The Maxakalían languages (also Mashakalían) were first classified into the

Jê languages The Jê languages (also spelled Gê, Jean, Ye, Gean), or Jê–Kaingang languages, are spoken by the Jê, a group of indigenous peoples in Brazil. Genetic relations The Jê family forms the core of the Macro-Jê family. Kaufman (1990) finds t ...

. It was only in 1931 that

Čestmír Loukotka Čestmír Loukotka (12 November 1895 – 13 April 1966) was a Czechoslovak linguist. His daughter was Jarmila Loukotková. Career Loukotka proposed a Classification of indigenous languages of the Americas#Loukotka (1968), classification for ...

separated them from the Jê family.

Alfred Métraux Alfred Métraux (5 November 1902 – 12 April 1963) was a Swiss and Argentine anthropologist, ethnologist and human rights leader. Early life Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Métraux spent much of his childhood in Argentina where his father was a ...

and

Curt Nimuendajú Curt Unckel Nimuendajú (born Curt Unckel; 18 April 1883 – 10 December 1945) was a German- Brazilian ethnologist, anthropologist, and writer. His works are fundamental for the understanding of the religion and cosmology of some native Brazilian ...

considered the Maxakalían family isolated from others.

John Alden Mason John Alden Mason (January 14, 1885 – November 7, 1967) was an American archaeological anthropologist and linguist. Mason was born in Orland, Indiana, but grew up in Philadelphia's Germantown. He received his undergraduate degree from the Univ ...

suggests a connection with the Macro-Jê stock, confirmed by Aryon Rodrigues.

Languages

Apart from extinct varieties generally seen as dialects of Maxakalí, Mason noted resemblances with a few other extinct languages of the area: Pataxó, Malalí and Coropó. However, Coropó is now thought to be a Purian language. Campbell (1997) therefore lists the Maxakalian languages as: # Malalí ''(†)'' # Pataxó (Patashó) ''(†)'' (retain some words) # Maxakalí (Mashacalí) (1,270 speakers) ''Glottolog'' (2016) restores Coropó (Koropó) as a Maxakalían language.

Nikulin (2020)

Nikulin (2020) proposes the following internal classification of the Maxakalían languages:Nikulin, Andrey. 2020.
Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo
'. Doctoral dissertation, University of Brasília. ;Maxakalí *'' Malalí'' *Nuclear Maxakalí **'' Maxakalí'' **'' Ritual Maxakalí''; '' Makoní'' **'' Pataxó''; ''Pataxó-Hãhãhãe'' **'' Koropó'' Maxakalí is a sister of Krenák and possibly also Kamakã. Together, they form a Trans- São Francisco branch within the Macro-Jê language phylum in Nikulin's (2020) classification.

Ramirez (2015)

Internal classification of the Maxakali languages according to Ramirez, et al. (2015):Ramirez, H., Vegini, V., & França, M. C. V. de. (2015)
Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras línguas do Leste Brasileiro
''LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas'', 15(2), 223 - 277. *

Malali Malali is a village in Bagalkot district, Karnataka, India.Village code= 142500 Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India there were 345 households in Malali and a total population of 1,781 consisting of 912 males and 869 females. There wer ...

*Maxakali-Pataxó **(?) Koropó **Maxakali proper ***

Maxakali The Maxakali are an ethnic group of indigenous people in Brazil. Geography and Ethnology The Maxakali live in the districts of Santa Helena de Minas, Bertópolis, Ladainha and Teófilo Otoni in the federal state Minas Gerais. The 400 member ...

***Old Machacari (including: Monoxó, Makoni, Kapoxó, Kumanaxó, Panhame, etc.) ** Pataxó of WiedWied, Maximilian Alexander Philipp, Prinz von. 1989. ''Viagem ao Brasil nos anos de 1815 a 1817''. Belo Horizonte: Editora Itatiaia. **Pataxó-Hãhãhãe Currently,

(excluding Old Machacari) is the only living language, while all other languages are extinct. Pataxó as documented by

Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (23 September 1782 – 3 February 1867) was a German explorer, ethnologist and naturalist. He led a pioneering expedition to southeast Brazil between 1815–1817, from which the album ''Reise na ...

(1989: 510-511) in 1816 is distinct from Pataxó-Hãhãhãe. Pataxó-Hãhãhãe was spoken into the 20th century and has been documented by Meader (1978: 45-50), Loukotka (1963: 32-33), and Silva & Rodrigues (1982). Many Maxakalian varieties are attested only from 19th-century word lists, some of which are: *''Mashacari'' ( A.St-Hil, 2000: 274; Wied, 1989: 509-510) ollected in 1816-1817*'' Kapoxó'' ( Martius, 1863: 170-172) ollected in 1818*''Monoxó'' (Saint-Hilaire, 2000: 181Saint-Hilaire, Auguste de. 2000. ''Viagem pelas províncias do Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais''. Belo Horizonte: Editora Itatiaia.) ollected in 1817*'' Makoni'' (Saint-Hilaire, 2000: 212; Martius, 1863: 173-176; Wied, 1989: 512-513) ollected in 1816-1818*''

