Currently,
Páez (Nasa Yuwe) is best considered either a
language isolate or the only surviving member of an otherwise
extinct language family (Adelaar & Muysken 2004, Gordon 2005, Matteson 1972, Fabre 2005). It has often been grouped with other languages in a
Paezan family, but several of these proposals are based on a historical error involving
Guambiano. Even before the discovery of the error, Campbell (1997: 173) stated, "There is no consensus upon Paezan, and opinions vary greatly".
Páez, Panzaleo, Andaquí One of the most often repeated statements (e.g. Loukotka 1968; Kaufman 1990, 1994) is the supposed connection between Páez and the extinct
Panzaleo (also known as Pansaleo, Latacunga, or Quito), formerly spoken in
highlands of
Ecuador. However, Panzaleo is poorly documented and the evidence for this relationship is weak and may be from
language contact. Thus, Panzaleo may best be considered an
unclassified language (Adelaar &
Muysken 2004: 393-397; Campbell 1997). The
Andaquí isolate (also extinct) is often connected with Páez in a Paezan grouping. Documentation is a 20-page list of words and expressions by an anonymous author published in 1928 and another word list collected in 1854 by a priest (Manuel María Albis). There are a number of similarities in vocabulary between Andaquí and Páez, as noted by Jolkesky (2015) and Adelaar (2004). In other aspects, the differences are greater. Jolkesky (2015) also found lexical similarities with
Tinigua.
More distant relations Prior to Curnow's correction, the Paez–Coconucan "family" had been connected to various other families. Greenberg included Paezan in a
Macro-Chibchan (or
Chibchan–Paezan) stock with
Barbacoan,
Chibchan,
Chocoan,
Jirajaran, and the isolates
Betoi,
Kamsá (Sibundoy),
Yaruro,
Esmeraldeño,
Mochica,
Cunza (Atacameño),
Itonama, and
Yurumanguí.
Morris Swadesh's
Paezan included Páez, Barbacoan, Coconucan, Andaquí, Cunza,
Kapixana, and
Mashubí. Kaufman's (1990, 1994)
Macro-Páesan "cluster" proposal included "Paesan" (as explained above)–Barbacoan, Cunza–
Kapixana,
Betoi,
Itonama, and
Warao. ==See also==