Aspects of nasalization in the Asurini Xingu language (Tupi-Guarani)

This paper proposes an analysis of nasalization in the Asurini Xingu language (Tupi-Guarani family). Previous work on nasalization in Tupi languages is discussed, as are some theoretical models of nasalization. It is shown that the language presents a series of nasal vowels and a corresponding series of oral vowels, as well as series of nasal consonants and a corresponding series of oral stops. It is also demonstrated that an analysis that considers the nasal consonants to be phonemic is more consistent with the structure of the language than an analysis which considers the oral stop consonants as phonemic.