Krenak language

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Krenak
Botocudo
Borum
Native to	Brazil
Region	Minas Gerais
Ethnicity	150 Krenak (2012)
Native speakers	10? (2006)
Language family	Macro-Gê Trans–São Francisco Krenak
Dialects	Nakrehé Uti Krag (Nakpie)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kqq
Glottolog	kren1239
ELP	Krenak
Linguasphere	89-JAA-aa
Krenak is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

The Krenak language, also Borum or Botocudo, is an Indigenous language of Brazil classified as an independent branch of the Macro-Gê languages. It was once spoken by the Krenak people in Minas Gerais, but is known primarily by older women today.

History

Status

Presently, Portuguese is the native language for almost all Krenak, and the language is spoken exclusively by elders. However, the Krenak are very active in language revitalization.

Geographical distribution

The Krenak originate from the Doce River valley, although they have had a significant presence in the Vanuíre Indigenous Territory in the municipality of Arco-Íris in São Paulo since the mid-1940s. According to the Ethnologue, Krenak is spoken between Conselheiro Pena and Resplendor in the state of Minas Gerais, as well as in a small enclave along the east bank of the Doce in São Paulo.

Phonology

The following data is sourced from Pessoa (2012).

Vocabulary

Several lexical loans from one of the Língua Geral varieties have been found identified. Examples include tuŋ ‘flea’ and krai ‘non-Indigenous person, foreigner’.

References

Bibliography

• Crevels, Mily (2012-01-13). "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking". In Campbell, Lyle; Grondona, Verónica (eds.). The Indigenous Languages of South America. DE GRUYTER. pp. 167–234. doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167. ISBN 978-3-11-025513-3. Retrieved 2026-05-09.
• Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2026). "Krenak". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (29th ed.). Dallas: SIL International. Retrieved 2026-11-12.
• Frassetto, Pedro Ternes (2018). Recuperação lexical Krenak (PDF) (Thesis) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-11-12.
• Moore, D. (2006). "Brazil: Language Situation" (PDF). Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics. Elsevier. pp. 117–128. doi:10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/01855-1. ISBN 978-0-08-044854-1. Retrieved 2026-10-26.
• Pessoa, Katia Nepomuceno (2012-01-06). Análise fonética e fonológica da língua Krenak e abordagem preliminar de contos Botocudo (Doutor em Linguística thesis) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Campinas, SP: Universidade Estadual de Campinas. doi:10.47749/t/unicamp.2012.845777. hdl:20.500.12733/1617066.
• Nikulin, Andrey; da Silva, Mário André Coelho (2020). "As línguas Maxakalí e Krenák dentro do tronco Macro-Jê". Cadernos de Etnolingüística. 8 (1): 1–64.
• Rivet, Paul (1910). "Bruno -Rudolph. Wörterbuch der Botokudensprache (Vocabulaire de la langue botokudo)". Journal de la société des américanistes. 7 (1). Société des Américanistes: 316–316.
• Seki, Lucy (1987). "Apontamentos Para a Bibliografia Da Língua Botocudo/Borum". Revista de Antropologia. 30/32. Revista de Antropologia: 511–535. ISSN 0034-7701.

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