Xukuru language
| Xukurú | |
|---|---|
| Ichikile, Shukurú | |
| Brobo | |
| Pronunciation | [bɾɔbɔ] |
| Native to | Brazil |
| Region | Pernambuco |
| Ethnicity | 8,500 Xukuru people (2020)[1] |
| Extinct | by 1934[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xoo |
| Glottolog | xuku1239xucu1234 |
 Municipality of Pesqueira, Pernambuco, where Xukuru was spoken | |
Xukuru (Xucuru, Shukurú, Ichikile, Xukurú: Brobo[4]) is a poorly attested extinct language of Brazil, once spoken by the Xukuru people. It is known only from a few word lists. Xukuru 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. The Xukuru live in the Serra Ararobá and Pesqueira (formerly containing the aldeia of Cimbres).[5][6]
History
[edit]William D. Hohenthal, Jr. (1954) estimates the last generation of Xukuru speakers to have been born in the 1860s to the 1870s.[6] However, by the time of Curt Nimuendajú's visit to the Xukuru in 1934,[2] encountering about 50 of them,[6] he could only collect 137 words from four old individuals, and the language had gone extinct by then. His manuscript was lost after his death, and only a short excerpt of it survived.[2] Following him was Cicero Cavalcanti, an employee of the Indian Protection Service (SPI), who, in 1944, visited the Xukuru, recording a total of 2,191 descendants, but only 385 "pure" Xukuru. He collected a "lengthy" vocabulary,[6] as well as some sentences strung together by the Xukuru which contained no grammatical information.[7] Later, in 1951, Hohenthal visited the Xukuru and conducted an ethnographic study of them, also collecting a vocabulary. None of the Xukuru could construct any grammatical structures in their original language, instead constructing sentences in Portuguese, but replacing the vocabulary with Xukuru.[6] Geraldo Lapenda (1962) subsequently conducted a short sketch of Xukuru.[7] Today, the Xukuru have attempted to reintroduce what remains of their language into their community and daily life.[8][9][10] An illustrated dictionary in Xukuru has been produced.[11]
Classification
[edit]Loukotka (1968) considers Xukurú to form a small family with Paratió and the unattested Garanhun (Garañun).[5] Glottolog, following Fabre (2005), treats Xukuru and Paratió as dialects.[12]
Geographical distribution
[edit]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.[7]
Phonology
[edit]Consonants
[edit]Xukuru consonants:[7]
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | |||
| voiced | b | d | g | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ ⟨x⟩ | h | ||
| voiced | v | z | ʒ ⟨j⟩ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | |||||
| Lateral | l | ||||||
| Approximant | r | ||||||
Vowels
[edit]Xukuru vowels:[7]
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e ⟨é⟩ | o ⟨ó⟩ |
| Open-mid | ɛ ⟨ê⟩ | ɔ ⟨ô⟩ |
| Open | a | |
Xukuru also has nasalized vowels. Lapenda (1962) transcribes nasalized vowels as ⟨Vn⟩ (orthographic vowel followed by ⟨n⟩). Descending diphthongs are attested, but only for oral vowels.[7]
Morphology
[edit]Common suffixes in Xukuru include -go, which forms verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and -men, of uncertain meaning. The negative adverb biá was also recorded, and may have formerly been a suffix.[7][8]
nõyẽ
speak
biá
not
'don't speak'
The Portuguese preposition em was also adapted into Xukuru as ĩ (which Lapenda transcribed as in).[7][8]
ĩ
in
bemẽ
the morning
'in the morning'
Vocabulary
