Wayãpi or Wayampi (Waiãpi, Guayapi, Oiampí, ) is a Tupi–Guarani language spoken by the Wayãpi people. It is spoken in French Guiana and Brazil.
Classification Wayampi is a member of the Tupian language family. According to Brazilian linguist Aryon Rodrigues, it forms a subgroup with neighbouring Emerillon, as well as the Zoʼé, Kaʼapor (Urubú), Anambé, Guajá, Aurê–Aurá, and Takunyapé languages, termed Northern Tupi–Guarani. Wayampi and Emerillon are the only Tupian languages spoken in the region of the Guianas.
Dialects Two dialects of Wayampi are distinguished in the literature, Amapari Wayampi and Guianese Wayampi.
History The Wayampi migrated to their current area in the 18th century, similarly to the Zoʼé and Emerillon.
Documentation The first documentation of Wayampi comes in a wordlist collected by Adam de Bauve and published in 1833 to 1834, followed by M. Leprieur in the same year. Both these wordlists were compiled in Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius's (1867) book Glossaria linguarum brasiliensium. These were followed by Jules Crevaux's 93-word list recorded in 1875 and published in 1882.
Phonology Consonants Wayampi has 13 consonant phonemes. +Consonant phonemesLabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottalplainlab.Nasal Plosive FricativeLateralApproximant cannot occur word-finally.
Vowels +Vowel phonemesFrontNon-frontunroundedrounded Close Mid Open In closed, or consonant-final, syllables, /e, o/ are realized as [, ]. is attested in only one open, or vowel-final, syllable, in 'corn'. Nasal vowels are more common in stressed syllables.
Orthography Wayãpi is spelt phonetically based on the International Phonetic Alphabet, and not according the French orthography. The spelling uses the letter ɨ for the close central unrounded vowel between i and u. E is always pronounced é, vowels with a tilde are always nasal (ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ), ö is like the German O umlaut, and b is pronounced mb. All letters are pronounced.
References
Bibliography
External links Wayampi (Intercontinental Dictionary Series)