Kwaza language
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"Koaia language" redirects here. For the language of the Mato Grosso, see Mato Grosso Arara language.
| Kwaza | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koaiá | ||||
| Spoken in | Brazil | |||
| Region | Rondônia | |||
| Ethnicity | Kwazá people | |||
| Native speakers | 25 (as of 2005[update]) (date missing) | |||
| Language family | ||||
| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-3 | xwa | |||
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Kwaza (also written Kwazá or Koaiá) is an endangered, unclassified language spoken by the Kwaza people of Brazil.[1] As of 2005[update] there were only 25 known speakers,[2] living in close proximity with neighbouring speakers of the Aikanã and Nambikwaran languages, though over half of these were children.
Contents |
[edit] Phonology
[edit] Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i /i/ | y /ɨ/ | u /u/ |
| Mid | e /e/ | ||
| Open-Mid | ɛ /ɛ/ œ /œ/ |
o /ɔ/ | |
| Open | a /a/ |
- All vowels, except <œ>, may be nasalized.
[edit] Consonants
| Labial | Lamino-alveolar | Apico-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | Voiceless | p /p/ | t /t/ | c /c/ | k /k/ | ? /ʔ/ | |
| Implosive | b /ɓ/ | d /ɗ/ | |||||
| Affricate | ts /t͡s/ | tx /t͡ʃ/ | |||||
| Fricative | s /s/ | x /s̠~ʃ̠/ | h /h/ | ||||
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ñ /ɲ/ | ||||
| Tap | r /ɾ/ | ||||||
| Lateral | l /l/ | ||||||
| Approximant | w /w/ | j /j/ | |||||
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Introduction: Kwazá." Povos Indígenas no Brasil. Retrieved 12 Feb 2012.
- ^ "Kwaza." Ethnologue. Retrieved 12 Feb 2012.
[edit] Further reading
- van der Voort, Hein (2004). A Grammar of Kwaza. Mouton de Gruyter.
- van der Voort, Hein (November 1998). "Kwazá". Encyclopedia of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil. http://socioambiental.org/pib/epienglish/kwaza/kwaza.shtm.
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