Kariri languages

Karirí
Karirí
Karirian, Kipeá-Dzubukuá
Native to	Brazil
Region	between Bahia and Maranhão
Ethnicity	4,000 Kiriri people (2020)
Extinct	(date missing)
Revival	1989 (Dzubukuá)
Language family	One of the world's primary language families
Early form	Proto-Kariri
Dialects	Kipeá †; Kamurú †; Dzubukuá †; Sabujá †;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kzw (Dzubukuá only)
Glottolog	kari1254
Linguasphere	89-CBA-a
	Distribution of Kariri and Macro-Jê languages

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, 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 Tumbalalá [pt], 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.
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.^{[verification needed]}^{[disputed – discuss]}

Vocabulary

Loanwords

Eastern Macro-Jê loanwords in Kariri languages:

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:

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:

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

↑ Moraes, Vanessa Coelho (2020-12-18). O que devemos aprender com a ciência do índio e o fortalecimento linguístico Kiriri: análise da articulação entre cosmopolítica, ritual, educação e epistemologia (Thesis).
1 2 Kariri-Xocó, Idiane; Kariri-Xocó, Nhenety; Nelson, Diane; Pitman, Thea (2020-12-29). "A retomada da língua Kariri-Xocó". Cadernos de Linguística. 1 (3): 01–13. doi:10.25189/2675-4916.2020.v1.n3.id254.
1 2 Nikulin, Andrey (2020). Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo (PDF) (Ph.D. dissertation). Brasília: Universidade de Brasília.
↑ "Glottolog 5.2 - Kariri". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
1 2 Queiroz, José Márcio Correia de (2012). Um estudo gramatical da língua Dzubukuá, família Karirí [A grammatical study of the Dzubukuá language, Karirí family] (in Portuguese). João Pessoa: Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024.
↑ Adam, Lucien (1897). Matériaux pour servir à l'établissement d'une grammaire comparée des dialectes de la famille Kariri [Materials to serve for the establishment of a comparative grammar of the dialects of the Kariri family] (in French). Paris: Maisonneuve [fr]. Archived from the original on 21 May 2025.
1 2 Ramirez, Henri; Vegini, Valdir; França, Maria Cristina Victorino de (2015-09-26). "Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras línguas do Leste Brasileiro". LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas (in Portuguese). 15 (2): 223–277. doi:10.20396/liames.v15i2.8642302. ISSN 2177-7160.
↑ Glottolog: Nuclear-Macro-Je
↑ Campbell, Lyle (2024-06-25), "Indigenous Languages of South America", The Indigenous Languages of the Americas (1 ed.), Oxford University PressNew York, pp. 182–279, doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673461.003.0004, ISBN 978-0-19-767346-1, retrieved 2025-04-10
↑ Mamiani, Luis Vincencio (1699). Arte de grammatica da lingua brasilica da naçam Kiriri. Lisboa: Miguel Deslandes.
↑ Mamiani, Luis Vincencio (1698). Catecismo da doutrina christãa na lingua brasilica da naçam Kiriri (PDF). Lisboa: Miguel Deslandes.
↑ de Nantes, Bernardo (1709). Katecismo Indico da lingua Kariris (PDF). Lisboa: Valentim da Costa.
↑ Martius, Karl Friedrich Philipp von (1863). Glossaria linguarum brasiliensium. Glossarios de diversas lingoas e dialectos, que fallao os Indios no imperio do Brazil. Wörtersammlung brasilianischer sprachen. New York Public Library. Erlangen, Druck von Junge & Sohn. pp. 216–219.
↑ Azevedo, Gilda Maria Corrêa de (1965). Língua Kiriri: descrição do dialeto Kipeá [Kiriri language: description of the Kipeá dialect] (Thesis) (in Portuguese). Brasília: Universidade de Brasília. Archived from the original on 16 July 2025.
↑ 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.
↑ Andrade, Ugo Maia (2018-03-26). "Tumbalalá - Indigenous Peoples in Brazil". pib.socioambiental.org. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
↑ Campbell, Lyle (2024-06-25), "Unclassified and Spurious Languages", The Indigenous Languages of the Americas (1 ed.), Oxford University PressNew York, pp. 280–338, doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673461.003.0005, ISBN 978-0-19-767346-1, retrieved 2025-10-29
↑ Zamponi, Raoul (2026). Volume 3 Smaller Language Families. De Gruyter Mouton. ISBN 978-3-11-072372-4. PDF
↑ Meader, Robert E. (1978). Indios do Nordeste: Levantamento sobre os remanescentes tribais do nordeste brasileiro (in Portuguese). Brasilia: SIL International. Archived from the original on 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
↑ 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.
1 2 3 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.

