Sanumá language


Sanumá is a Yanomaman language spoken in Venezuela and Brazil. It is also known as Sanema, Sanima, Tsanuma, Guaika, Samatari, Samatali, Xamatari and Chirichano. Most of its speakers in Venezuela also speak Ye'kuana, also known as Maquiritare, the language of the Ye'kuana people the Sanumá live alongside in the Caura River basin.
Some linguists identify dialects such as Yanoma, Cobari, Caura, and Ervato-Ventuari in Venezuela and Auaris in Brazil. All the dialects are mutually intelligible. In Venezuela, Sanumá is spoken in the vicinity of the Caura and Ervato-Ventuari Rivers in Venezuela, and the Auari River and Roraima region in Brazil.
Sanumá is an isolating language.