The Ofayé or Opaye language, also Ofaié-Xavante, Opaié-Shavante, is a language spoken in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil which forms its own branch of the Macro-Jê languages. It is spoken by only three of the Ofayé people, though language revitalization efforts are underway.
Grammatical descriptions have been made by the Pankararú linguist Maria das Dores de Oliveira (Pankararu), as well as by Sarah C. Gudschinsky and Jennifer E. da Silva, from the Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul.
It was spoken on the Ivinhema River, Pardo River, and Nhandú River in Mato Grosso do Sul. Guachi, spoken on the Vacaria River in Mato Grosso do Sul, is a dialect.
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Macro-Mataguayo-Guaykuru languages due to contact.
The consonantal inventory of Ofayé is as follows.
The vowel inventory of Ofayé is as follows.
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.