Waiwai /ˈwaɪwaɪ/[2] (Uaiuai, Uaieue, Ouayeone) is a Cariban language of northern Brazil, with a couple hundred speakers across the border in southern Guyana and Suriname.
| Waiwai | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Brazil, Guyana, Suriname |
| Ethnicity | Wai-Wai |
Native speakers | (2,200 cited 1990–2006)[1] |
Cariban
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | waw |
| Glottolog | waiw1244 |
| ELP | |
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | t | tʃ | k | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | |||
| Fricative | ɸ | s | ʃ | h | ||
| Tap | ɺ | ɭ̥̆ | ||||
| Approximant | w | j |
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | ɨ ɨː | u uː |
| Mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Low | a aː |
- /o/ can be heard as [ʌ] when following palatal consonants /tʃ, ʃ/.
- /a/ can be heard as [æ] when preceded by sounds /j, tʃ/, and followed by sounds /w, m, s/.[3]
References
External links
- Lev, Michael; Stark, Tammy; Chang, Will (2012). "Phonological inventory of Waiwai". The South American Phonological Inventory Database (version 1.1.3 ed.). Berkeley: University of California: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages Digital Resource.
- Waiwai Collection of Niels Fock from the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America, containing audio recordings of ceremonial chants and photographs made in the 1950s.
- Wai Wai (Intercontinental Dictionary Series)