Akwáwa language

Akwáwa
Native to	Brazil
Region	Pará
Ethnicity	Suruí do Pará, Asuriní, Parakanã
Native speakers	1,500 (2012)
Language family	Tupian Tupí–Guaraní Group IV Akwáwa
Dialects	Suruí Asuriní Parakanã
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: asu – Asuriní mdz – Suruí pak – Parakanã
Glottolog	tupi1284
Akwáwa is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

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

Dialects

There are three distinct dialects:

• 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 Asuriní dialect:

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	ɨ
Mid	ɛ		o
Open		a

• Vowel length is also distinctive.
• Vowel sounds are realized as nasalized when preceding nasal consonants.

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Glottal
				plain	lab.
Plosive	p	t	tʃ	k	kʷ	ʔ
Fricative						h
Nasal	m	n		ŋ
Tap		ɾ
Approximant					w