'' (Saint-Hilaire, 2000: 181; Martius, 1863: 207-208; Wied, 1989: 511-512) ollected in 1816-1818

Loukotka (1968)

Below is a full list of Mashakali languages and dialects listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties. ;Western * Mashakali / Maxacari - language once spoken in the state of Minas Gerais on the Marucí River and Jucurucu River, later on the Belmonte River. * Kaposho / Capoxo - once spoken on the

Araçuaí River The Araçuaí River ( pt, Rio Araçuaí, links=no) is a river of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. The Araçuaí River flows through the Jequitinhonha Valley in the northeast of Minas Gerais, through the town of Araçuaí, which the river ...

. *Kumanasho / Cumanaxo - extinct language originally spoken on the Suaçuí Grande River, state of Minas Gerais, later at the sources of the Gravatá River, state of Bahia. *Moakañi - once spoken on the Fanado River (Panado River) near Conceição, later on the

Caravelas River The Caravelas River ( pt, Rio Caravelas) is a river that enters the Atlantic Ocean in the south of the state of Bahia, Brazil. The community of Caravelas is on the left shore of the river a few kilometres above its mouth. The river flows through ...

. (Unattested) *Pañáme - once spoken on the Suaçuí Pequeno River, Minas Gerais. *Monoxo / Monachobm / Menacho - originally spoken on the Itanhaém River and now on the Posto Paraguaçu, state of Bahia. * Makoni - formerly spoken on the

and near Alto dos Bois. *Paraxirn - once spoken on the Suaçuí Pequeno River. (Unattested) *Bonitó - once spoken on the Suaçuí Grande River near Peçanha and Bonito. (Unattested) *Goaña - once spoken on the Corrente River and Guanhães River. (Unattested) *Malacaxi - extinct language between Malacacheta and Urupuca (near Água Boa, Minas Gerais). (Unattested) *Mapoxo - formerly spoken on the Suaçuí Grande River. (Unattested) *Xonin - once spoken between the Peçanha River, Figueira River, and

Doce River The Doce River (literally the "sweet river"; pt, Rio Doce ) is a river in southeast Brazil with a length of . The river basin is economically important. In 2015 the collapse of a dam released highly contaminated water from mining into the river ...

. (Unattested) *Moxotó - extinct language once spoken on the Suaçuí Grande River and Suaçuí Pequeno River near Peçanha. (Unattested) *Toréjicana - once spoken between the

and Fanado River. (Unattested) *Vocoin - once spoken between the

and

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 ...

. (Unattested) *Batum - once spoken between the

and Conceição River. (Unattested) ;Eastern * Patasho - originally spoken between the

and

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon, the Paraná and t ...

in the state of Minas Gerais; the last survivors became extinct on the right shore of the

, Espirito Santo. *Tocoyó - extinct language originally spoken in the valley of the

and near Minas Novas de Fanado in the state of Minas Gerais, later on the right bank of the

in the state of Espirito Santo. (Unattested) *Maquinuca - once spoken near the Salto Grande on the

. (Unattested) *Canarin - once spoken on the

and

Mucuri River The Mucuri River is a river of Bahia and Minas Gerais states in eastern Brazil. See also *List of rivers of Bahia *List of rivers of Minas Gerais A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (sur ...

, state of Espirito Santo. (Unattested) *Tucanuçú - once spoken south of the

near Campos de

Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

. (Unattested) *Aboninim - once spoken in the state of Minas Gerais in the Serra Geral do Espinhaço. (Unattested) *Catiguasú - once spoken in the state of Minas Gerais between the

and

. (Unattested) *Hahaháy - spoken in the state of Bahia on the Cachoeira River. ;Southern *

- extinct language formerly spoken in the Serra Redonda and on the Suaçuí Pequeno River, Minas Gerais. *Zamplan - once spoken on the

and at the sources of the

Piracicaba River The Piracicaba River is a river of São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Tietê River, which it joins in the reservoir created by Barra Bonita Dam. There is also another Piracicaba river in the state of Minas Gerais, n ...

. (Unattested)

Mason (1950)

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) lists: ;Mashacalí * Caposhó (Koposǒ) *Cumanashó (Kumanaxó) * Macuní (Makoni) * Mashacalí (Maxakarí) *Monoshó (Monoxó) *Panyame (Paname)

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Mashakali languages.

References

Bibliography

* Campbell, Lyle. (1997). ''American Indian languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America''. New York: Oxford University Press. . * Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What We Know and How to Know More. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), ''Amazonian Linguistics: Studies in Lowland South American Languages'' (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press. . * Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The Native Languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), ''Atlas of the World's Languages'' (pp. 46–76). London: Routledge. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxakalian languages Nuclear Macro-Jê languages Indigenous languages of South America (Central) Indigenous languages of Eastern Brazil