The Kamakã languages are a small family of extinct
Macro-Jê languages
Macro-Jê (also spelled Macro-Gê) is a medium-sized language stock in South America, mostly in Brazil but also in the ChiquitanÃa region in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, as well as (formerly) in small parts of Argentina and Paraguay. It is centered o ...
of
BahÃa, northeastern Brazil. The attested Kamakã languages are:
* (northern)
Kamakã (dialects: Mongoyó/Mangaló),
Kotoxó,
Menién
* (southern)
Masakará
Varieties
Loukotka (1968)
Below is a full list of Kamakã languages and dialects listed by
Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.
;Southern
*
Kamakán / Ezeshio - once spoken on the
Ilhéus
Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, Brazil, Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the mos ...
River,
De Contas River
The De Contas River (Portuguese: Rio de Contas) is a river of Bahia state in eastern Brazil. In Portuguese, it is sometimes erroneously called "''Rio das Contas''". It is the main river of the hydrographic basin named after him.
Its source is in ...
and
Pardo River, Bahia state.
*Mangaló / Mongoyo / Monshoko - extinct language once spoken on the lower
Pardo River near the frontier of Bahia and Minas Gerais states.
*Kutasho /
Cotoxo / Catathoy - once spoken between the
Pardo River and
De Contas River
The De Contas River (Portuguese: Rio de Contas) is a river of Bahia state in eastern Brazil. In Portuguese, it is sometimes erroneously called "''Rio das Contas''". It is the main river of the hydrographic basin named after him.
Its source is in ...
.
*
Menien / Manyã - once spoken at the sources of the
Jequitinhonha River
The Jequitinhonha River () flows mainly through the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Its source lies near Diamantina in the Espinhaço Mountains at an elevation of , after which it flows northward and then east-northeastward across the uplands. A ...
.
*Dendi - once spoken in the Serra Geral de
Condeúba, frontier area between the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais. (Unattested)
*Catolé - once spoken in the state of Minas Gerais in the valleys of the
Pardo River and
Verde River
The Verde River (Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona.
Description
The ri ...
. (Unattested)
*Imboré / Amboré - once spoken at the sources of the
Gongogi River
The Gongogi River (Portuguese: Rio Gongoji) is a river of Bahia state in eastern Brazil. It flows through the municipalities of Gongogi, Nova Canaã, IguaÃ, and Itagibá. It empties into the De Contas River
See also
*List of rivers of Bahia ...
, Bahia state. (Unattested)
*Piripiri - once spoken in the state of Minas Gerais in the valleys of the
Verde River
The Verde River (Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona.
Description
The ri ...
and
Gorutuba River. (Unattested)
*Payaya - once spoken on the
Camamu
Camamu is a municipality in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Politically, it is in the Valença subregion of the Sul Baiano region. It is located on the southern coast of Bahia state, the Costa do Dendê (Palm Coast), along the BA-001 highway. The munic ...
River, Bahia state. (Unattested)
;Northern
*
Masacará - extinct language once spoken south of the city of
Juazeiro
Juazeiro, formerly also known as Joazeiro, is a municipality in the state of Bahia, in the northeastern region of Brazil.
The city is twinned with Petrolina, in the state of Pernambuco. The two cities are connected by a modern bridge crossing ...
and in the old mission of
Saco dos Morcegos, state of Bahia.
Mason (1950)
Camacán (Kamakán) varieties listed by
Mason
Mason may refer to:
Occupations
* Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces
* Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
(1950):
*
Camacán (Kamakán)
**Mongoyó
**Monshocó (Ezeshio)
*Cutashó (
Kotoxó)
**Catethoy (Katathoy)
*
Menián (Manyá)
*
Masacará
Classification
Martins (2007)
Internal classification of the Kamakã languages by Martins (2007):
;Kamakã
*
Masakará
*(core branch)
**
Kamakã
**
Menien
**
Kotoxó,
Mongoyó
Masakará is the most divergent language.
Ramirez (2015)
Internal classification of the Kamakã languages according to Ramirez, et al. (2015):
[Ramirez, H., Vegini, V., & França, M. C. V. de. (2015)]
Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras lÃnguas do Leste Brasileiro
''LIAMES: LÃnguas IndÃgenas Americanas'', 15(2), 223 - 277.
*
Masakará
*Kamakã proper
**
Menien
**
Kamakã (including
Kotoxó, Mongoyó, Monxokó, Katatoi, etc.)
Nikulin (2020)
Internal classification of the Kamakã languages according to Nikulin (2020):
*
Masakará
*Southern Kamakã
**
Menien
**
Kamakã;
Kotoxó/
Mongoyó
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.
:
Proto-language
Proto-Kamakã reconstructions by Martins (2007):
[Martins, Andérbio Márcio Silva. 2007. ''Revisão da FamÃlia LingüÃstica Kamakã Proposta por Chestmir Loukotka''. MA thesis, ]University of BrasÃlia
The University of BrasÃlia ( pt, Universidade de BrasÃlia, UnB) is a federal public university in BrasÃlia, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the ...
.
:
References
*Alain Fabre, 2005, ''Diccionario etnolingüÃstico y guÃa bibliográfica de los pueblos indÃgenas sudamericanos: KAMAKÃ'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamaka languages
Kamakã languages,
Language families
Macro-Jê languages
Indigenous languages of Northeastern Brazil