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Awaete Indian Language (Asurini do Xingu, Awaeté)

Language: Awaeté is a Tupian language of South America. It is an agglutinative language with fairly free word order. Awaete is spoken by around 200 people in Brazil.

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Names: Awaeté is the tribe's own name for themselves, meaning "true people" in their language. They are also known as the Asurini, which comes from their name in the language of the neighboring Juruna tribe and means "red people," or Cakiwê, a tribal name for their homelands. Alternate spellings of these names include Awaete, Awaeté, Awaté, Aweté, Assurini, Assuriní, Asuriní, Açurini, Assurinikin, Xingu Asurini, Asuriní do Xingú, Asurini of Xingu, Asuriní do Coatinema, and Asuriní de Koatinema.

The Awaeté tribe is frequently confused with other Brazilian tribes that have overlapping or similar names: the Akwawa tribe, who are also known as Asurini do Tocantins; the Parakanã tribe, who also call themselves Awaete; and the Arawete tribe. Although all of these tribes speak related Tupian languages, Awaete is significantly different from the other three and is considered by most linguists to be a distinct language.



Awaete Language
Awaete language samples and resources.

Awaete Culture and History
Information and links about the Awaete/Asurini tribe past and present.



Awaete/Asurini Language Resources

Awaete Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions

Languages of Central Brazil:
    Map showing where in Brazil the Asurini language is spoken.
Awaeté:
    Profile of the Awaete language.
Asurini do Xingu:
    Linguistic chart of phonemes in the Awaete language.
Asurini Language Tree:
    Theories about Awaete's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
Lengua Asuriní do Xingu:
    Overview of the Awaete language in Spanish, including linguistic maps.
Vocabulário Assurini:
    List of vocabulary words in Asurini.
Wikipedia: Awaeté Language:
    Brief encyclopedia article about the Awaete language.
OLAC: Asurini do Xingo:
    Reference list of Awaete language materials.

Awaete Dictionaries and Language Books for Sale
Our organization earns a commission from any book bought through these links

Languages of the Amazon
    In-depth book about Awaete and dozens of other Amazonian Indian languages.
Os asurini do Xingu: Historia e arte:
    Portuguese book about the Asurini.
Native American Indian Books:
    Evolving list of books about Native Americans in general.

Links, References, and Additional Information

  Endangered Languages Project: Asuriní of Xingú:
  Bibliography of Asurini language resources.
  Brazilian Indigenous Languages:
  Information and links about the Indian languages of Brazil.
  Oficina de lingua Assurini * Lingua do Tribo Asurini * Indios Asurini do Xingu:
  Information about the Awaetes and their language in Portuguese.



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