The Xavante language is a Ge language spoken by the Xavante people in about 170 villages in the area surrounding Eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil. The Xavante language is unique because of its 13 vowels and matching 13 consonants, its Object-Subject-Verb grammatical organization, and its interesting use of honorary and endearment terms in its morphology. Flag of Mato Grosso See other Brazilian States Capital Cuiabá Largest City Cuiabá Area 906,806. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families. ... The Ge languages (also Je, Ge, Jean, Ye, Gean) are spoken by the Gê, a group of indigenous peoples in Brazil. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2:1998 Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code Twenty-two of the languages have two three-letter codes: a code for bibliographic use (ISO 639-2/B) a code for terminological use (ISO 639-2/T). ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words see here. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound, voice) is the study of sounds and the human voice. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... This is a concise version of the International Phonetic Alphabet for English sounds. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Ge languages (also Je, Ge, Jean, Ye, Gean) are spoken by the Gê, a group of indigenous peoples in Brazil. ... The Xavante (also Shavante, Chavante, Akuen, Auwe, Akwe, Awen, or Akwen) are an indigenous people, comprised of some 9,600 individuals (2000 est. ... Flag of Mato Grosso See other Brazilian States Capital Cuiabá Largest City Cuiabá Area 906,806. ... Object Subject Verb (OSV) is one of the permutations of expression used in Linguistic typology. ...

Sounds

Vowels

Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. ... A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... An open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in most spoken languages. ...

Consonants

Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips (bilabial articulation) or with the lower lip and the upper teeth (labiodental articulation). ... Apical, from the Latin apex (plural apices) meaning to be at the apex or tip, may refer to: An apical consonant, a consonant produced with the tip of the tongue Apical dominance An apical bud An apical pulse: apical pulse is your heart rate when counted with a stethoscope (steth... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... The vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the human larynx. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator (such as the tongue) is thrown against another. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ...

Bibliography

• McLeod, Ruth & Mitchell, Valerie. (2003) Aspectos da Língua Xavante. SIL publications, Cuiabá, MT.
• Burgess, Eunice. (1988) Foco e Tópico em Xavante. Série Lingüística № 9, Vol. 1: 11-38.
• Hall, Joan; McLeod, Ruth & Mitchell, Valerie. (1987) Pequeno Dicionário: Xavante-Português, Português-Xavante. Sociedade Internacional de Lingüística, Cuiabá, MT.
• McLeod, Ruth. (1974) Fonemas Xavante. Série Lingüística № 3: 131-152.
• Harrison, Alec J. Xavante Morphology and Respect/Intimacy Relationships.

External links

• Ethnologue
• The Language Museum
• The Rosetta Project
• SIL Brazil