Author's note: This is not my original work, this is a translated document into English for wider

use. Please note that it is helpful to have a little bit if knowledge over Spanish grammar, but it is
possible to understand the content without grasping Spanish grammar

Introduction 1
PART 1, WAYUUNAIKI-ENGLISH 2
Notes over the grammar 2
Nouns 2
Adjectives 3
Pronouns 3
Verbs 4
Postpositions 6
Adverbs 6
Conjunctions 6

Introduction
Wayuunaiki (Guajiro), a member of the Arawak language family, is the basic language of the
Wayuu ethnic group of more than 300,000 people living in the desert La Guajira Peninsula in
northeastern Colombia and northwest Venezuela and its surroundings. These proud people are
a pastoral and its economy depends mainly on its animals. There are some dialectal
differences, but these are minimal and do not prevent communication between the Wayuu in
any part of the region. The present work has its origin in my linguistic studies for many years of
the wayuunaiki, especially in the municipality of Uribia, in the department of La Guajira in
Colombia.

Although there are already a few dictionaries of wayuunaiki, so far they have not been
presented in the spelling currently accepted in Colombia and Venezuela and have not been
easy to obtain. Some very good ones for the scholar are Martha's wayuunaiki-Spanish
Dictionary (Caracas, 1963) Hildebrandt, the Systematic Dictionary of the wayuunaiki Language
(Caracas, 1988) by Miguel Ángel Jusayú and Jesús Olza Zubiri, and the Dictionary of the
wayuunaiki Language. Spanish-Wayuunaiki (Caracas/Maracaibo, 1981) also from Jusayú and
Olza. The purpose of this work is then to offer a basic dictionary that can serve especially
Wayuu students in their bilingual schools but also Spanish speakers who are interested in
knowing something about this beautiful and complex language of the Wayuu ethnic group. The
Wayuunaiki-Spanish dictionary contains a selection of more than 1200 words that I consider
basic in the human experience in general, but in particular for the Wayuu universe. The words
(more than 1400) of the Spanish-wayuunaiki dictionary, in general, are those that come from the
meanings of the words of that selection.

It is not proposed to treat the grammar of wayuunaiki here, much less that of english. For a
broader treatment of the grammar of wayuunaiki, the reader is referred to the Grammar of the
wayuunaiki language (San Cristóbal, 1986) by Jesús Olza Zubiri and Miguel Angel Jusayú.
Also, a didactic grammar is Let's learn wayuunaiki. Pedagogical Grammar of wayuunaiki
(Lomalinda, 1984) by Karis B. Mansen and Richard A. Mansen. A brief treatise on grammar can
be found in "The Wayuu language (or wayuunaiki)" by Richard Mansen and David Captain in
Indigenous Languages of Colombia: a descriptive vision (Santafé de Bogotá, 2000). However, it
will be useful to mention here (in Part I and in Part II) some grammar elements that are related
to the presentation of the words in the dictionary.

PART 1, WAYUUNAIKI-ENGLISH

Notes over the grammar

Nouns
In wayuunaiki the nouns (nouns) are not classified by gender as is done in Spanish. When they
refer to males or male animals, they are treated as males. In other cases, including when they
refer to female women and animals, they are usually treated as non-male. For example, püliiki
can mean 'donkey (masc)' or 'donkey (fem)' depending on the context. To indicate the gender
and number of the subject, it is done with a determining suffix at the end of the noun that works
as the given article. The gender and number of the subject are also indicated in the
demonstrative adjective when it goes, in its position before the noun, in conjunction with the
determinative suffix. So püliikikai means 'the donkey (masc)' and püliikikat means 'the donkey
(fem)'. As the determinative suffixes are not included in the dictionary, they are given below.

The determinative suffixes

Singular Plural

Masculine -kai

Non-Masc -kat

Not specified -kana

A few nouns, due to their composition, have their masculine, non- Masculine, and plural forms
indicated by their ending. For these nouns, the masculine form is given first in the dictionary,
followed by the final part and different from the non-male form. The plural form is given after the
abbreviation pl.

