Waorani language

The Waorani language, commonly known as Sabela is a vulnerable language isolate spoken by the Waorani 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.

Classification

Sabela is not known to be related to any other language. However, it forms part of Terrence Kaufman's Yawan proposal.
Jolkesky also notes that there are lexical similarities with Yaruro.

Waorani is primarily spoken in Waorani Ethnic Reserve, which is the largest indigenous reserve in Ecuador. Other areas where it is spoken include Pastaza and Napo provinces, Yasuní National Park, and the Taromenani Tagaeri Intangible Zone. Waorani is considered endangered due to growing bilingualism in Quechua and Spanish and diminishing Waorani usage among youth.

Waorani has three dialects: Tiguacuna, Tuei, and ''Shiripuno.''

Waorani distinguishes nasal vowels from oral ones. Syllable structure is V, with frequent vowel sequences. The allophones of range from and the allophones of have a similar range,, and allophones of can be heard as. The alveolar tap is an allophone of and the palatal glide is an allophone of.

Loukotka lists the following basic vocabulary items for Sabela and Tiwituey.