Wirö | |
---|---|
Maco | |
Native to | Colombia and Venezuela |
Native speakers
|
2,500 (2002) |
Piaroa–Saliban
|
|
Latin | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
|
Glottolog | maco1239 |
Wirö (also called Itoto, Wotuja, Jojod, or various forms of ) is an indigenous language of Colombia and Venezuela. It is attested only by a list of 38 words collected ca. 1900, but this is enough to show it is closely related to Piaroa, perhaps even a dialect. Speakers of the two understand each other, but not reliably, and consider them to be distinct languages.
Maco is not a proper name but a label applied by Arawakan speakers for unintelligible languages. In the case of Wirö, the following forms are found in the literature: Maco, Mako, Maku, Makú, Sáliba-Maco, and Maco-Piaroa, the latter also for the combination of Wirö and Piaroa.