| Warázu | |
|---|---|
| Pauserna | |
| Guarasugwé | |
| Native to | Bolivia |
| Region | Rondônia, Brazil andBeni Department, Bolivia |
| Ethnicity | 46 Guarasu’we (2000) |
| Extinct | late 20th century[1] 2 (2017) |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Bolivia |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | psm |
| Glottolog | paus1244 |
| ELP | Pauserna |
Warázu, also known asPauserna orGuarasugwé (Guarasú'we), is a moribundTupi–Guaraní language ofBrazil. It was also formerly spoken inBolivia.[2] It is spoken by theGuarasugwé people, who were estimated to number 125 according to a census in 2012.[3] It was previously considered to be extinct, but 4 speakers were found in 2006; this number had decreased to 2 in 2017.[4]
Warázu is most closely related toSirionó andYuki (Yuqui). Ramirez (2017) places the classification of Warázu in the Guaraní subgroup of theTupi-Guarani languages as follows:[2]
Speakers are also known as Guaraiutá, Guaraju, Pauserna, Guarasugwe, or Warazúkwe [waɾaðúkwe].[2]
Ramirez (2017) found only 2 remaining speakers of Warázu, an elderly couple consisting of Känä́tsɨ [kənə́tsɨ] (José Frei Leite) and Híwa (Ernestina Moreno). They were born in Riozinho (Urukuríti) inRondônia, Brazil, and moved back and forth between Brazil and Bolivia until finally settling inPimenteiras do Oeste,Rondônia.[2][5][6]
Traditionally, the Warázu people had lived in the following 7 villages along the banks of theGuaporé River. However, the Warázu language is no longer spoken in these localities.
Phonological inventory of Warázu:[2]
Warázu only has 11 consonants.
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | sibilant | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Plosive | p | t | t͡s | k | ʔ |
| Continuant | ð | w/kʷ | h | ||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɨ | u |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open | a |
Syllabic structure is(C)V or(C)VV.
Warázu pronouns:[2]
| pronoun | Warázu |
|---|---|
| I | tsé |
| you (sg.) | né [á-pe] |
| we (excl.) | óre |
| we (incl.) | ðáne |
| you (pl.) | pé [peðó-pe] |
| he, she | áʔe |
For a list of Warázu plant and animal names from Ramirez (2017),[2] see the correspondingPortuguese article.
