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Aruan Indian Language (Aruã, Aroa)

Language: Aruan is an extinct Arawakan language of South America, once spoken on Marajo Island in Brazil. It is not related to the Arauan languages of Amazonas, but may have been most similar to Palikur. Aruan is a polysynthetic language with predominantly SVO word order.

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Names: The Aruan language has been known by many different spellings, including Aruán, Arúan, Aroan, Aruan, Aruã, Aroã, Aroa, Arauan, Araua, Arawa, and Arua. The last three spellings are confusingly similar to the names of entirely unrelated South American languages-- the Tupian language Aruá, and the Arawan language Arawa. For this reason the letter "n" is usually used in spelling the name of this language to distinguish it, even though it was not used by the Portuguese speakers who originally encountered the Aruan tribe.

Our Online Aruan Materials

Aruan Vocabulary:
Our list of vocabulary words in the Aruan language, with comparison to words in other Arawakan languages.

Aruan Pronunciation Guide:
How to pronounce Aruan words.

Aruan Animal Words:
Illustrated glossary of animal words in the Aruan language.

Aruan Colors:
Worksheet showing color words in the Aruan language.

Aruan Body Parts:
Online and printable worksheets showing parts of the body in the Aruan language.

Aruan Numbers:
Worksheet showing how to count in Aruan.

Aruan Language Resources

Aruán Language Tree:
Theories about Aruan's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

La Lengua Aruá:
Arua language information. Page in Spanish.

Books For Sale On The Aruans
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Comparative Arawakan Histories: Rethinking Language Family and Culture Area in Amazonia:
Anthropology book on the Aruan and other Arawakan tribes of the Amazon.

Languages of the Amazon
In-depth book about Aruan and dozens of other Amazonian Indian languages.

Indian Books:
Evolving list of books about Native Americans in general.

Aruan Culture and History Links

Galibi-Marworno:
Information and photographs about the Galibi-Marworno people, mixed descendants of the Arua and Galibi tribes.

Links, References, and Additional Information

Wikipedia: Aruan:
Encyclopedia article on the Aruan language.
Brazilian Native Tribes:
Information and links about indigenous culture in Brazil.
Língua aruã:
Information about the Aruas and their language in Portuguese.

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