The Otí language, also known as Chavante or Euchavante, is a language isolate or an unclassified language once spoken in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, between the Peixe and Pardo rivers.Lyle Campbell, 1997. American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The language became extinct at the beginning of the 20th century. Only a few wordlists are preserved, totaling 110 words.
Classification Oti is left unclassified by Lyle Campbell due to a paucity of information. Greenberg classified Oti as a Macro-Jê language, but he provided almost no supporting data and has not been followed by other researchers. Glottolog classifies it as a language isolate.
History The Oti were largely exterminated in the late 19th century out of fear that they were Kaingang. Nimuendajú estimated that there were some 50 Oti in 1890. By 1903, there were only 8, divided between two locations, one a few kilometers east of Indiana and east of Presidente Prudente, between the Peixe and Paranapanema rivers, and one in Platina, some 50 km northwest of Ourinhos. The traditional Oti lands up to 1870 had been located between these two places. In 1910, three Oti people remained. In 1988, the last Oti died.CEDI 1991. Oti-Xavante. CEDI 1991: 580–581.
Vocabulary Only 110 words of Otí were preserved, in a total of three wordlists.
The following collective wordlist of Otí is taken from Quadros (1892), Borba (1908: 73–76), 171 pp. and Nimuendajú in Ihering (1912: 8).
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Quadros !Borba !Nimuendajú ! gloss |- |inuáde
| man |- |donduéde |hipipá | | woman
|teuéde | | young man
|uictoma | | young woman |- |ascábe |athrabe |káibĕ, athkabe | father |- |idúa |fiduá |kaié | mother |- |váca | |koaká, daká | brother |- |forte
| sister
|a'äi | older sister
|kakí | younger sister
|ko'ajé | grandmother
|ko'á | grandfather |- |equéri |cuejê | | old |- |estouduéde |itarduêde | | boy |- |culi
| "bush Indian" |- |ufúbi |ursube | | head |- |eteche | |naôdj | hair |- |cúa | |tuála | forehead
|acli, athli | | eye |- |inóne
| eyebrow |- |acófi |aconxe |kō's(h)a | ear |- |sonduái |assondlaibe | | nose |- |afot
| mouth |- |vê | |ûa | teeth |- |instúa
| breast |- |aquejuè |esteinde | | arm |- |iquéce | |étjĕ | finger |- |etiu |eltuê |akjô' | stomach |- |fube
| buttocks
|atua | | neck
|jube |fum | foot |- |etáge |eteque |taz(h) | leg |- |euîque
| knee |- |astaete
| blood |- |quatá |cuatá | | jaguar |- |apíla |apila |apíla 'female tapir' | tapir
|biétj | male tapir |- |inchéla
| white-lipped peccary |- |quicua |antla, inthla, tócle, tothle | | collared peccary |- |jagóde |jagode |z(h)agodj, digóde 'female deer' | deer |- |eféga
| armadillo |- |foguedái | |fugidó, fogodó | partridge |- |palaiáo |apalaiao |iská, is(h)ká | snake
|uida | | macaw
|ontirra | | howler monkey
|othigue | | capybara
|guiacú | | guan
|uarriga | | jabuticaba
|nectube | | otter
|cái | | monkey
|tú | | solitary tinamou
|ilobi | | mosquito
|erredebe | | fish
|guatá |gna'atá | parrot
|etecubetei | | coati
|alábe | | tamandua
|flongue | | toucan
|dejuáca, tofoaca | | spot-winged wood quail
|aiêdĕ | dog
|gáio |cattle
|z(h)indé, gla'dō' | bird
|chantle | | corn
|z(h)êbj, es(h)êbĕ | rice
|istêbj | bamboo
|nhadalee | | to kill
|inháre | | to beat
|mendoa | | to bake/roast
|uirgėlem | | to fight
|icabe | | to eat
|tanyenne | | to run
|roiábe | | sit down
|heumôde | | come
|escoguilabe | | get up
|bóje | | throw out
|birrua | | hole
|o'gode | | wax |- |concéde | |kõsidé | honey
|tajane | | bread
|igobe |gobj | house
|déxe | | pot, pan
|inhestecude | | bow
|torta | | arrow
|endáe | | axe
|chanin |béia | rain
|uotue | | day
|oteiaque | | night |- |atáve
| sky |- |esquentable |esquentábe |iskentál | sun |- |guiáde |quyade | | moon |- |tuásia |tuasla | | star |- |catiága
| thunder |- |jatúme
| ray |- |achô | |úgide | fire |- |ocochìa | |kos(h)îa | water |- |folháhe |juartle | | field
|diguede | | forest
|rátcha | | stone
|dielsede |diésĕ | river
|birõa | | earth
|leilebe | | very
|umostiara | | long
|nojede | | red
|jaque | | white
|hon | | black
|pequinhe | | 1
|istonra | | 2
|ojeleidapá | | 3
|otí | Chavante
|podeuêdĕ | Kaingua
|sī'sua | Brazilian
These wordlists are also reproduced in Ihering (1903).
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