Yao (Jaoi, Yaoi, Yaio, Anacaioury) is an extinct Cariban language of Trinidad and French Guiana, attested in a single 1640 word list recorded by Joannes de Laet. It is thought that the Yao people migrated from the Orinoco to the islands perhaps a century earlier, after the Kaliña.[1] The name 'Anacaioury' is that of a number of chiefs encountered over a century or so.

Yao
Jaoi
Yebarana
Native toTrinidad, French Guiana
Era17th century
Cariban
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottologyaoa1239

Yao is too poorly attested to classify within Cariban with any confidence, though Terrence Kaufman links it to the extinct Tiverikoto.[2] A few of the attested words are: nonna' or noene 'moon', weyo 'sun', capou 'céu', chirika 'star', pepeïte 'wind', kenape 'rain', soye 'earth', parona 'sea', ouapoto 'fire', aroua 'jaguar', pero 'dog' (from Spanish).[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Tassinari (2003) No Bom da Festa, p 122–125
  2. ^ Kaufman, Terrence (1994). Moseley, Christopher; Asher, R.E. (eds.). Atlas of the World's Languages. New York: Routledge. pp. 73–74. ISBN 0-415-01925-7.73-74&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=1994&rft.isbn=0-415-01925-7&rft.aulast=Kaufman&rft.aufirst=Terrence&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Yaio language" class="Z3988">