Ninam language
Yanomaman language spoken in Brazil and Venezuela
Ninam, or Yanam, is a Yanomaman language spoken in Roraima, Brazil (800 speakers) and southern Venezuela near the Mucajai, upper Uraricaá, and Paragua rivers.
01Synonymy
Yanam is also known by the following names: Ninam, Yanam-Ninam, Xirianá, Shiriana Casapare, Kasrapai, Jawaperi, Crichana, Jawari, Shiriana, Eastern Yanomaman.
02Regional variation
Gordon (2009) reports 2 main varieties (Northern, Southern). Kaufman (1994) reports 3:
- Yanam (a.k.a. Northern Yanam/Ninam (Xiliana, Shiriana, Uraricaa-Paragua))
- Ninam (a.k.a. Southern Yanam/Ninam (Xilixana, Shirishana, Mukajai))
- Jawarib
The name Jawari is shared with Ỹaroamë.
There are three dialects spoken in Roraima, Brazil according to Ferreira, et al. (2019):
- Northern (Xiriana): Ericó and Saúba
- Southern: Mucajaí
- Central: Uraricoera
The remaining speakers of Arutani and Sapé also speak Ninam (Shirián), since they now mostly live in Ninam villages.
Mason (1950)
Dialects listed by Mason (1950):
- Waharibo (Guaharibo)
- Shirianá
- Waicá (Guaica, Vaica)
- Shirianá
- Carimé (Karimé)
03Phonology
Yanam has seven base vowels. Yanam has both vowel length and nasalization, and both features can occur simultaneously, for all vowels except for /ɨ/.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ninam language”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Yanomaman.svg by SyntaxTerror, Public domain
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