Fulniô language should not be confused with Inoke-Yate language.
| Yatê-Fulniô | |
| States: | Brazil |
| Region: | Águas Belas, Pernambuco |
| Speakers: | 1,000 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| Ref: | e19 |
| Familycolor: | American |
| Fam1: | Macro-Gê? |
| Dia1: | Fulniô |
| Dia2: | Yatê |
| Iso3: | fun |
| Glotto: | fuln1247 |
| Glottorefname: | Fulniô |
| Map: | Yate-Fulnio language.png |
| Notice: | IPA |
Fulniô, or Yatê, is a language isolate of Brazil, and the only indigenous language remaining in the northeastern part of that country. The two dialects, Fulniô and Yatê, are very close. The Fulniô dialect is used primarily during a three-month religious retreat. Today, the language is spoken in Águas Belas, Pernambuco.[1]
The language is also called Carnijó, and alternate spellings are Fornió, Furniô, Yahthe, and Iatê.
Kaufman (1990) classified Fulniô as one of the Macro-Gê languages. However, Eduardo Ribeiro of the University of Chicago, who is working on large-scale classification of Brazilian languages, finds no evidence to support this, and treats it as an isolate.Jolkesky (2016) again has it as Macro-Je, but Nikulin (2020) again excludes it.
Fulniô has the following sounds:
| Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||
| Plosive | plain | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||
| aspirated | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||
| Affricate | plain | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ | |||||
| aspirated | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||
| Approximate | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||
Fulniô has 8 vowels.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Near-close | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Close-mid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Open-mid | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Open | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ |
There are few contrasts between pronounced as //o// and pronounced as //u//, suggesting pronounced as //u// is a recent addition, perhaps from Portuguese.
All seven have nasalized and glottalized allophones, depending on adjacent consonants. Vowels occur long and short. However, long vowels result from assimilation of pronounced as //h//, are pronounced pronounced as /[Vh]/ in one dialect, and so are analyzed as pronounced as //Vh// sequences.
Tones are high and low. Contour tones occur allophonically adjacent to voiced consonants. Final syllables tend to lack a tone contrast, and final vowels may be devoiced or dropped.
There are no vowel sequences; vowels either coalesce or are separated by a glottal stop. Consonant clusters are limited to two consonants, apart from a possible additional pronounced as //j w//, with the maximum syllable being CCCVC; reduced vowels between consonants are analyzed as pronounced as //j w// by Meland & Meland: pronounced as //tfàltʰùlkja// 'crossing over', pronounced as //kwlèlja// 'rotten'.
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[2]
| gloss | Fulnio | |
|---|---|---|
| head | i-tká | |
| eye | itó | |
| tooth | dzyashi | |
| foot | ishiri | |
| water | oya | |
| fire | toːwẽ | |
| star | tiúyá | |
| maize | malchi | |
| jaguar | kléken | |
| black | chichiá |
Some Yaathê words given by Nikulin (2020),[3] cited from Lapenda (1965,[4] 2005 [1968][5]), Barbosa (1991),[6] Costa (1999),[7] F. Silva (2011a,[8] 2011b[9]), and Branner (1887).[10]
| Portuguese gloss (original) | English gloss (translated) | Yaathê | |
|---|---|---|---|
| cinza | ashes | fêlôwa | |
| pé | foot | fêhê | |
| folha | leaf | ta(-)cʰa | |
| fígado | liver | ta(-)cô | |
| dente | tooth | ta(-)xi | |
| cabelo | hair | li | |
| água | water | ôːja | |
| língua | tongue | kts(ʰ)ale | |
| boca | mouth | ta(-)tʰê | |
| nariz | nose | kʰletʰa | |
| olho | eye | tʰô | |
| orelha | ear | kfakê | |
| cabeça | head | tkʰa | |
| fogo | fire | tôwê | |
| árvore | tree | cʰleka | |
| semente | seed | kêtʰôja | |
| ouvir | hear | kfala- | |
| dormir | sleep | kfafa- | |
| terra | earth | fê(j)ʔa | |
| piolho | louse | cfôwa | |
| pedra | stone | fô(ʔ)a | |
| chuva | rain | flicja | |
| mão | hand | koho ~ kʰoja (?) | |
| caminho | road | tdi | |
| dar | give | kô- | |
| estar sentado | be seated | kine- | |
| estar deitado | lying down | kʰa- | |
| ir | go | o-, no- | |
| rabo | tail | ta(-)tô | |
| carne | meat | ucʰi ~ utxi | |
| nome | name | ketkʲa | |
| unha | nail (finger) | kʰôtkʲa |