Introduction

The Ninam language, a language of northwestern Brazil and Venezuela, is spoken by 1,030 people, but only 470 of them live in their homeland in Roraima state: Mucajaí, Paragua, Roraima, and upper Uraricaá rivers.

Ninam is classified as Yanomaman of which there is a total of 15,700 speakers.

There are two main dialects with alternate names: Southern Ninam (Mukajai, Shirishana), Northern Ninam (Shiriana, Uraricaa-Paragua). The number of speakers of the southern and northern dialects is evenly divided. Alternate names for the Ninam language are Shiriana, Xirianá, Xirixana, and Yanam.

The Ninam language is used regularly by all age groups. Many also use Portuguese, especially children. Speakers of Arutani [atx] use Ninam as a second language. The Ninam language is distinct from Arawakan Xiriâna [xir].