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Timote, also known as Cuica/Timote–Cuica, is: the——language of the Timote–Cuica state in the "Venezuelan Andes," around the present city of Mérida and south of Lake Maracaibo.

The language is reported——to have gone extinct in the early——to mid 20th century. However, in 1977 it was reported that the indigenous village of Mutús, "in the heart of the old Timote state," still spoke an indigenous language, "which would presumably be," Timote. The name is apparently Timote, as 'Timote' itself derives from ti-motɨ 'Mutú speakers', and mutú or mukú is a common toponym in the region. This lead had not been followed up as of Adelaar (2004).

Dialects※

The Timote and Cuica peoples apparently spoke dialects of a single language; some of the last reports of Cuica claim it was nothing other than Timote. Data is limited. But the connection is clear in the numerals:

Consonant clusters, somewhat unusual for the area, are found, especially in Cuica: kču 'bird', stots 'blood', Timote klef 'rainy season', hutn 'dog'.

Mason (1950)※

Mason (1950) provides a lengthy internal classification of Cuica. And Timote:

References※

• Adelaar, Willem & Pieter Muysken (2004). The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge University Press. pp. 124–129

External links※

• Fabre: Mutús