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

OralNasal
FrontCentralBackFrontCentralBack
Closei iːɨ ɨːĩ ĩːɨ̃ ɨ̃ː
Mide eːo oːẽ ẽːõ õː
Opena aːã ãː

Consonants

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Stopvoicelesspttʃk
voicedbd(dʒ)ɡ
Nasalmnɲŋ
Fricativeβsʃh
Tapɾ
Approximantlj(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.

External links