s status is in doubt; it appears unlikely that any speakers remain; however, this needs urgently to be confirmed. Only 5 remaining speakers were reported in the 1960s, intermarried with Ninam (Yanomaman) speakers (Migliazza 1978:135). Coppens (1970b) reported that the Uruák were highly integrated into Sanuma (Yanomaman) culture and spoke Sanuma in their daily conversations. Laura Perozo (2008:774-5) reported that the sociocultural research team found no speakers of Uruák, but they did encounter one person in the village of Karukén who claimed to be a speaker of both Uruák and Sapé, though it was not possible to verify this.

DATE OF INFO: 2013

PLACES: Venezuela, Brazil

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Uruák (a.k.a. Awaké, Ahuaqué, Urutani, Arutani) was spoken on the upper Paragua and Uraricaá rivers near Mount Urutani of the Venezuela-
Brazil border.

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
5
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
29 in Venezuela

DATE OF INFO: 1964

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
5
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1985

PLACES: Venezuela

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
19
Native speakers worldwide

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
19
Native speakers worldwide

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
42
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
There are 17 speakers in Brazil (SIL 1986).
(Unchanged 2016.)

DATE OF INFO: 1986

PLACES: Venezuela; Brazil;

					Personal Communication on Arutani										Thiago Chacon				1	2019	1-9	There is one speaker remaining, she lives in Sauba, a villiage in the Brazilian Amazon.					Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Brazil
			16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International			Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		42	1986	10-99	There are 17 speakers in Brazil (SIL 1986). (Unchanged 2016.)					Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Venezuela; Brazil;
				2010	The status of the least documented language families in the world		177-212			Language Documentation and Conservation	4			http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/4478/hammarstrom.pdf;jsessionid=76414DD90F95DF076959B1AEB0158091?sequence=1	Hammarström, Harald	Harald Hammarström. 2010. "The Status of the Least Documented Language Families in the World." In Language Documentation and Conservation, 4: 177-212. Online: http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/4478/hammarstrom.pdf;jsessionid=76414DD90F95DF076959B1AEB0158091?sequence=1.		29 in Venezuela	5	1964	1-9						Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
					Three Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) Language Isolates: Máko, Sapé, and Uruák. Supplement to Collaborative Research: Endangered Languages Catalog (ELCat), NSF grant 965088057.						2013		National Science Foundation		Lyle Campbell (Principal Investigator)	Three Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) Language Isolates: Máko, Sapé, and Uruák. Lyle Campbell Principal Investigator. Supplement to Collaborative Research: Endangered Languages Catalog (ELCat), NSF grant 965088057.			0?	2013		Perhaps one or two semi-speakers? Uruák’s status is in doubt; it appears unlikely that any speakers remain; however, this needs urgently to be confirmed. Only 5 remaining speakers were reported in the 1960s, intermarried with Ninam (Yanomaman) speakers (Migliazza 1978:135). Coppens (1970b) reported that the Uruák were highly integrated into Sanuma (Yanomaman) culture and spoke Sanuma in their daily conversations. Laura Perozo (2008:774-5) reported that the sociocultural research team found no speakers of Uruák, but they did encounter one person in the village of Karukén who claimed to be a speaker of both Uruák and Sapé, though it was not possible to verify this.	2?				Dormant ()					Venezuela, Brazil	Uruák (a.k.a. Awaké, Ahuaqué, Urutani, Arutani) was spoken on the upper Paragua and Uraricaá rivers near Mount Urutani of the Venezuela- Brazil border.
			3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing			Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		19		10-99						Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)							3.9957,-63.5888
				2007	South America	Atlas of the World's Endangered Languages	103-196	C. Moseley	London & New York: Routledge						Mily Crevels	Crevels, Mily. 2007. "South America." In Atlas of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 103-196. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD		5	1985	1-9						Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Venezuela
					World Oral Literature Project									http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			19		10-99						Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
ISNN: 1740-6234	Language Snapshots	July		2020	Arutani (Venezuela and Brazil) - Language Snapshots			Peter K. Austin	ELPublishing	Language Documentation and Description				http://www.elpublishing.org/docs/1/17/ldd17_15.pdf	Jorge Emilio Roses Labrada, Thiago Chacon, Francia Medina	Rosés Labrada, Jorge Emilio, Thiago Chacon & Francia Medina. 2020. Arutani (Venezuela and Brazil) – Language Snapshot. In Peter K. Austin (ed.) Language Documentation and Description 17, 170-177. London: EL Publishing. Link to this article: http://www.elpublishing.org/PID/193			1 in Saúba, Brazil and 4 in Upper Paragua, Venezuela	2017	1-9	Speaker numbers have decreased due to disease, interethnic conflict, and intermarriage with larger groups.		Shirián, Ninam	Declared an official language of Venezuela in 2008	The remaining speakers have a positive attitude about Arutani, but few chances to use it.	Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	Arutani is believed to be either gravely endangered or dormant.	15	15	Traditionally spoken along the Paragua and Uraricáa rivers & tributaries on the Venezuelan-Brazilian border		4.07, -62.87; 3.85, -62.58

Arutani

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1 in Saúba, Brazil and 4 in Upper Paragua, Venezuela

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Dormant

0?

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

19

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

19

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

42

Discussion

Arutani

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1 in Saúba, Brazil and 4 in Upper Paragua, Venezuela

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Dormant

0?

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

19

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

19

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

42

Discussion

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