Irantxe language


Irantxe, also known as Münkü, is an indigenous American language that is spoken in Mato Grosso, Brazil, by about 200 people. It is generally left unclassified due to lack of data. The most recent descriptions treat it as a language isolate, saying that it "bears no similarity with other language families", though this may not be based on new data.
Monserrat is a well-reviewed grammar.

Status

As of 2011, the 280 Irantxe have largely assimilated to Brazilian culture. Most are monolingual in Portuguese, and the remaining Irantxe speakers are over 50 years old. A splinter group, the Mỹky, however, moved to escape assimilation, and were isolated until 1971. As of 2011, there were 80 ethnic Mỹky, all of whom spoke the language.

Language contact

Jolkesky notes that there are lexical similarities with the Arawak, Tupi, Chapakura-Wañam, Nambikwara, and Yanomami language families due to contact.

Phonology

Monserrat posits a series of palatalized stops. For several reasons, however, reviewer D’Angelis suggests these are simply /Cj/ sequences.
BilabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasalmn-
Stopptkʔ-
Fricativesh-
Approximantwl~rj-

/m/ is optionally word initially, especially among the Irantxe: muhu , mjehy . /s/ is pronounced before /j/. and are in free variation.
There are 28 vowels: Seven qualities,, all appear long, short, and nasalized. The schwa, however, alternates with /ɛ/ in many words.
Syllables may be CjVC, though words may not end in a consonant. The role of tone is not clear.

Vocabulary

lists the following basic vocabulary items.
For a more extensive vocabulary list of Irantxe by Holanda, see the corresponding :pt:Língua iranxe|Portuguese article.