The Rikbaktsa language, also spelled ''Aripaktsa, Erikbatsa'' or ''Erikpatsa'' and known ambiguously as ''Canoeiro'', is a language spoken by 40 of the
Rikbaktsa people of
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...
, Brazil, that forms its own branch of the
Macro-Gê languages, or is a language isolate.
Most Rikbaktsa can speak both Rikbaktsa and Portuguese. Younger individuals tend to speak Portuguese more frequently and fluently than their elders, but older individuals generally struggle with Portuguese and use it only with non-indigenous Brazilians.
[Arruda, Rinaldo S.V]
"Rikbaktsa: Language."
In '' Encyclopedia of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil''. Instituto Socioambiental (November 1998).
Jolkesky (2016) also notes that there are lexical similarities with the
Cariban languages
The Cariban languages are a family of languages Indigenous to north-eastern South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes, and they are also spoken in small poc ...
.
Locations
The 22nd edition of Ethnologue reports that it is spoken around confluence of the
Sangue River and
Juruena River
The Juruena River () is a long river in west-central Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso.
Course
The Juruena originates in the Parecis plateau.
Within Mato Grosso the river defines the eastern boundary of the Igarapés do Juruena State Park, ...
in:
*Japuira on the east bank of the
Juruena River
The Juruena River () is a long river in west-central Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso.
Course
The Juruena originates in the Parecis plateau.
Within Mato Grosso the river defines the eastern boundary of the Igarapés do Juruena State Park, ...
, between the
Arinos River and
Sangue River
*Posto Escondido on the west bank of the
Juruena River
The Juruena River () is a long river in west-central Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso.
Course
The Juruena originates in the Parecis plateau.
Within Mato Grosso the river defines the eastern boundary of the Igarapés do Juruena State Park, ...
(9 villages, 14 settlements)
Phonology
* /i, u/ can be heard as
�, ʊwhen in syllable-final position.
* /e, o/ can be heard as
�, ɔwhen in unstressed syllables.
* /a/ is heard as
�in final unstressed syllables, as
�when following /tʃ/ heard as
ʃʲ and as
�when occurring after the sequence /ku/.
* A glottal stop
�can also be heard in initial and final position when before and after vowels.
* /d/ can be palatalized as
ʲwhen before /i/.
* /t͡ʃ/ can be palatalized as
͡ʃʲwhen in front of /a/.
* /p, k/ can be heard as aspirated
Ê°, kÊ°when before an accented syllable.
* /k/ can be heard as voiced
�when before voiced consonants.
* /w/ can be heard as
�when in stressed syllable before front vowels.
* Sounds /ɾ, w, h/ can be heard as nasal
�̃, w̃, h̃when in nasal vowel positions.
Grammar
As in other languages of the area, word endings indicate the gender of the speaker.
Rikbaktsa is a
subject-object-verb language.
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.
:
References
Nuclear Macro-Jê languages
Languages of Brazil
Indigenous languages of South America (Central)
Rikbaktsa
Subject–object–verb languages
Endangered Indigenous languages of the Americas
Mamoré–Guaporé linguistic area
{{Macro-Jê-lang-stub