Kaiwá language

Kaiwá is a Guarani language spoken by about 18,000 Kaiwá people in Brazil in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and 510 people in northeastern Argentina. Literacy is 5-10% in Kaiwá and 15–25% in Portuguese. Kaiwá proper is 70% lexically similar with the Pai Tavytera language, and its similarity to its linguistic cousin Guaraní, one of the two national-languages of Paraguay alongside the Spanish language, means it is even sometimes considered mutually intelligible.[1]

Kaiwá
Kayova
Native toArgentina, Brazil
EthnicityKaiwá
Native speakers
18,000 (2003)[1]
Tupian
Language codes
ISO 639-3kgk
Glottologkaiw1246
ELPKaiwá[2]
Extent of the Kaiwá language in the northeast Argentine panhandle shown in teal.

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ĩ ɨ ɨ̃ u ũ
Close-mid e ẽ o õ
Open a ã
  • /e/ can also be heard as [ɛ].

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Stop voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced ɡ ɡʷ
prenasal ᵐb ~ m ⁿd ~ n ᶮdʲ ~ ɲ
Fricative v s ʃ h
Rhotic ɾ
Approximant (j) (w)
  • Prenasalized stops can also be heard as nasal sonorants.
  • [w] is heard as an allophone of /v/ or /u/.
  • [j] is heard as an allophone of /i/.[3]

Sample text

Eregwata-ramo ka'agwy-rupi erehexa gwa'a. Hagwe pytã porã. Oveve áry-rupi gwa'a. Oveve-ramo, "Kaa! Kaa!" he'i. Heta oĩ gwa'a ka'agwy-rupi.[4]

Portuguese translation:[4]

Quando você passeia no mato, você vê a arara. A plumagem dela é dum vermelho bonito. A arara voa no céu. Quando voa, grita "Kaa! Kaa!" Há muitas araras no mato.

Rough English translation:

When you walk in the bush, you see the macaw. The plumage is a beautiful red. The macaw flies in the sky. When it flies, it shouts "Kaa! Kaa!" There are many macaws in the bush.

Notes

  1. Kaiwá at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Endangered Languages Project data for Kaiwá.
  3. Bridgeman, Loraine I. (1961). Kaiwa (Guarani) Phonology. International Journal of American Linguistics Vol. 27, No. 4: The University of Chicago Press.CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. Te'ýi nhe'ẽ. 5 Cartilha Kaiwá, pg 2.

Bibliography


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