Mehinaku language

Mehináku
Meinaku
Imiehünaku
Pronunciation	[imʲehɨnaku]
Native to	Brazil
Region	Xingu Indigenous Park, Mato Grosso
Ethnicity	Mehinako
Native speakers	230 (2006)[1]
Language family	Arawakan Southern ? Paresí–Xingu Waurá Waura–Mehináku Mehináku
Dialects	Waurá-kumá
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mmh
Linguist List	qdv Waura–Mehináku
Glottolog	mehi1240
ELP	Mehináku

Mehináku (Meinaku) is an Arawakan language spoken by the Mehinaku people in the Xingu Indigenous Park of Brazil.^[2] One dialect, Waurá-kumá, is "somewhat intelligible" with Waurá due to influence from this language.^[1]

Phonology

Mehináku features five vowels /a e i ɨ u/ which can be either oral or nasal /ã ẽ ĩ ɨ̃ ũ/.^[3]

The language has thirteen consonants.^[3]

Mehináku Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	p	t				k
Affricate		ts	tʃ
Fricative				ʂ			h
Nasal	m	n
Lateral		l
Tap		ɾ
Approximant	w				j

References

1. Mehináku at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Seki, Lucy. 2011. Alto Xingu: uma área linguística? In: Franchetto, Bruna (ed.), Alto Xingu: uma sociedade multilíngue, p. 57-85. Rio de Janeiro: Museu do Índio/FUNAI. (in Portuguese)
3. Mori, Angel Corbera (2012). "Waurá e Mehináku: um breve estudo comparativo". Estudos Linguísticos (São Paulo. 1978) (in Portuguese). 41 (1): 196–205. ISSN 1413-0939.