Barawana language

Barawana (Baré) is an Arawakan language of Venezuela and Brazil, where it is nearly extinct. It was spoken by the Baré people. Aikhenvald (1999) reports "just a few old speakers left" of Baré proper, and that the Guinau variety was extinct. Kaufman (1994) considers Baré proper, Guinau, and Marawá (currently extinct) to be distinct languages; Aikhenvald, dialects of a single languages. (Marawá is not the same language as Marawán.)

Baré is a generic name for a number of Arawakan languages in the area, including Mandahuaca, Guarequena, Baniwa, and Piapoco. Barawana is the language given this name in Kaufman, Aikhenvald, and Ethnologue. It is also known as Ibini (a typo for Ihini ~ Arihini?) and Mitua.

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels can come in three forms; oral, nasal, and voiceless:

Vowel sounds /a ã ḁ/, /e ẽ e̥/, and /u ũ u̥/ are heard as [ɵ ɵ̃ ɵ̥], [ɛ ɛ̃ ɛ̥], and [o õ o̥] when in unstressed position.
/a/ is heard as a back sound [ɑ] when after /w/.

Consonants

Sounds /t, n/ are realized as dentalized and palatal [t̪] [ɲ] before and after /i/.
/d/ is realized as an affricate [d͡ʒ] before front vowels.
/ɾ/ can tend to fluctuate to a velarized [ɫ] in free variation.^[2]

References

^ Barawana at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Cunha de Oliveira, Christiane (1993). Uma descrição do Baré (Arawak): Aspectos fonológicos e gramaticais [A description of Bare (Arawak): phonological and grammatical aspects] (Master's thesis) (in Portuguese). Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Archived from the original on 2024-05-26. Retrieved 2024-01-02.