Tarairiú language
Tarairiú AKA 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.
| Tarairiú | |
|---|---|
| Otschukayana | |
| Native to | Brazil |
| Region | Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
unclassified | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | tara1303 Tarairiújeni1237 Jenipapo-Kaninde |
It was once spoken between the Assú River and Apodi River in Rio Grande do Norte.[1]
Extinct varieties
Below is a list of extinct Tarairiú language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.[1]
- Xoró - once spoken on the Apodi River, state of Rio Grande do Norte.
- Janduí - once spoken between the Apodi River and Açú River, Rio Grande do Norte.
- Payacu - once spoken in Rio Grande do Norte in the Serra do Coité, Serra de São Bento and Serra Calabouço between the Jaguaribe River and Apodi River.
- Panatí - once spoken in the state of Paraíba in the Serra Panatí and near Villaflor.
- Miñari - once spoken in the valley of the Apodi River, Rio Grande do Norte.
- Panahi - language of the neighbors of the Miñari tribe, Rio Grande do Norte.
- Canindé - once spoken at the sources of the Choró River, state of Ceará.
- Genipapo - Portuguese name of an extinct language on the Choró River.
- Camamu - once spoken on the Acaraú River, Ceará.
- Itañá / Baturité - once spoken in the Serra de Baturité, Ceará.
- Candodú - language of a neighboring tribe of the Jucá, Quixetó and Caratiú.
- Caratiú - once spoken at the sources of the Poti River and in the valley of the Triá River, Ceará.
- Camasú - once spoken in Ceará state at the sources of the Acaratí-guasú River
- Acriú - once spoken on the left bank of the Acaraná River, Ceará.
- Anasé - spoken in Ceará, on the right bank of the Acaraú River.
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:[1]
- agh 'sun'
- kén 'stone'
- ake 'tobacco'
For a more extensive vocabulary list of Tarairiú by de Souza (2009),[3] see the corresponding Portuguese article.
Lexical comparison
An alternative list of Tarairiú words compared with "Jê" dialects and Cariri, compiled by the Paraíba historian José Elias Barbosa Borges, is given in Medeiros (1999):[4]
Portuguese gloss
(original)English gloss
(translated)Tarairiú Jê dialects Cariri água water kaité nko dzu cabeça head kreká krã tçambu cabelo hair unj sun dü 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 pé foot poiá par bü
References
 |
Wiktionary has a word list at Appendix:Tarairiú word list |
- Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
- J. de Souza Santos, 2009, p. 735-739
- 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.
- 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)
- Juvandi de Souza Santos (2009): Cariri e tarairiú? Culturas tapuias nos sertoẽs da Paraíba (Tesis doctoral), Porto Alegre, Pontificia Universidade Católica Do Rio Grande do Sul.