Timbira is a

dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...

of the

Northern Jê Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

language group of 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 ...

̣( Macro-Jê) spoken in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The various dialects are distinct enough to sometimes be considered separate languages. The principal varieties, Krahô Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh (Craó), and Canela (Kanela), have 2000 speakers apiece, few of whom speak Portuguese. Pará Gavião has 600–700 speakers. Krẽje, however, is nearly extinct, with only 30 speakers in 1995. Timibira has been intensive contact with various Tupi-Guarani languages of the lower

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

- Mearim area, such as Guajajára, Tembé, Guajá, and Urubú-Ka'apór. Ararandewára, Turiwára, Tupinamba, and Nheengatu have also been spoken in the area. Some of people in the area are also remembers of Anambé and Amanajé.

Varieties

Linguistic varieties of Timbira include: * Canela (subdivided into Apànjêkra and Mẽmõrtũmre (a.k.a. Ràmkôkãmẽkra)), 2,500 speakers in

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...

* Krahô, 2,000 speakers in

* Krĩkatí, spoken in Terra Indígena Krikati,

* Pykobjê, 600 speakers in Terra Indígena Governador close to Amarante,

* Parkatêjê, 12 speakers in Terra Indígena Mãe Maria,

Bom Jesus do Tocantins Bom Jesus do Tocantins is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Tocantins. Its population is estimated at 5,008 (2020), and its area is 1333 km2. The Kỳikatêjê and Parkatêjê languages are spoken by the Kỳikatêjê and ...

Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...

* Kỳikatêjê, 9 speakers in Terra Indígena Mãe Maria,

* Krẽje, under 30 speakers in

and

Loukotka (1968)

Loukotka (1968) divides the Timbira tribes into two groups, Timbirá ( Canela) and Krao. The majority are included under Timbira: ;Timbira ( Canela): *''Mehin, Tajé'' (Timbirá) *''Kreapimkatajé'' (Krepúnkateye) *''Krenjé'' ( Krẽyé) *''Remkokamekran'' (Remako-Kamékrere, Merrime) *''Aponegicran'' (Apáñekra) *''Krenkatajé'' (Canella, Kenkateye) *''Sakamekran'' (Chacamecran, Mateiros) *''Purekamekran, Makamekran'' (Pepuxi) *''Apinagé, Karaho'' (Carauau) *''Menren'' (Gaviões, Augutjé – only a few words known) *''Meitajé'' ;Krao: *'' Krahó, Krikati'' ( Kỳikatêjê) *'' Piokobjé'' (Bucobu, Pukobje, Paicogê) *''Kapiekran''

Ramirez et al. (2015)

Ramirez et al. (2015) considers Timbira-Kayapó to be a

, as follows: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. :Canela-Krahô ↔ Gavião-Krĩkati ↔ Apinajé ↔ Kayapó ↔ Suyá-Tapayuna ↔ Panará-Kayapó do Sul Apart from Kapiekran, all Krao varieties are recognized by the ISO. Under the Timbira group, Loukotka included several purported languages for which nothing is recorded: ''Kukoekamekran, Karákatajé, Kenpokatajé, Kanakatayé, Norokwajé'' (Ñurukwayé). The ''Poncatagê'' (Põkateye) are likewise unidentifiable. Another common convention for division, though geographic rather than linguistic, is ''Western Timbira'' (Apinayé alone) vs ''Eastern Timbira'' (Canela, Krikatí, Krahô, Gavião, and others). ''Gurupy'' is a river, sometimes used to refer to the Krenye.

Nikulin (2020)

References

{{Macro-Jê languages Jê languages Languages of Brazil