Wichí Lhamtés Nocten

(Redirected from Noktén language)

Wichí Lhamtés Nocten, or Weenhayek, is a Wichí language primarily spoken in Bolivia, where an estimated 1,810 Wichí people spoke it in 1994. An additional one hundred people spoke the language in Argentina in 1994. In Bolivia, the language is spoken in the north-central Tarija Department, southwest of Pilcomayo River, and in Cordillera de Pirapo. In Argentina, it is spoken in from the northern border south to Tartagal, Salta. The language is also called Mataco, Bolivian, Mataco Nocten, Nocten, Noctenes, Oktenai, and Weenhayek; the last name is used in the Bolivian constitution of 2009.[2]

Wichí Lhamtés Nocten
Weenhayek
Native toBolivia, Argentina
RegionTarija Department (Bolivia), Salta Province (Argentina)
EthnicityWichí
Native speakers
(1,900 cited 1994)[1]
Matacoan
Official status
Official language in
 Bolivia
Language codes
ISO 639-3mtp
Glottologwich1262
ELPWichí (shared)

Phonology

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Consonants in the Nocten dialect
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central lateral plain labial pal.
Plosive p t q ʔ
Affricate ts
Fricative s x h
Nasal voiced m n
voiceless
Lateral voiced l
fricative ɬ
Approximant voiced j w
voiceless
  • /kʲ/ may be heard as an affricate sound [tʃ] in some dialects.
  • Sounds /p, t, kʲ, kʷ, q, ts/ may also be heard as aspirated [pʰ, tʰ, kʲʰ, kʷʰ, qʰ, tsʰ] when preceding /h/, or as glottalized [pʼ, tʼ, kʲʼ, kʷʼ, qʼ, tsʼ] when preceding /ʔ/.
  • Sounds /m, n, l, j, w/ within the position of /ʔ/ are also glottalized as [ʼm, ʼn, ʼl, ʼj, ʼw].[3]
Vowels in the Nocten dialect
Front Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a ɑ

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Wichí Lhamtés Nocten at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ "Wichí Lhamtés Nocten." Ethnologue. Retrieved 30 Jan 2012.
  3. ^ Claesson, Kenneth (1994). A Phonological Outline of Mataco-Noctenes. International Journal of American Linguistics 60, no. 1: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 1–38.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)