Shukuru_language

Xukuru language

Xukuru language

Extinct language of Brazil


Xukuru (Xucuru, Shukurú, Ichikile) was a poorly attested language of Brazil. It is also known as Kirirí, Kirirí-Xokó, Ichikile. It is known only from a few word lists and a sketch by Geraldo Lapenda (1962).[2]

Quick Facts Native to, Region ...

It was originally spoken in the Serra de São José and on the Meio River, Capibaribe River and Taperoa River in the states of Pernambuco and Paraíba. Loukotka (1968) reports the most recent locations as the Serra Ararobá and Cimbres.[3]

Classification

Loukotka (1968) considers Xukuru to form a small family with Paratió.[3]

Other languages with this name

Xukuru-Kariri is a variety of Xokó, which may be a Kariri language. The name Kiriri is shared by Dzubukuá, another Kariri language, and by Katembri. The name Kiriri-Xoko is shared with yet another variety of Xokó.

Distribution

Geraldo Lapenda (1962) reported that the Xukuru people can be found primarily in the settlements of Canabrava and Brejinho in the aldeia of Cimbres, Pesqueira municipality. They can also be found in the settlements of Cajueiro, Ipanema Velho, Caldeirão, Jitó, Lagoa, Machado, Sitio do Meio, Riacho dos Afetos, Trincheiras, Bem-te-vi, Santana, and São José. Although the Xukuru traditionally occupied the Serra do Ororobá, they could also be found in other municipalities of Pernambuco, namely Caruaru, Brejo da Madre de Deus, Belo Jardim, Sanharó, Poção, Pesqueira, and Arcoverde.[2]

Phonology

Consonants

Xukuru consonants:[2]

ptk
bdg
fsç h
vz
mn
l
rj

Vowels

Xukuru vowels:[2]

iu
é [e]ó [o]
ê [ɛ]ô [ɔ]
a

Xukuru also has nasalized vowels. Lapenda (1962) transcribes nasalized vowels as Vn (orthographic vowel followed by n).

Morphology

Common suffixes in Xukuru include -go, which forms verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and -men, of uncertain meaning.[2]

Vocabulary

Pompeu (1958)

Xucurú vocabulary from Pompeu (1958),[4] cited from Kurt Nimuendajú:[5][4]

More information Portuguese gloss (original), English gloss (translated) ...

Meader (1978)

Xukuru is also known from a word list elicited in 1961 by Paul Wagner from Antônio Caetano do Nascimento, the chief of Brazinho village in the Serra Urubu of Pesqueira, Pernambuco State. The list is reproduced below, with English translations also given.[6]

More information Portuguese gloss (original), English gloss (translated) ...

Lapenda (1962)

The following Xucuru words are from Geraldo Lapenda (1962). The data was collected by Raimundo Dantas Carneiro and Cícero Cavalcanti. (Xukuru also has nasalized vowels. Lapenda (1962) transcribes nasalized vowels as Vn (orthographic vowel followed by n).)[2]

More information Portuguese gloss (original), English gloss (translated) ...

Loukotka (1949)

The following Shukurú words are from Loukotka (1949). The data is from a 137-word manuscript list collected by Curt Nimuendajú in 1934 from 4 elderly semi-speakers in Pernambuco. The list was obtained by Loukotka in 1940.[7]

More information French gloss (original), English gloss (translated) ...

Sentences

The following Xucuru sentences are from Lapenda (1962).[2]

More information No., Xucuru ...

References

  1. Xukuru at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. Lapenda, Geraldo Calábria. 1962. O dialecto Xucuru. Doxa (Revista Oficial do Departamento de Cultura do Diretório Acadêmico da Faculdade de Filosofia de Pernambuco da Universidade do Recife), ano X, n. 10, p. 11-23.
  3. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  4. Pompeu Sobrinho, Thomaz. 1958. Línguas Tapuias desconhecidas do Nordeste: Alguns vocabulários inéditos. Boletim de Antropologia (Fortaleza-Ceará) 2. 3-19.
  5. Nimuendajú, Kurt. “Revista do Instituto Arqueológico, Histórico e Geográfico Pernambucano”. ns. 155, 158.
  6. Loukotka, Čestmír (1949). "Sur quelques langues inconnues de l'Amérique du Sud". Lingua Posnaniensis (in French). 1: 53–82.

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