Overview
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Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

3,154

Domains of Use

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Speaker Number Trends

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Transmission

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Recent Resources

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Community Members

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Revitalization Programs

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Language Information By Source

Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking
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Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

3,154

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

3,154

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

Brazil: 2,914 speakers and population; Guyana 240 speakers and population. The Tunayana are mixed with Waiwai. In the 1960s, missionaries, who had been active among the Waiwai in neighbouring Guyana, came to evangelize the Surinamese American Indians of the interior. They brought with them a few Waiwai, as well as Mawayana and Tunayana who had been living among the Waiwai, and whose task it was to learn Trio in order to convert them. The Tunayana and Mawayana have remained in Suriname and now speak Trio as their first language. There are only about 10 elderly speakers of Tunayana out of an ethnic group of about 80–90.

Year of info

2012

Location and Context

Countries

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Coordinates

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Location description

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Government support

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Institutional support

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Speakers’s attitudes

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Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

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Other writing systems

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More on writing systems

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Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

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Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

3,906

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

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Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2010

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

2.1528,-56.206

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

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Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

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More on context

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Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

3,110

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

2,910 in Brazil (ISA 2005). 200 in Guyana (Forte 1990).

Year of info

2009

Location and Context

Countries

Brazil; Guyana; Suriname

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Brazil: Amazonas, Pará, Roraima. Guyana: Southwest Guyana, headwaters of the Essequibo River

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Brazil: Amazonas, Pará, Roraima. Guyana: Southwest Guyana, headwaters of the Essequibo River

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

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More on context

No data

Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

2220

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

2020 in Brazil; ethnic population 2900 (2005). 200 in Guyana; ethnic population 200 (2007). (Ethnologue lists 10 in Suriname (ethnic population 80, but these are Tunayana, listed in this catalogue as a separate language.)

Year of info

2016

Location and Context

Countries

Brazil, Guyana, Suriname

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

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Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

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Other writing systems

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Other languages used

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Domains of other languages

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More on context

Used as L2 by Hixkaryána [hix], Mapidian [mpw], and Sikiana [sik].

Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

~2,020

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

2,260

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

The people who are now called Waiwai by the outside world are remnants of various groups, such as the Mawayana, Hyxkaryana, Sikiana, and others. All of these tribe remnants have their own language or dialect. Nearly all that live among the Waiwai speak the Waiwai language fluently.

Year of info

2007

Location and Context

Countries

Brazil and Guyana

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2005

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

1.0,-59.0

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

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More on writing systems

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Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

2,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

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Other languages used

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Domains of other languages

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More on context

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Media Resources

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Filter By

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  1. Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled by research teams at University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute for Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University
    2012. "Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled By Research Teams At University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute For Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) At Eastern Michigan University."
  2. World Oral Literature Project
    "World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.
    http://www.oralliterature.org
  3. South America
    Crevels, Mily. 2007. "South America." In Atlas of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 103-196. London & New York: Routledge.
  4. Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking
    Crevels, Mily. 2012. "Language Endangerment in South America: The Clock Is Ticking." In The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide, edited by Hans Henrich Hock et al.. 167-234. Mouton de Gruyter.
  5. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
    Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)
    http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas
  6. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)
    Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)
    http://www.ethnologue.com/
  7. The World Atlas of Language Structures
    2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.
  8. Getting to know Waiwai: An Amazonian Ethnography
    Campbell, Alan Tormaid. 1995. "Getting To Know Waiwai: An Amazonian Ethnography." London & New York: Routledge.
  9. Waiwai: Religion and Society of an Amazonian Tribe
    Fock, Niels. 1963. "Waiwai: Religion and Society of An Amazonian Tribe." VIII: Copenhagen: The National Museum.
  10. A morfologia do sustantivo na língua Uaiuai
    Hawkins, W. Neill. 1962. "A Morfologia Do Sustantivo Na Língua Uaiuai." 21: Rio de Janeiro: Universidade de Brasil, Museu Nacional.
  11. Vocabularios dos aborigenes dos rios Trombetas, Cachorro e Jacycury
    Hurley, Jorge. 1932. "Vocabularios Dos Aborigenes Dos Rios Trombetas, Cachorro E Jacycury." 7: 229-235.
  12. Wai Wai
    Hawkins, Robert E. 1998. "Wai Wai." In Handbook of Amazonian Languages 4, edited by D. C. Derbyshire and G. K. Pullum. 25-224. Mouton de Gruyter.
  13. An analysis of the Wai Wai language
    Hawkins, Robert. 1991. "An Analysis of the Wai Wai Language."