Battle of Honey Springs

The Karirí languages, generally considered dialects of a single language, were a group of languages formerly spoken by the Kiriri people of Brazil. It was spoken until the middle of the 20th century; the 4,000 ethnic Kiriri are now monolingual Portuguese speakers, though a few know common phrases and names of medicinal plants.

History

After the Dutch were expelled from Northeast Brazil in the 17th century, Portuguese settlers rapidly colonized the region, forcing Kariri speakers to become widely dispersed due to forced migrations and resettlement. Hence, Kariri languages became scattered across Paraíba, Ceará, Pernambuco, Bahia, and other states.[1]

Languages

The four known Kariri languages are:

There are short grammatical descriptions of Kipeá and Dzubukuá, and word lists for Kamurú and Sabujá. Ribeiro established through morphological analysis that Kariri is likely to be related to the Jê languages.

Mason (1950) lists:[2]

Varieties

Map of traditional Kariri territory

Below is a full list of Kiriri languages and dialects listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.[3]

Unattested varieties

Tumbalalá, now extinct, is an unattested and unclassified language, but words for Tumbalalá ritual objects used in their traditional toré religion appear to be of Kariri origin, namely pujá, kwaqui, and cataioba.[4]

Other languages called Kariri

Indigenous peoples of Ceará, 2008
Indigenous peoples of Alagoas and Sergipe

The names Kariri and Kiriri were applied to many peoples over a wide area in the east of Brazil, in the lower and middle São Francisco River area and further north. Most of their now-extinct languages are too poorly known to classify, but what is recorded does not suggest that they were all members of the Kariri family. Examples are:

Other nearby language isolates and language families:[5]

The Maxakalían, Krenák (Botocudo, Aimoré), and Purían families, which are probable Macro-Jê languages, are spoken further to the south in Espirito Santo and Minas Gerais states.

Language contact

Ramirez et al. (2015) notes that Kariri languages display some lexical similarities with Cariban languages. Similarities with Katembri (also known as Kariri of Mirandela or Kaimbé) may be due to either a Kariri superstratum or substratum in Katembri.[1]

Syntax

Unlike most Macro-Jê languages which are SOV, Karirí languages are verb-initial and make use of prepositions.[6]

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Kariri languages.[3]

gloss Quipea Dzubucua Sapuya Kamurú
ear beñe beñé penix benyen
tooth dza dza zah
tongue nunu nunú nunü nunuh
hand amísa musang musoé musang
water dzu isú dzú dzu
stone kro kro kro
sun ukie uxe uché uchih
moon kayaku kayakú gayakú gayakúh
star bati bathü bathü batthüh
tree bewó tsi tsui
tobacco badze paewi poyú
pot ruñu

Kiriri word list recorded by Wilbur Pickering in 1961 from João Manoel Domingo of Mirandela, Banzaê, Bahia:[5]

Portuguese gloss
(original)
English gloss
(translated)
Kiriri
água water soˈdε̨
barriga belly mudu
cabeça head kʌ̨sʌˈbu
cachorro dog poiˈo
carne de boi beef křaˈzɔ
casa home kɔkɔtataˈpʌ̨ιnˈtεu
cobra snake ˈuʌ̨ŋgiu
dentes teeth uiˈsa
fogo fire řuˈɔ infɔiŋkiřiři
fumo smoke boˈze
língua tongue ˈtʌ̨naˈdu
mandioca cassava tokyʌ̨
milho corn paiˈ hεkinikři
milho verde green corn niˈkři
mulher woman tʌ̨nʌˈzu
nariz nose lʌmbiˈzu
olhos eyes uˈipɔ
onça jaguar kosoˈbu inšiˈato
orelhas ears kombεˈñuy
papagaio parrot ɔřoɔ
perto near křaˈbo
pés foot bʌbεiˈu
sal salt ˈįñʌ̨ñį
sol sun buˈzofɔˈši
sujo dirty ikřε
velho old šiˈbɔ
abóbora pumpkin křuñaˈvɔ
(está) alegre (be) happy sιsιˈkři
andar no mato go into the bush dořoˈřo
ave (arapuá) type of bird kakiki
ave (inambu) tinamou hoiˈpa
batata potato břuziˈřundada
bater (?) hit (?) dɔˈpɔ
branco white ˈkařai
cachimbo smoking pipe paˈu
camaleão chameleon bodoˈyo
carregado loaded pεdiˈpi
cavalo horse kabaˈřu
comida gostosa delicious food duˈhε
coxa thigh ˈkokulˈdu
criação creation buzuřu
cutia agouti foiˈpřu
dedos fingers poˈmɔdoˈi
deus God tuˈpo
dinheiro money kεiˈu
ema rhea buˈʌ̨
faca (arco?) knife (bow?) uˈza
feijão bean břuˈzohɔˈši
um tipo de fruta a type of fruit com
miolo core kɔˈpε
gato cat pʌñ̨ ɔ ̨
índio Indian ʌ̨ˈį
jabuti red-footed tortoise or
yellow-footed tortoise
samˈbo
jacu (ave) jacu (Penelope bird) kakika
joelho knee kɔkabεkε
maltrapilho person wearing shabby clothes hundiřɔ
manco lame uʌnˈtyɔ
melão melon přεˈzεnuda
mentira lie (not truth) zoˈpřε
muita gente many people dodoˈši
muito obrigado Thank you very much. buřεˈdu poio
mulher bonita beautiful woman kařabuˈšε
peba drink bεˈřɔ
peneirar sift koha
pessoa amarela yellow person křuaˈřʌ̨
pessoa vermelha red person bεřoˈhε
pestana eyelash pʌ̨nadu
preto black šεŋˈgε
quadril hip kaiuˈε
quati coati ˈbizaui
quente hot daˈsả
raposa fox iaˈka
raso shallow ˈtařořo
sacola bag doˈbε
sene senile bɔdɔkɔpři
surdo deaf ˈbεñamu
tamanduá tamandua iaˈzu
tatu armadillo ˈbuzuku
urubu vulture ˈkikɔ
veado deer buko
verdade truth fiˈzo
à vontade make yourself at home nεˈta
(está) zangado (be) angry pɔkεˈdε

