The Karirí languages, generally considered dialects of a single language, are 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 people know common phrases and names of medicinal plants. A revival of the Dzubukuá variety has been ongoing since 1989.
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.
Classification Kariri has been included in the Macro-Jê family. However, the resemblances may be superficial,Glottolog: Nuclear-Macro-Je and the most recent classification of Macro-Jê excludes Kariri. Ribeiro established through morphological analysis that Kariri is likely to be related to the Jê languages. This is now disputed.
Languages The four known Kariri languages or dialects are: Kipeá (Quipea, Kiriri) Kamurú (Camuru, Pedra Branca) Dzubukuá (Dzubucua, Kariri) Sabujá (Sapoyá)
There are a short grammatical description and a catechism in Kipeá, a catechism in Dzubukuá, and word lists for Kamurú and Sabujá. Modern grammatical descriptions are available for Kipeá and Dzubukuá.
Mason (1950) lists:
Kariri Cariri Kipea Camurú Dzubucua Pedra Branca Sapuya The original language of the , now extinct, is effectively unattested and unclassified, but words for Tumbalalá ritual objects used in their traditional toré religion appear to be of Kariri origin, namely pujá, kwaqui, and cataioba.
Other languages called Kariri
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: Katembri (Kiriri, Kariri, Kariri de Mirandela [near Banzaê and Quijingue in Bahia]) It appears to be a Kariri language with some substratum from an unidentified language, generally assumed to be that of the Katembri. PDF Xocó (Xokó, Chocó [in Sergipe], Kariri-Xocó, Kariri-Shoko, Cariri-Chocó [in Alagoas], Xukuru-Kariri, Xucuru-Kariri, Xucuru-Cariri [in Alagoas]) Three populations. Not clear if this was one language or three. In the Porto Real do Colégio and Palmeira dos Índios areas of Alagoas.
Language contact Ramirez et al. (2015) note that Kariri languages display some lexical similarities with Cariban languages. Similarities with Katembri (also known as Kariri of Mirandela) or possibly Kaimbé may be due to either a Kariri superstratum or substratum in Katembri.
Syntax Unlike most Macro-Jê languages which are SOV, Karirí languages are verb-initial (VSO) and make use of prepositions.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.
Vocabulary
Loanwords Eastern Macro-Jê loanwords in Kariri languages:
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! 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)
Tupinambá loanwords in Kariri languages:
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! 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 ||
Portuguese loanwords in Kariri languages borrowed via Tupinambá and other intermediate sources:
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! 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
References
Further reading Rodrigues, A. D. (1942). O Artigo Definido e os Numerais na Língua Kiriri. Arquivos do Museu Paranaense, 2:179-212.
Fabre, Alain. 2005. Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: KARIRI
External links Kariri dictionary