Nambikwara; Kithãuhlu; phonology; phonemic revision; nasalization; indigenous languages.

This work is situated within the area of concentration Linguistics, under the research line Studies of Descriptive Processes, Analysis, and Documentation of Indigenous Languages. AbstractThis dissertation offers a critical reappraisal of the phonological description of Kithãuhlu, a language of the Nambikwara family spoken in central-western Brazil. Drawing on an ethnographic and descriptive-analytical framework, the study reviews the historical trajectory of the Nambikwara peoples and their rich sociolinguistic diversity, focusing on the Kithãuhlu community. Using both fieldwork data and previous documentation, the research revises and updates the phonetic and phonological inventories of Kithãuhlu. The analysis highlights aspects previously underexplored, with special attention to nasalization processes, and presents suggestions for altering the phonemic inventory, particularly regarding the classification of nasal segments and their allophonic variants. The findings underscore the importance of respecting indigenous cultural and linguistic specificities, contributing to advances in phonological studies and the preservation of native languages.