Páez (Nasa Yuwe)

Páez is a language isolate spoken mainly in the Tierradentro area in the north of Cauca Department in the southwest of Colombia. There are also some speakers of Páez in Huila, Tolima and Valle del Cauca Departments. In 2007 there were about 75,000 Páez speakers, half of whom were monolingual.

Páez is taught in some schools, and also used on some radio stations.

Páez alphabet and pronunciation

The letters á, ó and ú are also used to show stress. In the sample text below, umlauts are used instead of tildes on the letters e and u.

Download an alphabet chart for Páez

Sample text

Ya'nwe'wewa'te' maa nasapa ha'dacehk hi'pku up'hi', wëtte u'huwa'hi'pta', eena' eena' f'i'zewa' hi'pta', üus hi'pta' d'ik'the hi'pta' naapa'kate. Sa' h'ukaysa üus hi'pcehktha'w sa' pyakhna'we f'i'ze hi'ptha'w.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Links

Information about Páez
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Páez_language
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Páez_(langue)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paez_(Sprache)
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Паэс
http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/pbb/
http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/paez1247
http://www.ling.fi/Entradas%20diccionario/Dic=Nasa.pdf

Páez dictionary
http://talkingdictionary.swarthmore.edu/paez/

Language isolates

Adaizan, Ainu, Basque, Burushaski, Candoshi-Shapra, Chitimacha, Eskayan, Hadza, Haida, Karuk, Kawésqar, Keres, Kuot, Kusunda, Kutenai, Natchez, Nihali, Nivkh, Páez, Purepecha, Sandawe, Seri, Sumerian, Tartessian, Ticuna, Tiwi, Tonkawa, Tunica, Urarina, Waorani, Warao, Wardaman, Washo, Yaghan, Yele, Yuchi/Euchee, Zuni

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 23.04.21

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