Waiwai language

Waiwai /ˈwaɪwaɪ/^[2] (Uaiuai, Uaieue, Ouayeone) is a Cariban language of northern Brazil, with a couple hundred speakers across the border in southern Guyana and Suriname.

Waiwai
Native to	Brazil, Guyana, Suriname
Ethnicity	Wai-Wai
Native speakers	(2,200 cited 1990–2006)[1]
Language family	Cariban Parukotoan Waiwai languages Waiwai
Dialects	Katawiana Karahawyana
Language codes
ISO 639-3	waw
Glottolog	waiw1244
ELP	Waiwai Tunayana

Katawiana, or Parukuto, is a dialect; Karahawyana is unattested but may be the same.^[3]

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop		t	tʃ		k
Nasal	m	n		ɲ
Fricative	ɸ	s	ʃ			h
Tap		ɺ	ɭ̥̆
Approximant	w			j

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i iː	ɨ ɨː	u uː
Mid	e eː		o oː
Low	a aː

• /o/ can be heard as [ʌ] when following palatal consonants /tʃ, ʃ/.
• /a/ can be heard as [æ] when preceded by sounds /j, tʃ/, and followed by sounds /w, m, s/.^[4]