Wayampi language

Wayãpi
Wayampi
Wajãpi
Pronunciation[wajãˈpi] ~ [wãjãˈpi]
Native toFrench Guiana, Brazil
EthnicityWayãpi
Native speakers
(1,200 cited 2000)
Tupian
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3oym
Glottologwaya1270
ELPWayampí
Linguasphere88-AAA-b

Wayãpi or Wayampi (Waiãpi, Guayapi, Oiampí, Wayampi: Wajãpi) is a Tupi–Guarani language spoken by the Wayãpi people. It is spoken in French Guiana and Brazil.

Classification

Wayampi is a member of the Tupian language family. According to Brazilian linguist Aryon Rodrigues, it forms a subgroup with neighbouring Emerillon, as well as the Zoʼé, Kaʼapor (Urubú), Anambé, Guajá, Aurê–Aurá, and Takunyapé languages, termed Northern Tupi–Guarani. Wayampi and Emerillon are the only Tupian languages spoken in the region of the Guianas.

Dialects

Two dialects of Wayampi are distinguished in the literature, Amapari Wayampi and Guianese Wayampi.

History

The Wayampi migrated to their current area in the 18th century, similarly to the Zoʼé and Emerillon.

Documentation

The first documentation of Wayampi comes in a wordlist collected by Adam de Bauve and published in 1833 to 1834, followed by M. Leprieur in the same year. Both these wordlists were compiled in Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius's (1867) book Glossaria linguarum brasiliensium. These were followed by Jules Crevaux's 93-word list recorded in 1875 and published in 1882.

Phonology

Consonants

Wayampi has 13 consonant phonemes.

Consonant phonemes
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Nasal m n ŋ ⟨ĝ⟩
Plosive p t k kʷ ⟨kw⟩ ʔ ⟨'⟩
Fricative s h
Lateral l
Approximant w j

/p/ cannot occur word-finally.

Vowels

Vowel phonemes
Front Non-front
unrounded rounded
Close i ĩ ɯ ɯ̃ u ũ
Mid e ẽ o õ
Open a ã

In closed, or consonant-final, syllables, /e, o/ are realized as [ɛ, ɔ]. /i/ is attested in only one open, or vowel-final, syllable, in awasi 'corn'. Nasal vowels are more common in stressed syllables.

Orthography

Wayãpi is spelt phonetically based on the International Phonetic Alphabet, and not according the French orthography. The spelling uses the letter ɨ for the close central unrounded vowel between i and u. E is always pronounced é, vowels with a tilde are always nasal (ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ), ö is like the German O umlaut, and b is pronounced mb. All letters are pronounced.

References

  1. ↑ Wayãpi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 3 Carvalho, Fernando (2023-08-22). "Wajãpi (Brazil, French Guiana)". Language Documentation and Description: 5 Pages. doi:10.25894/LDD.333.
  3. ↑ Dixon, Robert M. W.; Aĭkhenvalʹd, A. I︠U︡, eds. (1999). The Amazonian languages (PDF). Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57021-3.
  4. ↑ Copin 2012.
  5. 1 2 Grenand, Françoise (1980). La langue wayãpi (Guyane française): phonologie et grammaire (PDF). Langues et civilisations à tradition orale. Paris: Société d'études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France. ISBN 978-2-85297-092-2.
  6. 1 2 texte, Société de géographie (France) Auteur du (1834-01-01). "Bulletin de la Société de géographie". Gallica. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  7. ↑ texte, Société de géographie (France) Auteur du (1833-07-01). "Bulletin de la Société de géographie". Gallica. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  8. 1 2 3 Copin (2012), p. 409
  9. ↑ Copin (2012), p. 412
  10. ↑ Copin (2012)
  11. ↑ Grenand & Grenand (2017), p. 18
  12. 1 2 Grenand & Grenand (2017), p. 20

Bibliography