Arikapú language


Arikapú or Maxubí is an endangered Yabutian language.
Loukotka lists Arikapú and Maxubí as separate languages. Arikapú is spoken on the Branco River south of the Tuparí tribe. Maxubí is spoken on the Mequéns River.

Speakers

In 1998, Arikapú was spoken by only six individuals in Rondônia, Brazil, at the headwaters of the Rio Branco. By 2015, Djeoromitxi reported there were only two remaining speakers, namely the two sisters Nazaré Wadjidjika Arikapu and Nambuika Arikapu. It is being supplanted by Portuguese.

Phonology

Nasalisation is indicated by a tilde on the vowel :.
FrontCentralBack
Closei ĩɨu ũ
Near-closeɪ
Close-mide ẽo õ
Midə ə̃
Opena ãʌ̃