Dzubukuá language

Dzubukuá (or Kariri), referred to by the community as Kariri-Xocó, is an extinct Karirian language of Brazil. Since 1989, there is a process of linguistic revitalization underway; the Tingui-Botó people claim to use Dzubukuá, their ancestral language, in their secret Ouricuri ritual.

It was spoken on the São Francisco River islands, in the Cabrobó area of Pernambuco.

Documentation

There are only two known primary sources containing the Dzubukuá language. One is a manuscript dated 1702, and the other is a 1709 catechism, both by the French Capuchin missionary Bernardo de Nantes. In the preface of the catechism, Nantes attests to the distinction between the way the Dzubukuá and Kipeá speak ("one language is as different from the other as Portuguese is from Castilian").

There is no report of the possible survival of Dzubukuá grammar and dictionary manuscripts.

Phonology

• Nikulin differs from Queiroz regarding the interpretation of the digraphs and , which he says represent and , respectively. Accordingly, he records "fire" as "" in Kipeá, but as "" in Dzubukuá.
• In 2012, Queiroz revised his 2008 description and changed his position regarding the existence of glides in Dzubukuá. Thus, and , which he had considered indicators of , and and , which he had considered indicators of , came to be reinterpreted as the high vowels and .

• has the allophones , , and .
• has the allophones , , , and .
• has the allophones , , .
• has the allophones and .
• has the allophones , , and .
• has the allophones , , , and .

Sample text

Below, the Lord's Prayer in Dzubukuá, according to Bernardo de Nantes in his 1709 catechism:

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links