Katukinan languages


Katukinan is a language family consisting of two languages in Brazil, Katukina-Kanamarí and the perhaps moribund Katawixi. It's often not clear which names in the literature, which are generally tribal names and often correspond to dialects, refer to distinct languages. Indeed, they're close enough that some consider them all to be dialects of a single language, Kanamari.
Campbell note that Adelaar "presents reasonably persuasive evidence that Harákmbut and Katukinan are genetically related."

Language contact

Jolkesky notes that there are lexical similarities with the Jivaro, Maku, Mura-Matanawi, Puinave-Nadahup, Taruma, Tupi, Yanomami, and Arawak language families due to contact. This suggests that Katukinan and the language families with which it was in contact with had been earlier spoken within a central Amazon interaction sphere.

Languages and dialects

Many ethnic Katukina had shifted to other languages by the time of European contact. Examples are Panoan Katukina and unclassified Katukinaru.
The common suffix dyapa, djapa means 'tribe' or 'clan', for which the varieties are named. Fabre lists Kanamarí, Txuhuã-djapá, Katukína do Jutaí, and Katawixi as four attested languages.

Loukotka (1968)

A large number of Katukinan dialects have gone extinct. Loukotka illustrates data from Catuquina, Canamari, Parawa, Bendiapa, and Catauxi. Canamari, Parawa, and Bendiapa may constitute a single language, as may Tucundiapa. He also notes a Tawari, and a Buruá, of which nothing has been recorded. All of them are classified as "Southern Catuquina" except for Catauxi, which is the only "Northern Catuquina" language. The locations of each variety given by Loukotka are:
Mason gives Pidá-Dyapá and Kutiá-Dyapá as dialects of Catukina, and Cadekili-Dyapá and Wadyo-Paraniñ-Dyapá as dialects of Tawari, corresponding to Loukotka's names Kadekili-dyapa and Kayarára. He adds Catukino and a "miscellaneous" list of Amena-Dyapá, Cana-Dyapá, Hon-Dyapá, Marö-Dyapá, Ururu-Dyapá, and Wiri-Dyapá. Mason's internal classification of Catukina is summarized as follows.
;Catukina
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lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Catuquinan languages.