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by | Mar 16, 2018 | Hosta

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Iñapari is a critically endangered indigenous South American language spoken by just four people in Perú along the Las Piedras river near the mouth of the Sabaluyoq river. The language is already extinct in neighboring Bolivia. All four remaining speakers are bilingual in Spanish and none of their children and grand children spoke the language, which will likely lead to its extinction once the speakers die. The Iñapari language currently has a published dictionary.[2]

The Pacaguara (Pacahuara) dialect described by Mercier was at least ethnically distinct. (But see Pacaguara language.)

Phonology

According to Parker, Iñapari has eleven consonants and six vowels.[2]

Iñapari Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Glottal
Nasals m n
Plosives p t ʔ
Fricatives s h
Liquids (l) ~ ɾ
Glides w j

The status of the lateral as a phoneme is considered dubious as [l] is found in few words and may be a phonetic variant of /r/.

Iñapari's six vowels are /i e a ï o u/, where /ï/ is a high back unrounded vowel.

Notes

  1. ^ Iñapari at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Parker, Steve (1999). "A Sketch of Iñapari Phonology". International Journal of American Linguistics. 65 (1). University of Chicago Press: 1–39. doi:10.1086/466374. JSTOR 1265971. S2CID 144667241.

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