External links

Kariri dictionary

[1] Moraes, Vanessa Coelho (2020-12-18). O que devemos aprender com a ciência do índio e o fortalecimento linguístico Kiriri: análise da articulação entre cosmopolítica, ritual, educação e epistemologia (Thesis).

[revival-2] 1 2 Kariri-Xocó, Idiane; Kariri-Xocó, Nhenety; Nelson, Diane; Pitman, Thea (2020-12-29). "A retomada da língua Kariri-Xocó". Cadernos de Linguística. 1 (3): 01–13. doi:10.25189/2675-4916.2020.v1.n3.id254.

[Nikulin-Macro-Je-3] 1 2 Nikulin, Andrey (2020). Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo (PDF) (Ph.D. dissertation). Brasília: Universidade de Brasília.

[4] "Glottolog 5.2 - Kariri". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-09-26.

[:0-5] 1 2 Queiroz, José Márcio Correia de (2012). Um estudo gramatical da língua Dzubukuá, família Karirí [A grammatical study of the Dzubukuá language, Karirí family] (in Portuguese). João Pessoa: Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024.

[6] Adam, Lucien (1897). Matériaux pour servir à l'établissement d'une grammaire comparée des dialectes de la famille Kariri [Materials to serve for the establishment of a comparative grammar of the dialects of the Kariri family] (in French). Paris: Maisonneuve [fr]. Archived from the original on 21 May 2025.

[Ramirez-7] 1 2 Ramirez, Henri; Vegini, Valdir; França, Maria Cristina Victorino de (2015-09-26). "Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras línguas do Leste Brasileiro". LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas (in Portuguese). 15 (2): 223–277. doi:10.20396/liames.v15i2.8642302. ISSN 2177-7160.

[8] Glottolog: Nuclear-Macro-Je

[9] Campbell, Lyle (2024-06-25), "Indigenous Languages of South America", The Indigenous Languages of the Americas (1 ed.), Oxford University PressNew York, pp. 182–279, doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673461.003.0004, ISBN 978-0-19-767346-1, retrieved 2025-04-10

[10] Mamiani, Luis Vincencio (1699). Arte de grammatica da lingua brasilica da naçam Kiriri. Lisboa: Miguel Deslandes.

[11] Mamiani, Luis Vincencio (1698). Catecismo da doutrina christãa na lingua brasilica da naçam Kiriri (PDF). Lisboa: Miguel Deslandes.

[12] Nantes, Bernardo (1709). Katecismo Indico da lingua Kariris (PDF). Lisboa: Valentim da Costa.

[13] Martius, Karl Friedrich Philipp von (1863). Glossaria linguarum brasiliensium. Glossarios de diversas lingoas e dialectos, que fallao os Indios no imperio do Brazil. Wörtersammlung brasilianischer sprachen. New York Public Library. Erlangen, Druck von Junge & Sohn. pp. 216–219.

[14] Azevedo, Gilda Maria Corrêa de (1965). Língua Kiriri: descrição do dialeto Kipeá [Kiriri language: description of the Kipeá dialect] (Thesis) (in Portuguese). Brasília: Universidade de Brasília. Archived from the original on 16 July 2025.

[Mason-1950-15] 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.

[16] Andrade, Ugo Maia (2018-03-26). "Tumbalalá - Indigenous Peoples in Brazil". pib.socioambiental.org. Retrieved 2026-06-06.

[17] Campbell, Lyle (2024-06-25), "Unclassified and Spurious Languages", The Indigenous Languages of the Americas (1 ed.), Oxford University PressNew York, pp. 280–338, doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673461.003.0005, ISBN 978-0-19-767346-1, retrieved 2025-10-29

[18] Zamponi, Raoul (2026). Volume 3 Smaller Language Families. De Gruyter Mouton. ISBN 978-3-11-072372-4. PDF

[Meader-Nordeste-19] Meader, Robert E. (1978). Indios do Nordeste: Levantamento sobre os remanescentes tribais do nordeste brasileiro (in Portuguese). Brasilia: SIL International. Archived from the original on 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2020-01-23.

[20] 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.

[Ribeiro-2010-21] 1 2 3 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.