Native speakers 15,000 (1999) Glottolog wich1264 | Ethnicity Wichí people ISO 639-3 mzh | |
Language family MatacoanWichi languageWichí Lhamtés Güisnay |
Wichí Lhamtés Güisnay or Wiznay is a Wichí language. Wichí Lhamtés Güisnay had an estimated 15,000 speakers in 1999 in Argentina. The language is centered in the Pilcomayo River region. Other names for the language include Güisnay, Mataco, Mataco Güisnay, Mataco Pilcomayo, and Wichí Lhamtés. A grammar book has been written for the language.
The Wichí languages are predominantly suffixing and polysynthetic; verbal words have between 2 and 15 morphemes. Alienable and inalienable possession is distinguished. The phonological inventory is large, with simple, glottalized and aspirated stops and sonorants. The number of vowels varies with the language (five or six).
References
Wichí Lhamtés Güisnay Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA