Akwáwa language

Akwáwa is a Tupi–Guarani dialect cluster spoken in Pará in western Brazil.

Dialects

There are three distinct dialects:^[2]

• Asuriní (of Tocantins or Trocará), or Akwawa
• Suruí (of Tocantins or Pará), or Akewara
• Parakanã, Awaeté

Both the name Asuriní and Suruí are used for related peoples and their languages: Suruí of Jiparaná, Suruí of Rondônia, Asuriní of Xingú, etc.

Phonology

The following is the Parakanã dialect:^[3]

Vowels

• Vowel sounds are realized as nasalized when preceding nasal consonants.
• /e/ can also be heard as [ɛ] when in stressed position.
• /ɨ/ can also be heard as [ə] when preceding a vowel.
• /a/ can be heard as back [ʌ] when in word-final position. In its nasal form, it is heard as back [ʌ̃].
• /o/ can be heard as [u] when in unstressed position.

Consonants

• /β/ can also be heard as a glide [w].
• /tʃ/ can be realized as a glide [j] in final position, and as voiced [dʒ] in intervocalic positions.

Notes

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