Gê_languages

Jê languages

Jê languages

Language group of Brazil

For the Papuan language known as "Je", see Yei language.

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.

Quick Facts Ethnicity, Geographic distribution ...

Genetic relations

The Jê family forms the core of the Macro-Jê family. Kaufman (1990) finds the proposal convincing.

Family division

According to Ethnologue (which omits Jeikó), the language family is as follows:

Ramirez (2015)

Internal classification of the Jê languages according to Ramirez, et al. (2015):[1]

Jê

Ramirez excludes Jaikó as a possibly spurious language.

Nikulin (2020)

According to Nikulin (2020), the internal branching of the Jê language family is as follows:[2][3]

Jê

Some sound changes and lexical innovations that define various Jê subgroups:[4]

Varieties

Below is a full list of Jê language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.[5]

Jê language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968)
Timbirá group
  • Mehin – language spoken in the village of Araraparituya on the right bank of the Gurupí River, Maranhão state. Now perhaps extinct.
  • Tajé / Timbirá – spoken in the village of Bacurí on the right bank of the Mearim River, state of Maranhão.
  • Kukoekamekran – once spoken on the lower course of the Grajaú River, Maranhão. (Unattested.)
  • Kreapimkatajé / Krepúnkateye – spoken on the middle course of the Grajaú River.
  • Karákatajé – once spoken by the southern neighbors of the preceding tribe. (Unattested.)
  • Krenjé – spoken at the sources of the Gurupí River.
  • Remkokamekran / Remako-Kamékrere / Merrime – spoken on the Corda River and Alpercatas River, especially in the village of Ponto.
  • Aponegicran / Apáñekra – language spoken at the sources of the Corda River.
  • Krenkatajé / Canella – extinct language once spoken in the village of Suridade on the Alpercatas River.
  • Sakamekran / Chacamecran / Mateiros – spoken on the Codo River and Flores River.
  • Purekamekran – extinct language once spoken at the sources of the Grajaú River.
  • Makamekran / Pepuxi – once spoken on the Manuel Alves Pequeno River.
  • Kenpokatajé – once spoken between the Manuel Alves Grande River and Manuel Alves Pequeno River. (Unattested.)
  • Kanakateyé – once spoken on the Farinha River, Maranhão. (Unattested.)
  • Apinagé – language spoken between the Tocantins River and Araguaia River, near their confluence.
  • Karaho / Carauau – once spoken in the Serra do Estrondo, Goiás state.
  • Menren / Gavioes / Augutjé – spoken between the Tocantins River and Surubiu River in the state of Pará. (Only a few words.)
  • Meitajé – spoken by a few individuals northeast of Itupiranga, Maranhão state.
  • Norokwajé / Nurukwayé – spoken south of the Apinagé tribe on the Tocantins River, but perhaps extinct now. (Unattested.)
Krao group
  • Krahó / Krao – language spoken between the Macapá River and Balsas River and the Serra das Alpercatas, Maranhão state.
  • Krikati / Krikatajé – spoken between the Tocantins River and Grajaú River to the sources of the Pindaré River, Maranhão.
  • Piokobjé / Bncobu / Pukobje – spoken at the sources of the Grajaú River.
  • Kapiekran – once spoken on the Balsas River, Maranhão.
Kayapó group
  • Kayapó / Ibirayára – originally in the interior of the state of Goiás, now between the Araguaia River and Tapajós River, state of Pará. Dialects:
    • Iraamráire / Meibenokre / Mekubengokrä / Cayapó do Rio Pau d'Arco – spoken on the Arrais River and Pau d'Arco River, state of Pará; now probably extinct.
    • Gorotiré / Cayapó do Xingu – spoken as a dialect of Cayapó between the Xingu River and Pau d'Arco River.
    • Chikrí / Xicri – spoken between the Macaxeira River and Pardo River, south of the Itacaiunas River, Pará.
    • Kuben-Kran-Keñ – spoken on the Ambé River near Altamira, Pará.
    • Dzyoré – spoken at the sources of the Cuxura River, Pará. (Unattested.)
    • Purucaru – spoken between the Fresco River and the sources of the Itacaiunas River. (Unattested.)
    • Metotíre / Chukahamai – spoken by a few individuals on the Culuene River near the falls of Von Martius and on the Jarina River, state of Mato Grosso.
    • Kruatire – spoken on the right bank of the Liberdade River, Pará. (Unattested.)
    • Krinkatíre – spoken by an unknown tribe in the state of Mato Grosso. (Unattested.)
    • Kren-Akárore – spoken by an unknown tribe, Mato Grosso. (Unattested.)
    • Mek-kran-noty – spoken on the Iriri River, Pará state. (Unattested.)
    • Kradahó / Gradaú – once spoken between the Araguaia River and Sororó River, Pará, now perhaps extinct.
    • Ushikrin – extinct dialect once spoken on the Vermelho River south of the Carajá tribe, state of Goiás.
Central group
Western
  • Suyá – language spoken by a tribe that once lived at the mouth of the Suia-Missu River on the Xingu River; now in an unexplored area to the north.
Eastern
  • Goyá – extinct language once spoken at the sources of the Vermelho River, Goiás state. (Unattested.)
  • Xavante / Akwẽ / Akuän / Kayamó – spoken in the state of Mato Grosso in the Serra do Roncador and between the Tocantins River and Araguaia River in the Serra dos Chavantes.
  • Xerente – spoken between the Tocantins River, Sono River and Urucuaí River in the interior of the state of Goiás
  • Xaraó – extinct language once spoken in the village of Pedro Afonso on the Tocantins River. (Unattested.)
  • Xakriabá / Chicriabá – extinct language once spoken in the state of Goiás between the Palma River and Corumbá River.
  • Acroá / Coroá – extinct language once spoken at the sources of the Parnaíba River and Paranaíba River, state of Bahia.
  • Aricobé / Abroa – once spoken on the Preto River and in the Serra das Figuras, state of Bahia. Several families have been reported in this location. (Unattested.)
  • Takacuá – extinct language once spoken on the middle course of the Sono River, state of Goiás. (Unattested.)
  • Guaiba – once spoken on Guaiba Island in the São Francisco River near the city of São Romão, state of Minas Gerais. (Unattested.)
  • Krixá – once spoken in the São Marcos valley between the Urucuia River and Paracatu River in the state of Minas Gerais. (Unattested.)
  • Goguez / Guegué – once spoken between the Tocantins River and Gurguéia River in the state of Piauí. (Unattested.)
Jeicó group

