Yanomám language

Yanomám
Yąnomamɨ
Native toBrazil
RegionRoraima, Amazonas
EthnicityYanomami
Native speakers
6,000 (2006)
Yanomam
  • Yanomám
Official status
Official language in
Brazil ( Amazonas)
Language codes
ISO 639-3wca
Glottologyano1262
ELPYanomam
Yanomaman languages location
  Yanomamö
  Ninam
  Yanomám
  Sanumá
  Ỹaroamë

Yanomám, also Waiká (or Yanomae, Yanomama, Yanomami), is one of several closely related languages spoken by the Yanomami people in Brazil. Most speakers are monolingual. For a grammatical description, see Yanomaman languages.

The names Waika (Guaica) and Yanomami are shared with the Yanomamö language.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive plain p t k
aspirated tʰ
Fricative s ʃ h
Approximant w j
Nasal m n
Flap ɾ

/ɾ/ may aso be realized as [l]. A glottal stop [ʔ] occurs between vowels but is not phonemic. The language does not distinguish voiced and voiceless stops, and the stops may be realized as either voiced or voiceless.

Vowels

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i ĩ ɨ ɨ̃ u ũ
Mid e ẽ ə o õ
Open a ã

References

  1. ↑ Yanomám at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Amazonas passa a ter 16 línguas indígenas oficiais; saiba quais são". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  3. ↑ Ferreira, Helder Perri; Machado, Ana Maria Antunes; Senra, Estevão Benfica. 2019. As línguas Yanomami no Brasil: diversidade e vitalidade. São Paulo: Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) and Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN). 216pp. ISBN 978-85-8226-076-0
  4. ↑ Ferreira, Helder Perri; Machado, Ana Maria Antunes; Senra, Estevão Benfica. 2019. As línguas Yanomami no Brasil: diversidade e vitalidade. São Paulo: Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) and Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN). 216pp. ISBN 978-85-8226-076-0
  5. ↑ Ferreira, Helder Perri (2017). Yanomama Clause Structure (PDF). Utrecht: LOT. ISBN 978-94-6093-258-8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2021.