// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Bahuana language say to its student? "You bahua na understanding!
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| Bahuana | |
|---|---|
| Ciriana, Barawana | |
| Bahwana | |
| Pronunciation | [baɸu(w)ana]; [baɻuwana][1] |
| Native to | Brazil |
| Ethnicity | Shiriana people, Bahuana people |
| Extinct | c. 2000, with the death of Claudina de Souza Soares[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xir |
| Glottolog | xiri1243 |
| Linguasphere | 82-AFE-ca |
Bahuana (Bahwana, Barawana[1]), or Ciriana (Shiriana, Xiriâna, Chiriana), is an Arawakan language most closely related to Manao and Kariaí,[4] once spoken by the Shiriana people and Bahuana people of Roraima, Brazil. It had an active–stative syntax.[5] The last speaker, Claudina de Souza Soares,[1] died around 2000.[2]
Phonology
[edit]Consonants
[edit]| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | c | k | ʔ ⟨'⟩ | |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | ||||
| Fricative | ɸ | ts | s | ɕ ⟨x⟩ | h | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ ⟨ñ⟩ | ||||
| Liquid | w | ɺ ⟨r⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ | ɻ ⟨R⟩ | |||
/ɸ/ is commonly labio-palatalized as [ɸᶣ] before front vowels and appears to be in free variation with the uncommonly attested [ꞵ].[1]
Vowels
[edit]| Front | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | rounded | ||
| High | i | ɨ | u |
| Low | e | a | |
Morphology
[edit]Bahuana, unlike most Arawakan languages, lacks grammatical gender. This is thought to be due to possible influence from Nheengatu.[6]: 303
Vocabulary
[edit]| Bahuana | gloss |
|---|---|
| hɨɻa(tsɨ) | blood |
| nikɨsaɨ | heart |
| saɨ | penis |
| (saba)taɨ | vulva |
| taɨda | skin |
| kiwici | hair |
| kutabetsa | |
| ciɲuma | beard |
| tia | excrement |
| kiwida | head |
| naukɨsaɨ | eye |
| kirina | nose |
| numada | mouth |
| ninima(da) | tongue |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ramirez, Henri (1992). "Le Bahuana: une nouvelle langue de la famille arawak" (PDF). Amerindia. 17 supplement 1. ISSN 0221-8852.
- 1 2 Ramirez, Henry (2001-01-31). Linguas Arawak Da Amazonia Setentrional (PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Fua. ISBN 978-85-7401-084-7.
- ↑ "Glottolog 5.2 - Xiriâna". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
- ↑ Ramirez, Henri; França, Maria Cristina Victorino de (2019-09-23). "Línguas Arawak da Bolívia". LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas. 19: e019012. doi:10.20396/liames.v19i0.8655045. ISSN 2177-7160.
- ↑ Aikhenvald, "Arawak", in Dixon & Aikhenvald, eds., The Amazonian Languages, 1999.
- ↑ Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. (2012-05-03). The Languages of the Amazon. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593569.003.0010. ISBN 978-0-19-959356-9.
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