Suruí (of Jiparaná), also known as Paíter or Suruí-Paíter, is a Tupian language of Brazil. The Suruí of Rondônia call themselves Paiter, which means “the true people, we ourselves".[2] They speak a language of the Tupi group and Monde language family. There were 1,375 Suruí-Paíter in 2014.[3]

Suruí
Paíter
Pronunciation[pa.iˈte:ɾ̥]
Native toBrazil
RegionRondônia, Mato Grosso
EthnicityPaiter
Native speakers
1,000 (2006)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3sru
Glottologsuru1262
ELPPaiter

Phonology

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Vowels

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Consonants

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Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop voiceless p t k
voiced b d () ɡ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Fricative β s ʃ h
Tap ɾ
Approximant l j (w)
  • /β/ can be heard as either [β] or [w] in free variation, and as [ɸ] when before voiceless consonants.
  • /b/ can be heard as prenasal [ᵐb] when after a nasal vowel, or when in initial position.
  • /h/ can be heard as voiced [ɦ] when between vowels. It is also said to be heard as a voiceless lateral [l̥], among elder speakers.
  • /j/ can be heard as nasal [j̃] when preceding or in between nasal vowels.
  • Sounds /p, t, k, m, n, ŋ/, can be heard as [p̚, t̚, k̚, m̚, n̚, ŋ̚] in word-final position.[4]

References

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  1. Suruí at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Surui, Tiago Iteor (2020-12-09). Descrevendo a língua dos Paiter ej (Suruí de Rondônia) : contribuições de um falante nativo (MA thesis). Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  3. "Surui Paiter - Indigenous Peoples in Brazil". pib.socioambiental.org. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  4. Guerra, Mariana de Lacerda (2004). Aspects of Suruí Phonology and Phonetics. Université Libre de Bruxelles.
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