Yaminawa (Yaminauá)

Yaminawa is a Panoan language spoken mainly in the northwest of Brazil, and also in northern Bolivia and southern Peru. In Brazil it is spoken in the state of Acre. In Peru it is spoken in Ucayali Province in the Loreto region and in the Alto Rio Purus Indigenous Territory In Boliva it is spoken in the department of Pando. There are about 2,680 speakers of Yaminawa, which is also known as Jaminawá, Yamanawa or Yuminahua.

Yaminawa is taught in some schools, however very few speakers can read and write their language. It is written with the Latin script, and there appear to be several different spelling systems.

Yaminawa alphabet and pronunciation

Download an alphabet chart for Yaminawa (Excel)
Details of Yaminawa alphabet provided by Wolfram Siegel (PDF)

Sample text

Nantifin naanno rasisin cainnifoquin. Tsoan mato iscahuatiroma cuscan, -Manfin uhuunnacoinquin. Ahuua tsacatama rarama shara ninonfo ishon. Nantififain aton mapo shinantirofoquin. Ato nomuranrin chaca iyamarain sharamainqui icashon. Ascanrifiantan nantifin manifoti yorahuan tanannon icashu.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Sample video

Information about Yaminawa | Tower of Babl in Yaminawa

Links

Information about the Yaminawa language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaminawa_language
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Língua_yaminaua
http://www.native-languages.org/yaminawa.htm
https://clas.berkeley.edu/research/yaminawa-language-documentation-project
http://www.language-archives.org/language/yaa

Panoan languages

Amahuaca, Kashibo, Kashinawa, Matsés, Shipibo, Yaminawa

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 24.06.24

[top]

You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.

If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.

Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site.

[top]