Esmeralda language

Esmeralda, or Esmeraldeño, is an extinct language isolate formerly spoken in the coastal region of Ecuador, specifically in the western part of Esmeraldas Province. The only existing data for Atacame was collected by J.M. Pallares in 1877.

Classification

It has been proposed that the language is connected to the still-spoken Yaruro language of Venezuela. It also has some lexical similarities with the extinct Yurumanguí language, as well with the southern Barbacoan language Tsafiki.

Vocabulary

lists the following basic vocabulary items.