Timótean | |
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Geographic distribution: |
Venezuela |
Linguistic classification: | Timotean |
Subdivisions: | |
Timote and Cuica toponyms
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The Timotean languages were spoken in the Venezuelan Andes around what is now Mérida. It is assumed that they are extinct. However, Timote may survive in the so-far unattested Mutú (Loco) language, as this occupies a mountain village (Mutús) within the old Timote state.[1][2]
There is no apparent connection to the Chibchan, Arawakan, or Cariban families, apart from sporadic resemblances with Paez and some divergent Chibchan languages, so Timotean appears to be an independent family.
There were two closely related languages, each a pair of dialects:
Traditionally, Mucuchí and Mirripú have been classified as dialects of Timote, with Cuica as a distinct language, but the data in Loukotka (1968) (unless it's been mislabeled)[1] indicates that Cuica is a dialect of Timote, and that Mucuchí–Mirripú are a separate language.