Paezan languages
Paezan may be any of several hypothetical or obsolete language-family proposals of Colombia and Ecuador named after the Paez language.
Proposals
Currently, Páez is best considered either a language isolate or the only surviving member of an otherwise extinct language family. It has often been grouped with other languages in a Paezan family, but several of these proposals are based on a historical error involving Guambiano. Even before the discovery of the error, Campbell stated, "There is no consensus upon Paezan, and opinions vary greatly".Páez, Panzaleo, Andaquí
One of the most often repeated statements is the supposed connection between Páez and the extinct Panzaleo, formerly spoken in highlands of Ecuador. However, Panzaleo is poorly documented and the evidence for this relationship is weak and may be from language contact. Thus, Panzaleo may best be considered an unclassified language.The Andaquí isolate is often connected with Páez in a Paezan grouping. Documentation is a 20-page list of words and expressions by an anonymous author published in 1928 and another word list collected in 1854 by a priest. There are a number of similarities in vocabulary between Andaquí and Páez, as noted by Jolkesky and Adelaar. In other aspects, the differences are greater.
Jolkesky also found lexical similarities with Tinigua.
Páez–Coconucan
The Coconucan languages were first grouped together with Páez by Henri Beuchat & Paul Rivet in 1910. Curnow shows this is based on misinterpretation of a Moguex vocabulary of Douay, which is a mix of Páez and Guambiano/Totoró. The error has led to subsequent classifiers to group Páez with Guambiano, missing the obvious identification of Coconucan as Barbacoan. Additionally, the term 'Moguex' can be treated as a synonym of Guambiano.Matteson's 1972 comparison of Páez and Guambiano vocabularies show just a 5.2% overlap, less than comparisons between Páez and Arawak, Quechua and Proto-Chibchan. Following linguists such as Matteson, Curnow, Curnow & Liddicoat, and Adelaar & Muysken, the Coconucan languages are now placed under Barbacoan. The question of connections between Páez, Panzaleo, and Andaquí, as mentioned above, remains open.
Ethnologue groups Coconucan with Paez and Andaqui in a Paezan family.