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[5]

More information Language, Branch ...


More information Language, Branch ...

Proto-language

Quick Facts Proto-Jê, Reconstruction of ...

Nikulin (2020)

Proto-Jê reconstructions by Nikulin (2020):[2]

More information gloss, Proto-Jê ...

For a more complete list of Proto-Jê reconstructions, as well as Proto-Southern Jê reconstructions, see the corresponding Portuguese article.

Ribeiro & van der Voort (2010)

Proto-Jê reconstructions by Ribeiro and van der Voort (2010):[6]

More information gloss, Proto-Jê ...

References

Wiktionary has a list of reconstructed forms at Appendix:Proto-Jê reconstructions
  1. [1]
    Ramirez, Henri; Vegini, Valdir; França, Maria Cristina Victorino de (2015). "Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras línguas do Leste Brasileiro". LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas. 15 (2): 223–277. doi:10.20396/liames.v15i2.8642302.
  2. [2]
    Nikulin, Andrey (2020). "A reconstruction of Proto-Jê phonology and lexicon". Journal of Language Relationship. 17 (1–2): 93–127. doi:10.31826/jlr-2019-171-211.
  3. [3]
    Nikulin, Andrey. 2020. Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo. Doctoral dissertation, University of Brasília.
  4. [4]
    Nikulin, Andrey; De Carvalho, Fernando O. (2019). "Estudos diacrônicos de línguas indígenas brasileiras: Um panorama" (PDF). Macabéa – Revista Eletrônica do Netlli. 8 (2): 255–305. doi:10.47295/mren.v8i2.1910.
  5. [5]
    Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  6. [6]
    Ribeiro, Eduardo Rivail (2010). "Nimuendajú was right: The inclusion of the jabutí language family in the Macro-Jê stock". International Journal of American Linguistics. 76 (4): 517–570. doi:10.1086/658056. hdl:2066/86080.
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