Kaiwá is a

Guarani language Guaraní (), specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guarani ( "the people's language"), is a South American language that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani family of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of P ...

spoken by about 18,000 Kaiwá people in Brazil in the state of

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

and 510 people in northeastern Argentina. Literacy is 5-10% in Kaiwá and 15–25% in Portuguese. Kaiwá proper is 70% lexically similar with the

Pai Tavytera language Pãi Tavyterã is a Guarani language spoken by about 600 Pai Tavytera people in eastern Paraguay, in Amambay, eastern Concepción, eastern San Pedro, and northern Canindeyú Departments. The language has 70% lexical similarity with the Kaiwá l ...

, and its similarity to its linguistic cousin

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

, one of the two national-languages of Paraguay alongside the Spanish language, means it is even sometimes considered mutually intelligible.

Phonology

Vowels

* /e/ can also be heard as .

Consonants

* Prenasalized stops can also be heard as nasal sonorants. * is heard as an allophone of /v/ or /u/. * is heard as an allophone of /i/.

Sample text

Eregwata-ramo ka'agwy-rupi erehexa gwa'a. Hagwe pytã porã. Oveve áry-rupi gwa'a. Oveve-ramo, "Kaa! Kaa!" he'i. Heta oĩ gwa'a ka'agwy-rupi.''Te'ýi nhe'ẽ. 5 Cartilha Kaiwá,'' pg 2. Portuguese translation: Quando você passeia no mato, você vê arara. A plumagem dela é dum vermelho bonito. arara voa no céu. Quando voa, grita "Kaa! Kaa!" Há muitas araras no mato. Rough English translation: When you walk in the bush, you see the macaw. The plumage is a beautiful red. The macaw flies in the sky. When it flies, it shouts "Kaa! Kaa!" There are many macaws in the bush.

Notes

Bibliography

Summer Institute of Linguistics SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) is an evangelical Christian non-profit organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to ex ...

(1980) ''Te'ýi nhe'ẽ. 5 Cartilha Kaiwá,'' SIL, Brasilia, DF. Languages of Brazil Languages of Argentina Tupi–Guarani languages {{tupian-lang-stub