nheengatú

Nheengatu

Alternative forms

• yẽgatú
• nheengatu, nheẽgatu

Etymology

Inherited from Old Tupi nhe'engatu. First attested in 1853. By surface analysis, nheenga (“language”) +‎ katú (“good”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɲẽ.ẽ.ŋɡaˈtu/, [ɲẽ.ʔẽ.ŋɡaˈtu]

Noun

nheengatú (plural nheengatú-itá)

1. Nheengatu

   Ixé apurungitá nheengatú!

   I speak Nheengatu!

2. Nheengatu speaker

Descendants

• → Portuguese: nheengatu, nhengatu

References

• Marcel Twardowsky Avila (2021) “nheengatú”, in Proposta de dicionário nheengatu-português [Nheengatu–Portuguese dictionary proposal] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: USP, →DOI, page 569