Language name: |
YAGUA |
UPSID number: |
6839 |
Alternate name(s): |
|
Classification: |
South American, Macro-Carib |
This language has |
23 segments |
Its Frequency index is |
0.419261544 (average percentage of segments; 0.1: many very rare segments; 0.39: average; 0.7: many common segments) |
The language has these sounds: |
p
t
k
m
n
ts
tS
r[
h
j
w
i
e
a
O
U
i_
i~
e~
a~
O~
U~
i_~
|
Comment: |
Payne states that /p, m/ are often labialized [pw, mw] and /m, n/ are prenasalized stops before oral vowels. It is not clear if this means that [mbw] is normally found. On the assumption that prenasalization is optional the nasal segments are anayzed as nasal /m, n/. Yagua has basically a two-level tone system. Other analyses suggest the mid vowels might be derived from vowel coalescence, Payne describes these as phonemes with defective distribution. |
Source(s): |
Payne, D.L. 1985. Aspects of the Grammar of Yagua: A Typological Perspective. PhD Dissertation, UCLA. |