Kawahíva (Kawahíb, Kagwahib) is a Tupi–Guarani dialect cluster of Brazil.

The Tenharim (self-designation, Pyri 'near, together'), Parintintín, Jiahúi, Amondawa, Karipúna, Uru-eu-wau-wau (self-designation Jupaú), Piripkúra, Júma, and Capivarí all call themselves Kawahíva. Their speech is mutually intelligible, and also similar with other languages or dialects now extinct. The closest Tupí-Guaraní language seems to be Apiaká, formerly spoken in Mato Grosso.

Varieties

There are different internal classifications of the pan-Kawahíwa, which differ in, e.g., whether Kayabí and Apiaká should be included as part of the dialectal cluster. The one listed in Aguilar (2013, 2018) follows:

Languages spoken in north-central Rondônia are Karipúna, Uru-eu-wau-wau (Jupaú), Amondawa, and unidentified varieties by some isolated groups. Languages spoken in northeastern Mato Grosso and southern Pará are Apiaká, Kayabí, Piripkúra, and unidentified varieties by some isolated groups.

Other Kawahíva dialects became extinct, the most recent being Capivara with the death of Pitanga Capivara in the fall 2022. Other varieties include Paranawat at Machado/Ji-Paraná River, Takwatip and Ipotewap at Muqui river, attested by Nimuendajú and Lévi-Strauss around the 1950s. Lévi-Strauss also mentions people who were already almost extinct at that time, who lived near the Ji-Paraná river, like the Tucumanfét and the Jabotiféd; and the Mialat, who inhabited the Leitão River region.

Phonology

Phonemic inventory of the Tenharim dialect:

Vowels
FrontCentralBack
Highi ĩɨ ɨ̃u ũ
Mide o õ
Lowa ã
  • /a, ã/ are heard as [ə, ə̃] in unstressed syllables.
Consonants
BilabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
plainlabial
Nasalmnɲŋŋʷ
Stop/Affricateptt͡ʃkʔ
Fricativeβh
Rhoticɾ
  • /ɲ/ can be heard as [j] when in unstressed positions.
  • /β/ can also be heard as [w].

Notes

Further reading

  • dos Santos, W. N. (2024). Topics on the syntax of Kawahíva: A Tupí-Guaraní language from the Brazilian Amazon. Doctor's Thesis. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from

External links

  • Lev, Michael; Stark, Tammy; Chang, Will (2012). . The South American Phonological Inventory Database (version 1.1.3 ed.). Berkeley: University of California: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages Digital Resource.
  • Lev, Michael; Stark, Tammy; Chang, Will (2012). . The South American Phonological Inventory Database (version 1.1.3 ed.). Berkeley: University of California: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages Digital Resource.
  • Lev, Michael; Stark, Tammy; Chang, Will (2012). . The South American Phonological Inventory Database (version 1.1.3 ed.). Berkeley: University of California: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages Digital Resource.
  • (online dictionary)