Jê languages

Genetic relations

Family division

• Jeikó
• Northern Jê
• * Apinayé
• * Mẽbengokre
• * Panará
• * Suyá
• * Timbira
• Central Jê
• * Acroá
• * Xavante
• * Xerente
• * Xakriabá
• Southern Jê
• * Xokleng
• * Kaingáng
• ** Kaingáng
• ** São Paulo Kaingáng
• ** Ingain
• ** Guayana

  Ramirez (2015)

• Southern Jê
• *Ingain ↔ Xokleng ↔ Kaigáng
• Northern Jê
• *Jê proper
• **Canela-Krahô ↔ Gavião-Krĩkati ↔ Apinajé ↔ Kayapó ↔ Suyá-Tapayuna ↔ Panará-Kayapó do Sul
• *Akuwẽ
• **Xavante
• **Xerente

Nikulin (2020)

• Southern Jê
• *Ingain
• *Southern Jê proper
• **Kaingáng
• **Laklãnõ
• Cerrado
• *Central Jê
• **Xerénte
• **Xavánte
• *Northern Jê
• **Southern Kayapó
• ***Mossâmedes
• ***Triângulo
• ****Panará
• **Northern Jê proper
• ***Timbíra
• ****Parkatêjê; Kyikatêjê
• ****Timbíra proper
• *****Krikatí; Pykobjê
• *****Krahô; Canela
• ***Trans-Tocantins
• ****Apinajé
• ****Trans-Araguaia
• *****Mẽbêngôkre
• *****Trans-Xingu
• ******Kĩsêdjê
• ******Tapayúna

• Proto-Southern Jê *a < *Proto-Jê *ɔ
• Proto-Cerrado *wa < Proto-Jê *ɔ
• Proto-Cerrado: *am, *um, *ɨm > *ãm, *ũm, *ɨ̃m
• *Panará: replacement of *kakũm ‘dry season’ with *aŋgrʌ
• *Proto-Timbira: *c > *h
• *Proto-Trans-Tocantins: replacement of *a-mbʌ ‘eat ’ with *ap-ku

  Varieties

• 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.
• Kreapimkatajé / Krepúnkateye - spoken on the middle course of the Grajaú River.
• Karákatajé - once spoken by the southern neighbors of the preceding tribe.
• 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 oncoe 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.
• Kanakateyé - once spoken on the Farinha River, Maranhão.
• 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.
• 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.

• 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 / 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.
• *Purucaru - spoken between the Fresco River and the sources of the Itacaiunas River.
• *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.
• *Krinkatíre - spoken by an unknown tribe in the state of Mato Grosso.
• *Kren-Akárore - spoken by an unknown tribe, Mato Grosso.
• *Mek-kran-noty - spoken on the Iriri River, Pará state.
• *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.

• Southern Cayapó - incorrect name of a language the original name of which is unknown; originally spoken in the southern areas of the state of Mato Grosso on the Turvo River, Corumbá River, Meia Ponte River, Tijuco River, das Velhas River, Pardo River, Sucuriú River, Aporé River, Verde River, and Taquari River. Later found in the old mission of Santa Ana de Paranaíba and now spoken by only a few families in a village on the confluence of the Grande River and Paraná River, state of São Paulo. The following extinct languages may have been related:
• *Panariá - extinct language spoken once near Uberaba, state of Minas Gerais.
• *Mandimbóia - state of Minas Gerais on the Verde River and Sapucai-Guasú River.
• *Candindé - once spoken in the Itapecerica Valley near Divinópolis, Minas Gerais.
• *Bocoani - once spoken between the Turvo River and Preto River, Minas Gerais.
• *Morupak / Mirapác - once spoken between the Sapucai-Guasú River and Jaguari River, state of Minas Gerais.
• *Katágua - once spoken on the Jequiriçá River, Minas Gerais.
• *Puxiauá - language of the neighbors of the Katágua tribe.
• *Teremembe - once spoken on the Paraopeba River, Paranaíba River, Grande River, and Sapucai-Guasú River, Minas Gerais.
• *Araxó - once spoken in the vicinity of the modern city of Araxá, Minas Gerais.
• *Araxué - once spoken between the Serra Canastra and Mata de Corda.
• *Carayá - unknown language spoken by a tribe from the northern area of the Paraíba do Sul River, Minas Gerais.

• 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.

• Goyá - extinct language once spoken at the sources of the Vermelho River, Goiás state.
• 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.
• 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.
• Takacuá - extinct language once spoken on the middle course of the Sono River, state of Goiás.
• Guaiba - once spoken on Guaiba Island in the São Francisco River near the city of São Romão, state of Minas Gerais.
• Krixá - once spoken in the São Marcos valley between the Urucuia River and Paracatu River in the state of Minas Gerais.
• Goguez / Guegué - once spoken between the Tocantins River and Gurguéia River in the state of Piauí.

• Jaicó / Zyeikó - extinct language once spoken on the Canindé River, Gurguéia River, and Piauí River, state of Piauí
• Eastern Timbirá - once spoken in the state of Piauí between the Itaim River and Parnaíba River.
• Arua - once spoken in Piauí state between the Itaim River and Jaguaribe River.
• Ponti - once spoken on an island in the São Francisco River near the city of Quebrobó, Pernambuco state; Portuguese is now spoken.

  Vocabulary

Proto-language

Nikulin (2020)

Ribeiro & van der Voort (2010)