Waurá language
Arawakan language spoken in Brazil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Waurá (Wauja) is an Arawakan language spoken in the Xingu Indigenous Park of Brazil by the Waujá people.[2] It is "partially intelligible" with Mehináku. The entire population speaks the language.[1]
| Waurá | |
|---|---|
| Wauja | |
| Pronunciation | [waˈuʐa], [waˈuʂa] |
| Native to | Brazil |
| Region | Xingu Indigenous Park, Mato Grosso |
| Ethnicity | Wauja |
Native speakers | 320 (2006)[1] |
Arawakan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wau |
qdv Waura–Mehináku | |
| Glottolog | waur1244 |
| ELP | Waurá |
Phonology
Consonants
- A glottal stop [ʔ] occurs phonetically before vowels in word-initial position, or after vowels in word-final position.
- /p/ can be heard as aspirated [pʰ] or voiced [b] in free variation.
- Stop sounds /t, k/ can be heard as aspirated [tʰ, kʰ] in free variation.
- /w/ can also be heard as [β] in free variation, except when before /u/.
- /s/ can be heard as voiced [z] when between vowels, or after initial vowels.
- /ʐ/ can be heard as voiceless [ʂ] when between vowels, or after initial vowels.
- /j/ can be heard as a palatal nasal [ɲ] when occurring before nasal vowels /ã, ẽ, ũ/.
Vowels
- Sounds /i, u, ɨ, a/ can also be heard in lax form as [ɪ, ʊ, ə, ɐ].
- Sounds /e, eː, ẽ/ can be heard as close-mid [e, eː, ẽ] or open-mid [ɛ, ɛː, ɛ̃] in free variation.[3]
