Wayuu language
Wayuu (Wayuu: Wayuunaiki [waˈjuːnaiki]), or Guajiro, is a major Arawakan language spoken by 400,000 indigenous Wayuu people in northwestern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia on the Guajira Peninsula and surrounding Lake Maracaibo.
| Wayuu | |
|---|---|
| Guajiro | |
| Wayuunaiki | |
| Pronunciation | [waˈjuːnaiki] |
| Native to | Venezuela, Colombia |
| Ethnicity | 790,000 Wayuu people (2011 & 2019 censuses) |
Native speakers | 420,000 (2008–2012) |
Arawakan
| |
| Latin script | |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Centro Etnoeducativo Kamusuchiwoꞌu |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | guc |
| Glottolog | wayu1243 |
| ELP | Guajiro |
Extent of the Wayuu people and language | |
| People | Wayuu |
|---|---|
| Language | Wayuunaiki |
| Country | Wajiira |
There were an estimated 300,000 speakers of Wayuunaiki in Venezuela in 2012 and another 120,000 in Colombia in 2008, approximately half the ethnic population of 400,000 in Venezuela (2011 census) and 400,000 in Colombia (2018 census). Smith (1995) reports that a mixed Wayuu—Spanish language is replacing Wayuunaiki in both countries. However, Campbell (1997) could find no information on this.
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