Nambikwaran languages
| Nambikwaran | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
Mato Grosso, Brazil |
| Linguistic classification: | Nambikwaran |
| Subdivisions: | |
| Ethnologue code: | 17-416 |
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|
The Nambikwaran languages are a language family of half a dozen languages, all spoken in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. They have traditionally been considered dialects of a single language, but at least three of them are mutually unintelligible.
- Mamaindê (350)
- Nambikwara (1200)
- Sabanê (60)
The varieties of Mamaindê are often seen as dialects of a single language, but are treated as separate Northern Nambikwaran languages by Ethnologue. Sabanê is a single speech community and thus has no dialects, while the Nambikwara language has been described as having eleven.[1]
The total number of speakers is estimated to be about 1,500, with Nambikwara proper being 80% of that number.[2] Most Nambikwara are monolingual but some young men speak Portuguese.[3] Especially the men of the Sabanê group are trilingual, speaking both Portuguese and Mamainde.[4]
References [edit]
- ^ Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian languages: the historical linguistics of Native America. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
- ^ Nambiquaran languages. Ethnologue. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
- ^ Kroeker, 2001 p. 1
- ^ Ethnologue. Ethnologue. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
