Kukurá language explained

Kukurá
Created:1901
Creator:a Kainguá interpreter for A. V. Frič
Family:fraud
Iso3:none
Glotto:spurious
Glotto2:kuku1286
Glottorefname2:Kukura

Kukurá (Cucurá, Kokura) is a spurious language, fabricated by an interpreter in Brazil.

History

When Alberto Vojtěch Frič visited Rio Verde, Brazil, in 1901 he took with him a Kainguá Amerindian called Guzmán who said he spoke the language of the local Chavante people.

A word list was published for the so-called Kukurá language, thought to be an isolate, in 1931.

In 1932 Curt Nimuendajú, who had visited the Rio Verde in 1909 and 1913, showed that Guzmán's wordlist consisted half of fake words and half of mispronounced Guaraní. There was no resemblance to the Ofayé language that was actually spoken in the region.[1]

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the spurious language.[2]

gloss Kukura
tongue Artificial languages: kasti
stone Artificial languages: tatahü
moon Artificial languages: malahan
house Artificial languages: aul

Notes and References

  1. Book: Campbell. Lyle. Grondona. Verónica. The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide. 2013-04-24. 2012-01-27. Walter de Gruyter. 978-3-11-025803-5. 133.
  2. Book: Loukotka, Čestmír . Čestmír Loukotka

    . Čestmír Loukotka . Classification of South American Indian languages . registration . UCLA Latin American Center . 1968 . Los Angeles.