Surui language

Suruí
Suruí
Paíter
Pronunciation	[pa.iˈte:ɾ̥]
Native to	Brazil
Region	Rondônia, Mato Grosso
Ethnicity	Paiter
Native speakers	1,000 (2006)
Language family	Tupian Monde Suruí; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	sru
Glottolog	suru1262
ELP	Paiter
Linguasphere	88-EAB-ad

Suruí (of Jiparaná), also known as Paíter or Suruí-Paíter, is a Tupian language of Brazil. The Suruí of Rondônia call themselves Paiter, which means “the true people, we ourselves". They speak a language of the Tupi group and Monde language family. There were 1,375 Suruí-Paíter in 2014.

Phonology

Vowels

	Oral			Nasal
	Front	Central	Back	Front	Central	Back
Close	i iː	ɨ ɨː		ĩ ĩː	ɨ̃ ɨ̃ː
Mid	e eː		o oː	ẽ ẽː		õ õː
Open		a aː			ã ãː

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	voiceless	p	t	tʃ	k
Stop	voiced	b	d	(dʒ)	ɡ
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Fricative		β	s	ʃ		h
Tap			ɾ
Approximant			l	j	(w)

/β/ can be heard as either [β] or [w] in free variation, and as [ɸ] when before voiceless consonants.
/b/ can be heard as prenasal [ᵐb] when after a nasal vowel, or when in initial position.
/h/ can be heard as voiced [ɦ] when between vowels. It is also said to be heard as a voiceless lateral [l̥], among elder speakers.
/j/ can be heard as nasal [j̃] when preceding or in between nasal vowels.
Sounds /p, t, k, m, n, ŋ/, can be heard as [p̚, t̚, k̚, m̚, n̚, ŋ̚] in word-final position.

References

↑ Suruí at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
↑ Surui, Tiago Iteor (2020-12-09). Descrevendo a língua dos Paiter ej (Suruí de Rondônia) : contribuições de um falante nativo (MA thesis). Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
↑ "Surui Paiter - Indigenous Peoples in Brazil". pib.socioambiental.org. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
↑ Guerra, Mariana de Lacerda (2004). Aspects of Suruí Phonology and Phonetics. Université Libre de Bruxelles.

External links

ELAR archive of Documentation of Gavião and Suruí Languages in whistled and instrumental speech by Julien Meyer
ELAR archive of Language Documentation of traditional culture among the Gavião and Suruí of Rondônia by Dennis Moore

This Tupian languages–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[e18-1] Suruí at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Surui, Tiago Iteor (2020-12-09). Descrevendo a língua dos Paiter ej (Suruí de Rondônia) : contribuições de um falante nativo (MA thesis). Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2025-10-31.

[3] "Surui Paiter - Indigenous Peoples in Brazil". pib.socioambiental.org. Retrieved 2025-10-31.

[4] Guerra, Mariana de Lacerda (2004). Aspects of Suruí Phonology and Phonetics. Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Suruí
Paíter
Pronunciation	[pa.iˈte:ɾ̥]
Native to	Brazil
Region	Rondônia, Mato Grosso
Ethnicity	Paiter
Native speakers	1,000 (2006)
Language family	Tupian Monde Suruí
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`sru`
Glottolog	`suru1262`
ELP	Paiter
Linguasphere	`88-EAB-ad`