[edit]Due to the paucity of data on Xukuru, Hohenthal supposed that some of the vocabulary collected could be of the Paratió language instead.[6] Some of the data had been mixed with other languages spoken in the region, such as Kariri, Pankararú, Iatê and the língua geral.[8]
Loukotka (1949)
[edit]The following Xukurú words are from Loukotka (1949), republishing the list obtained from Curt Nimuendajú collected in 1934. The list was obtained by Loukotka in 1940.[13]
French gloss
(original)English gloss
(translated)Shukurú chien dog žebrégo dent tooth čilodé eau water téu femme woman moéla feu fire intóa hache axe tilóa homme man šenũprĕ jaguar jaguar lamprémp langue tongue ĩš-arágŏ main hand koreké maïs maize šígŭ maison house šek manioc cassava šakurarágŭ manger eat kreṅgô oreille har bandalák pied foot poyá pierre stone kéiba pot pot koréka serpent snake saṅsála tabac tobacco mãžé tête head kreká
Meader (1978)
[edit]Xukuru is also known from a word list obtained 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.[4]
Portuguese gloss
(original)English gloss
(translated)Xukuru água water křikišε arco bow fřεša azul blue ιniyε bebo I drink taiyε̨ fazer beber to drink uřιnka/o boca mouth opigomə̨ branco white piřaːša carne de boi beef iːša de mařiñu carne de porco pork iːša de pʰužu casa home šεkI / šεkʰ está chovendo it is raining křišišε cobra snake katə̨go / šabatə̨na / sązařa comer (fazer) eat křιŋgɔ corda (de índio) rope (of Indian) kəšta correr (fazer) run mutəgo dia day 'aːdamε dormir to sleep muřiša flecha arrow bεštə fogo fire kiya fumo smoke mažε fumando (fazendo) smoking ε/ιštə̨ŋgu joelho knee žəže lua moon kιlaRmɔ machado axe takɔ de supapʰo mãe mother tšiɔkɔ mandioca cassava iːəmu farinha de mandioca cassava flour įəmu matar kill kopago/u menino boy ambεkO / křipʰu/i milho corn šιgu / šiːgřu / siːgu morto (defunto) dead (deceased) kupʰu mulher / moça woman / girl ɔkřιpi / tšɔkɔ nariz nose šikřį noite night batukį noite clara clear night kilařižmąų / kιlařižmąų noite sem luar moonless night batřokį / batokį nuvem cloud nǫmbřu olho eye aloži / lə̨že/ε pai dad taiɔpʰu panela de barro clay pot mɔiː pau stick křə̨ži pé foot poiya pés-de-bode goat feet poia de mε̨mε̨ŋgo pedra stone kařašiši / kašiši / kebřə pequeno small křeɔ perna fina thin leg žatiři pessoa ruim bad person taːnañago piolho louse kuša preta black woman takažu křεga preto black man takažu pu sangue blood bǫdąso sol sun aːdɔmε terra earth lιmulagu velho old iakɔ / taiəpu / přɔ vem cá come here iąkɔ / iə̨nkɔ verde green piřaša / takaιnyε abóbora pumpkin porou até logo see you later ambeřa banana banana pakɔvɔ beiju beiju šɔšɔgu bicho-de-pé chigoe flea
(Tunga penetrans)bušu / bušudu bode goat mε̨mε̨ŋgo boi ox mařį bolsa handbag aiyɔ bom-dia good morning břεmε̨/æ̨ brasa ember toe brigar (mentir?) (fazer) fight (lie?) ařago cabaça gourd kuřekɔ/a caboclo caboclo taispu/U caboclo velho old caboclo přɔ / sanumpI/i cachaça cachaça uřiːka žɔgu cachimbo smoking pipe šaduřε café coffee fǫfǫ cágado tortoise šabutε cansado tired nanəgu carneiro ram labudu cavalo horse pitšιŋgə chapéu hat křeakřugu chefe chief přə chorando crying šualya cintura waist hododoːgu dar na cabeça give in the head kupago dinheiro money εntaiu doce sweet kažuřə duas horas da tarde two o'clock in the afternoon ŋgutimæ escuro dark bətukį / batyukį espingarda shotgun kašuvemini / nazařinə espírito (homem) spirit (of man) kopʰu ařaga fava fava bean kuřikə feijão bean saka fica quieto stay quiet naiyεtigořε / naiyε biago fome (está com) hungry (be) šuřakI/i fósforo match (lighter) křiya galinha chicken tapuka gato cat žetona gato do mato / leão wildcat / lion tə̨tə̨ŋgu / tątągu homem mal feito ugly man křugu/i ladrão thief šikřεgugu lagartinha small caterpillar kuřišiba lenha firewood křə̨ži língua dos Xukurus Xukuru language břɔbɔ maça cudgel kuřikɔ madeira wood křə̨ž mentira a lie (not truth) uːegwe mulata mulatto křεšuagu nome da tribo Xukuru tribe šukuřuiz Nossa Senhora Our Lady (Virgin Mary) təməį Nosso Senhor Our Lord (Jesus) tupə̨ onça / rato jaguar / rat pipʰiu padre father pažε panela / jarro pot / pitcher mə̨yį patim small patio iːə̨kə̨ pato duck tapukə peba drink šabutε / šababutε peru turkey papιsaka / isaka ponta de boi point of ox kakřiə̨kʰɔ porco pig pužu prato de barro clay plate šεtkibųgu preá Brazilian guinea pig (Cavia aperea) bεŋo / bεŋgo prender (fez) catch abřeřa com raiva angry mařau rapadura rapadura kařuža rede net tipʰoia roubar (fazer) steal ařagu / šιkřugu / šikřεgu roupa (genérico) clothing (generic) takʰɔ roupa rasgada rags, ripped clothing takə ařagu saia skirt tinəŋgɔ sapato shoe šaba sapo toad sařapə sede thirst sεři soldado soldier ařεdæři / kəmakwį titica useless ižari / šapřuiz titica grande very useless žaři trovão thunder təkəmařu / takəmařau urinar urinate žιgu urubu vulture gřaːsia vai dar de corpo will give body šιkumə viagem (fazer) travel ųbřeːřa / muntəgu
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Xukuru - Povos Indígenas no Brasil". pib.socioambiental.org. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
- 1 2 3 Loukotka, Čestmír (1949). "Sur Quelques Langues Inconnues de l'Amerique du Sud" (PDF). Lingua Posnaniensis. I: 53–82.
- ↑ "Glottolog 5.2 - Xukurú". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
- 1 2 Meader, Robert E. (1978). Indios do Nordeste: Levantamento sobre os remanescentes tribais do nordeste brasileiro (in Portuguese). Brasilia: SIL International. Archived from the original on 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
- 1 2 Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hohenthal Jr., W. D. (1954). "Notes on the Shucurú Indians of Serra de Ararobá, Pernambuco, Brazil" (PDF). Revista do Museu Paulista (Nova Série). 8: 93–164.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lapenda, Geraldo Calábria (1962). "O dialecto Xucuru" (PDF). Doxa (Revista Oficial do Departamento de Cultura do Diretório Acadêmico da Faculdade de Filosofia de Pernambuco da Universidade do Recife). X (10): 11–23.
- 1 2 3 4 "Neologisms in Revitalizing Indigenous Languages in Northeast Brazil | Lund University". www.lunduniversity.lu.se. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
- ↑ Carvalho, Solange Carlos (2019-12-04). "O papel da língua no fortalecimento da identidade étnica dos Xukuru da Serra de Ororubá". Ciência & Trópico. 43 (2). doi:10.33148/Cetropicov43n2(2019)art.6. ISSN 2526-9372.
- ↑ Carvalho, Solange Carlos de (2018-08-28). "A língua e o fortalecimento da identidade étnica dos Xukuru da Serra do Ororubá em busca do sentido do ser". repositorio.ufpe.br. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
- ↑ Calado, Rosani Maciel; Costa-Maciel, Débora Amorim Gomes da; Silva, Edson (2026-06-16). "Dicionário ilustrado da língua Xukuru do Ororubá: documentando palavras de um povo originário". Revista da ABRALIN (in Portuguese). 24 (2): 166–186. doi:10.25189/rabralin.v24i2.2363. ISSN 0102-7158.
- ↑ "Glottolog 5.1 - Xukurú". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ↑ Loukotka, Čestmír (1949). "Sur quelques langues inconnues de l'Amérique du Sud". Lingua Posnaniensis (in French). 1: 53–82.
External links
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