Language quiz

Here’s a recording in a mystery language.

Can you identify the language and where it’s spoken?

Comments (9)

joe mockJanuary 2nd, 2011 at 12:22 pm

Amerindian, South America, probably Guarani. The ‘y’ and the ‘-pe’ , Spanish words etc.

penniferJanuary 2nd, 2011 at 3:57 pm

I’m with Joe – South or Central American indigenous language. An area I know very little about, so I’ll stop there.

Christopher MillerJanuary 2nd, 2011 at 4:06 pm

She talks so much about “castellano” and “Guaraní” (it’s even the last word in the recording), That I’m sure it is Guaraní. Plus she mentions Brazil once and Paraguay more than once, which locates it pretty clearly. And finally, I hear a distinct contrast between stretches of clear syllables and sequences of syllables where nasality spreads from a nasal consonant, something I remember reading about in one of the major papers on autosegmental phonology back in the 70s and early 80s.

Petréa MitchellJanuary 2nd, 2011 at 5:37 pm

I heard the loanwords and “Guaraní” too. But as I know zero about the Guaraní language, I’ll leave my guess at something indigenous to Latin America.

AndrewJanuary 3rd, 2011 at 2:56 am

I’m with everyone else: there’s a hint of Spanish and it primarily sounds Amerindian, so some type of Latin American indigenous language.

Cheers,
Andrew

Athel Cornish-BowdenJanuary 3rd, 2011 at 8:31 am

I’d say it has to be Guaraní (I thought that before reading the above comments). The word “guaraní” itself appears several times, as does “castellano”, Paraguay is specifically mentioned, and the words “lengua materna” clearly indicate a place where the speaker expects a Spanish phrase to be understood.

michael farrisJanuary 3rd, 2011 at 8:55 am

I was thinking Guarani about the second pe or so…

elmerino nathanhoJanuary 3rd, 2011 at 3:23 pm

could be like portuñol/fronterizo- south brasilian boarder dialect

SimonJanuary 3rd, 2011 at 5:16 pm

The answer is Guaraní (Avañe’ẽ), a Tupí-Guaraní language spoken mainly in Paraguay, and also in Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina.

The recording comes from YouTube.