Wichí Lhamtés Vejoz
# Wichí Lhamtés Vejoz

Wichí Lhamtés Vejoz is a Mataco-Guaicuru language of Argentina and Bolivia. Speakers are concentrated in northern parts of Chaco, Formosa, Salta, Jujuy Provinces, as well as west of Toba, the upper Bermejo River valley, and Pilcomayo River. The language is also called Mataco Vejoz and Vejos.

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).

## Phonology

Consonants in the Chaqueña Wichí dialect :

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Alveolar | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | Labial | central | sibilant | lateral | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
| Plosive/ Affricate | plain | p | t | ts | | tʃ | kʷ | q | ʔ |
| Plosive/ Affricate | aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | tsʰ | | | | qʰ | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | ejective | pʼ | tʼ | tsʼ | | tʃʼ | | qʼ | |
| Fricative | Fricative | fʷ | | s | ɬ | | | χ | h |
| Sonorant | voiced | m | n | | l | j | w | | |
| Sonorant | voiceless | | n̥ | | | j̥ | w̥ | | |
| Sonorant | preglottal | ʼm | ʼn | | ʼl | ʼj | ʼw | | |

Vowels in the Chaqueña Wichí dialect :

| | Front | Central | Back |
| - | - | - | - |
| Close | i | | u |
| Mid | e | | o |
| Open | | a | |

* /i/ is heard as [ɪ] after palatal consonants.
* /e/ is heard as [ɛ] when preceding uvular consonants.
* /a, o/ sounds can be heard as [ɑ, ɔ] before uvular consonants.
* /u/ can be heard as [ʊ] in syllable-final position.
