abanheenga

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• abaneenga, abañeenga, avanheenga

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Old Tupi abá (“human, or Indigenous person”) +‎ nhe'enga (“language”), literally “human language, or an Indigenous one”. There is no record of an Old Tupi term to refer to the language itself, so this composition is, ultimately, a calque of Guaraní avañe'ẽ.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.bɐ̃.ɲeˈẽ.ɡɐ/ [a.bɐ̃.j̃eˈẽ.ɡɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.bɐ̃.ɲeˈẽ.ɡɐ/ [a.bɐ̃.j̃eˈẽ.ɡɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.bɐ.ɲeˈẽ.ɡa/

• Hyphenation: a‧ba‧nhe‧en‧ga

Noun

abanheenga m (uncountable)

1. Old Tupi (Tupian language spoken as a lingua franca in colonial Brazil)

   Synonyms: abanheém, avanheém, língua geral, nheengatu, tupi, tupi antigo, tupi clássico, tupi-guarani