Xakriabá language

Xakriabá (also called Chakriaba, Chikriaba, Shacriaba or Shicriabá) is a dormant Akuwẽ (Central Jê) language (Jê, Macro-Jê) formerly spoken in Minas Gerais, Brazil by the Xakriabá people, who today speak Portuguese. The language is known through two short wordlists collected by Augustin Saint-Hilaire and Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege.

History

Before 1712, Xakriabá was originally spoken along the São Francisco River near São Romão, Minas Gerais (Saint-Hilaire 2000: 340–341). The Xakriabá were then forced to migrate after being defeated by and other Paulistas from 1690 onwards. In 1819, Saint-Hilaire (1975: 145) noted that the Xakriabá of Triângulo Mineiro region spoke a Xerente dialect.

Phonology

Vowels

• /i/ can also be heard as [ɪ] in shortened positions.

Consonants

• [j] is heard from /i/ before other vowels or within diphthongs.
• [ʃ ʒ] are heard as allophones of /s z/.
• [tʃ dʒ ɲ] are heard as allophones of /t d n/ when palatalized before /i/.
• [É¡] can be heard as an allophone of /k/.

References