However, there is a different class of nouns that are identified in this dictionary as possessed
nouns. This class includes, for example, kinship nouns and body parts. The noun possessed
normally requires a personal prefix that indicates the possessor and agrees with it in person, in
number and (in the third person singular) in gender. We will see these prefixes when dealing
with personal pronouns. For example, to the word aüliijana, 'necklace', you can add the personal
prefix ta- giving taüliijana, 'my necklace'. In the rare case that the possessed noun does not
have reference to a specific possessor, it must be converted into an absolute noun by adding
the suffix -aa and it is left without a prefix. So aüiijanaa would mean 'someone's necklace'. Many
of the other nouns can also be possessed. In this case, the same personal prefix is added and,
for most of them, a possession suffix (-in, -se, or -ya). For example, from the word kaa'ula,
'chivo', it can form takaa'ulain, 'mi chivo'. If the possessed form of these nouns is regular, only
the suffix that corresponds to them is given in their respective articles. But for every noun that
has a possessed or absolute irregular shape, its complete form is given.

The plurality of a noun is sometimes distinguished only by the context, but it can also be
explicitly pointed out by placing the suffix -irua at the end of the nouns (and after the
determinative suffix when it is present). A small number of nouns, usually with reference to
people, accept the suffix -yuu or a variant to form a special plural that indicates a group. For
example, from the word laïlaa, 'elder', can form laülaayuu "Elderly". These plural forms are given
in the respective articles.

Adjectives
There aren't many adjectives in wayuunaiki. Most of the qualities expressed by adjectives in
Spanish are expressed in wayuunaiki by means of state verbs. A few adjectives agree with the
noun they modify. In these cases, the respective masculine, non-male, and plural forms are
given in the dictionary. A few others, due to their composition, require the personal prefix, which
is in place with the modified noun. Of the adjective apüshua'a, for example, napüshua'a na
tooloyuukana (literally, 'they-all the men') is equivalent to 'all the men'. These are identified as
relative adjectives.

Pronouns
In Wayuunaiki there are seven personal pronouns. Unlike pronouns in Spanish, they are
invariable regardless of the function in the sentence. The determinative suffix can also be added
to a personal pronoun. From these pronouns come the personal prefixes, which can indicate: 1)
the subject of a verb, 2) the possessor of a noun, 3) the complement linked by a postposition, or
4) the subject of a relative adjective, a relative adverb, or a relative conjunction. In these cases,
the free pronoun usually does not give after the preset word unless it is of emphatic use. The
personal prefix with the postponement amüin is used to indicate the indirect complement.

Pronouns and their prefixes

Pronoun Prefix
 1P singular taya ta-

2p singular pia pü-

3p singular masc nia nü-

3p singular non-masc shia sü-/shü-

1p plural waya wa-

2p plural jia jü-

3p plural naya na-

According to phonological rules, the vowel of the prefix (as well as the s of the third person
non-masculine singular), usually assimilates the first vowel or semi-vowel of the root to which it
joins. For example, from ekii come shikii, 'his head (from her),' and wekii, 'our head'; and from
awala comes puwala, 'your brother'. It should be noted that for the Alta Guajira (Wüimpünüin)
dialect, the third non-masc singular person is jia.

Verbs
In wayuunaiki there are intransitive and transitive verbs, as in Spanish, but there are also stative
verbs. These serve to express a quality of the noun (or pronoun) that serves as a subject in the
sentence. It is equivalent to the combination in Spanish of an adjective with the verb ser or
estar. A group of stative verbs consists of those that are formed by adding the prefix ka-,
attributive, or ma-, negative, to a possessed noun or a postponement. For example, from the
possessed noun atsüin, 'strength', the verbs katsüinwaa, 'to be strong', and matsüinwaa, 'to be
without strength' can be derived.

In the dictionary, verbs are given in their infinitive form that consists of a verbal root plus the
suffix -aa. This suffix usually assimilates the last vowel of the root. According to another
phonological rule (which resolves the union of two double vowels), when the root ends in a
double vowel, this vowel becomes simple and a w is introduced by adding the infinitive suffix.
The infinitive can be formed from a simple root or a compound. Compound roots are formed by
adding a voice suffix to the simple root. The passive voice is indicated by the suffix -na and
serves, as in Spanish, to indicate that the subject receives the action of the verb. The causative
voice is indicated by the suffix -ira and indicates that the subject makes another perform the
action of the verb. When the root ends in a double vowel, it merges with the causative voice
suffix giving -e'era. In the event that the passive suffix is added to the causative suffix, the r of
this one is assimilated to the n of that one by a phonological rule. The reflexive voice is
indicated by the suffix -iraa and indicates that the same subject who performs the action also
receives it. Similarly, this suffix can also be used to indicate that those who constitute a plural
subject perform the action reciprocally or as a whole. When the root ends a double vowel, a j is
inserted when adding this suffix. In general, verbs derived by these voice suffixes are not
included in the dictionary unless they have come to have a special meaning. Below are some
examples of the formation of the infinitive.