Loanwords

Eastern Macro-Jê loanwords in Kariri languages:[7]

gloss Kipeá Dzubukuá other languages
beans ghinhé guenhie giñá (Kotoxó)
hammock pité pitta pita (Coroado)
Black person gorá engorá (Krenák)
swamp, marsh pôhô pohok (Maxakalí)
cow, cattle cradzó cradzo krazo ‘tapir’ (Masakará)
tobacco badzé badze bosé ‘tobacco pipe’ (Coroado)

Tupinambá loanwords in Kariri languages:[7]

gloss Kipeá Dzubukuá Tupinambá other Eastern Macro-Jê languages
needle awí abi Maxakalí ãmix
banana bacobá pacova Coroado bacóba
White person caraí carai caraíba Iatê klai, Krenák krai
box cramemú caramẽmuã
domestic pig curé curê Krenák kurek
pumpkin erumú jurumũ, jeremũ Purí šurumúm ‘potato’
bread miapé miapé
beads myghý muihi mboýra
oil nhendí nianddi nhandy
bench pycá apycába
chicken, hen sabucá dapuca (güyra)ssapucáia
Black person tapanhú tapwinhiu tapyyiúna Coroado tabañiú, Makoni tapagnon, Malalí tapagnon
Black person tapyýia Iatê tupia
hoe tasí itassýra Maxakalí taxunna
money tayú tayu itajúba Maxakalí tayũmak
God tupã tupam tupã Maxakalí topa, Krenák kupan, Coroado tupan
priest waré padzuare abaré Maxakalí ãmãnex, Macuni amattèih, Coroado uáre, Masakará ampari
mirror waruá guaruguá
sugarcane mill wirapararã ybyrapararánga
firearm mbocaba Coroado bokawa
manioc tortilla mbeju Coroado bišu ‘manioc’
cow, cattle tapiira Coroado tapira, Malalí tapiet
maize abati Krenák javati
demon anhanga, anhangüera Coroado nhawuera
dog jaguara Coroado džoàra

Portuguese loanwords in Kariri languages borrowed via Tupinambá and other intermediate sources:[7]

gloss Kipeá Dzubukuá Possible intermediate sources Portuguese other Macro-Jê languages
goat cabará cabara cabará (Tupinambá) cabra
horse cabarú cavarú (Tupinambá) cavalo Coroado kawarú, Cotoxó cavaró
cross crusá crudzá curussá (Tupinambá) cruz Iatê klusa
devil nhewó niẽwo niñavoo (Kapoxó) diabo
paper papera papel Iatê wapela, Coroado tapera

Further reading

  • Rodrigues, A. D. (1942). O Artigo Definido e os Numerais na Língua Kiriri. Arquivos do Museu Paranaense, 2:179-212.

References

  1. ^ a b Ramirez, H., Vegini, V., & França, M. C. V. de. (2015). Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras línguas do Leste Brasileiro. LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas, 15(2), 223 - 277. doi:10.20396/liames.v15i2.8642302
  2. ^ Mason, John Alden (1950). "The languages of South America". In Steward, Julian (ed.). Handbook of South American Indians. Vol. 6. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143. pp. 157–317.
  3. ^ a b c Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  4. ^ "Tumbalalá". Povos Indígenas no Brasil (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Meader, Robert E. (1978). Indios do Nordeste: Levantamento sobre os remanescentes tribais do nordeste brasileiro (in Portuguese). Brasilia: SIL International.
  6. ^ Ribeiro, Eduardo Rivail. On the inclusion of the Karirí family in the Macro-Jê stock: additional evidence. Paper presented at SSILA 2011 (Pittsburgh), January 7, 2011.
  7. ^ a b c Ribeiro, Eduardo Rivail (2010). "Tapuya connections: language contact in eastern Brazil". LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas. 9 (1): 61–76. doi:10.20396/liames.v9i1.1463. ISSN 2177-7160.

Notes

  • Ribeiro, Eduardo. (2002) 'O marcador de posse alienavel em Kariri: um morfema macro-je revisitado'. Revista Liames, 2: 31-48.
  • Fabre, Alain. 2005. Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: KARIRI[1]