Waiwai
Native toBrazil, Guyana, Suriname
EthnicityWai-Wai
Native speakers
(2,200 cited 1990–2006)[1]
Cariban
Dialects
  • Katawian (Tunayana)
  • Karahawyana
Language codes
ISO 639-3waw
Glottologwaiw1244
ELP

Waiwai /ˈww/[2] (Uaiuai, Uaieue, Ouayeone) is a Cariban language of northern Brazil, with a couple hundred speakers across the border in southern Guyana and Suriname.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop t 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

  1. Waiwai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
  3. Hawkins, Robert (1998). Wai Wai. Desmond Derbyshire and Geoffrey Pullum (eds.), Handbook of Handbook of Amazonian Languages, Vol. 4: Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 25–224.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)


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