Root Verb Causativ Passive Reflexiv Infinitiv Infinitive Translation (En/Es)

e Suffix Suffix e Suffix e Suffix

atkaa aa atkawaa to fight/pelear

atkaa ira aa atke'eraa to cause fight/hacer

pelear

atkaa iraa aa arkaajirawaa to fight in between

/pelear entre sí

ashaja aa ashajaa to write/escribir

ashaja ira aa ashajiraa to make to write

/mandar escribir

ashaja na aa ashajünnaa to be written/ser

escrito

Now, to the simple or compound verbal root, they can be added from among several suffixes of
mode and aspect before ending the verb, placing the suffix that indicates the tense, gender, and
number of the verb of an independent sentence. Some common suffixes of mood and
appearance are: -ee, wishful; -pü'ü, habitual; -wai, regularly or frequently; and -pünaa, [in]
passing. The gender-number suffixes of the most common tenses are given below. It is
important to note that while Spanish indicates person and number in the ending of the verb, the
wayuunaiki does not indicate person but gender and number.

Suffixes for common tenses

General/Pr Past Future Imminent Past Future

esent Past Perfect intentive
(have just) (going to)

S Masc -shi -jachi -eechi -ichi -ichipa -injachi

S -sü -jatü -eerü -irü -itpa -inajtü

Non-masc

Plural -shii -jana -eena -ina -inapa -injana

Generally, gender-number suffixes agree with the subject of the verb. Also, personal prefixes
can be used to indicate the subject of an intransitive or transitive verb, but in this case, the
gender-number suffix of the transitive verb usually agrees with the direct complement. For
example, atkaashii naya means 'they are fighting', but washajüitpa shia means "we have written
it".

It should be noted that in wayuunaiki there are numerous verbs that are placed with the noun
aa'in, 'heart', to form idiomatic expressions. Usually, when the verb is intransitive or state, the
noun aa'in serves as the subject of the verb, but it is the possessor of aa'in that corresponds to
the subject in Spanish/English. For example, ainkuusü waa'in (literally, 'got scared-F our-heart')
is equivalent to 'we get scared'. On the other hand, when the verb is transitive, the subject of the
verb corresponds to the subject in Spanish, aa'in serves as the direct complement and the
holder of aa'in corresponds to the direct complement in Spanish. For example, nike'ejüin taa'in
(literally, 'he-annoys my-heart'') is equivalent to 'he annoys me'. For the verbs of this group that
do not comply with these rules, an explanation of the grammatical relations is given in their
respective articles.

Postpositions
The postposition works like the preposition in Spanish/English to link an element of the
sentence with its complement, only, in wayuunaiki, it seems to be placed after the complement.
In limited cases, the postponement is joined to the end of the name that serves as a
complement. But normally, the personal prefix that corresponds to the complement in person
and number is added to the postponement and the complement follows it. Taking the
postponement alu'u, for example, 'in his belly' is usually expressed as nüleeru'u (literally,
'his-belly-in'), but 'in the garden' is expressed as sulu'u tü apainkat (literally, 'she-in the garden').

Adverbs
Adverbs work like adverbs in Spanish and most are invariable. However, there are a few who,
due to their composition, require the personal prefix that agree with the name with which it is
referenced. For example, from the adverb achukua'a, 'again, the sentence antüsù teikat
süchukua'a (literally, 'arrived my-mom she-again') is equivalent to 'my mom arrived again'.
These are identified in this dictionary as relative adverbs.

Conjunctions
Conjunctions work like conjunctions in Spanish. Some are invariable. But many of the
subordinating conjunctions are the same words that also work as postpositions. These words in
their function as a conjunction also require the personal prefix but it is always that of the third
person non-male singular because their reference is to the subordinate sentence that they link
with the independent. For example, with the relative conjunction aka, 'because', the subordinate
sentence süka ayuulin nia can be formed, 'because he is sick'. These conjunctions are identified
in this dictionary as relative conjunctions.