Tarairiú language explained

Tarairiú
Nativename:Otschukayana
States:Brazil
Region:Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará
Extinct:?
Familycolor:American
Family:unclassified
Iso3:none
Glotto:tara1303
Glottoname:Tarairiú
Glotto2:jeni1237
Glottoname2:Jenipapo-Kaninde

Tarairiú (Caratiú) is an extinct and very poorly known language of eastern Brazil. The Tarairiu nation was divided into several tribes: the Janduí, Kanindé, Paiaku (Pajacú, Bajacú), Jenipapo, Jenipabuçu, Javó, Kamaçu, Tukuriju, Ariu, and "Xukuru" / Xacó.

It was once spoken between the Assú River and Apodi River in Rio Grande do Norte.

Extinct varieties

Below is a list of extinct Tarairiú language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.[1]

Classification

The language is attested only through a few word lists. A few words resemble those of neighboring Kariri (and other Macro-Je) and Xukuru languages, but not enough to support a genealogical connection. Kaufman (1994) reports that "not even Greenberg dares classify this language".

Vocabulary

Some of the recorded words:

Gloss Tarairiú[2]
'water' teu
'fire' kiro-kia, intoá
'stone' kebra
'head' kreká
'hair' unj
'ear' bandulak
'eye' pigó
'nose' korõza
'mouth' moz
'tooth' cidolé
'hand' koreké
'foot' poyá
'man' xenupre
'woman' moela, moéça
'son' ako
'house' sok
'eat' kringó
'sleep' gonyã

Resemblances with Macro-Jê languages are in kebra 'stone' (Proto-Je *kɛn), kreká 'head' (*krã), koreké 'hand' (*-ĩkra), and poyá 'foot' (*par). Resemblances with Xukuru are kiro- 'fire' (Xukuru kiyo), kringó 'eat' (kringgo 'feed'), sok 'house' (šekh).

Loukotka (1968) gives three words in Tarairiú:[3]

For a more extensive vocabulary list of Tarairiú by de Souza (2009),[4] see the corresponding Portuguese article.

Lexical comparison

An alternative list of Tarairiú words compared with "" dialects and Cariri, compiled by the Paraíba historian José Elias Barbosa Borges, is given in Medeiros (1999):[5]

Portuguese gloss
(original)
English gloss
(translated)
Tarairiú dialects Cariri
água water kaité nko dzu
cabeça head kreká krã tçambu
cabelo hair unj sun
casa house sekri ikré crá
comer eat kringó khrem ami
dormir sleep gon-yá nogon uni
filho son ako ikra inhurae
fogo fire kiró, kia korru, kuwi isu
mão hand koreke bkhra müsã
mulher woman krippó mprom, piko tidzi
nariz nose sikrin khra naembi
olho eye aço nto do
orelha ear bandulak mpak benhé
foot poiá par

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: Loukotka, Čestmír . Čestmír Loukotka

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

  2. J. de Souza Santos, 2009, p. 735-739
  3. Book: Loukotka, Čestmír . Čestmír Loukotka

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

  4. de Souza Santos, Juvandi. 2009. Cariri e Tarairiú?: culturas tapuais nos sertões da Paraíba. Doutorado em História. Porto Alegre: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul.
  5. Medeiros Filho, Olavo de. 1999. Os Tarairiús, extintos tapuias do Nordeste. In: Almeida, Luiz Sávio de; Galindo, Marcos; Silva, Edson. Índios do Nordeste: temas e problemas, p. 241-57. Maceió: EDUFAL. (PDF)