Pankararú (''Pancaré, Pankaré, Pancaru, Pankaruru, Pankarará, Pankaravu, Pankaroru, Pankarú, Brancararu'') is an

extinct language An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers, especially if the language has no living descendants. In contrast, a dead language is one that is no longer the native language of any community, even if it is still in use, ...

of eastern Brazil. There are 6,000 ethnic Pankararú, but they all speak Portuguese. In 1961, only two elders could remember anything of the language. Today, they live in Brejo dos Padres and other villages of Tacaratu,

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the ...

State. The language was originally spoken between the Moxotó River and the

Pajeú River The Pajeú River is a tributary of the São Francisco River in the state of Pernambuco in Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern Brazil. The Pajeú originates on the Borborema Plateau, and flows southwest to join the São Francisco. It has a to ...

. In the 19th century the people split into two ethnic groups, the Pankararú and the Pankararé. One quarter of the Parkararé retain their traditional religion. Their language, however, is unattested, and can only be assumed to be a dialect of Pankararu.

Classification

Pankararú has no proven relatives and remains unclassified. There are similarities with

Tukano The Tucano people (sometimes spelt Tukano) are a group of Indigenous South Americans in the northwestern Amazon, along the Vaupés River and the surrounding area. They are mostly in Colombia, but some are in Brazil. They are ...

and

Tupian The Tupi or Tupian language family comprises some 70 languages spoken in South America, of which the best known are Tupi proper and Guarani. Homeland and ''urheimat'' Rodrigues (2007) considers the Proto-Tupian urheimat to be somewhere between ...

. Meader (1976) found that of 80 known lexical items, one third (26) are clearly cognate with Tupian languages. He speculates that the last speakers of Pankararú may therefore have been bilingual in Tupi. The identity of the rest of the vocabulary has not been identified, and Pankararú may be a

language isolate Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The nu ...

. The

Atikum language The Atikum, also known as Huamuê or Uamué, are an indigenous people of Brazil that live in Bahia and Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 mill ...

was spoken nearby, but it is a

and is not related to Pankararú. Loukotka (1968) also lists these languages as being formerly spoken in Tacaratu,

State. It is not known whether or not they were related to Pankararú: *''Jeriticó'' or ''Jiripancó'' – village of Pindaé near Brejo dos Padres in Tacaratu, Pernambuco. Survivors now speak only Portuguese. *''Macarú'' – village of Brejo dos Padres, Tacaratu. A few survivors now speak only Portuguese. ''Koiupanká'' and ''Karuazu'' may have been related. ''Kalankó'' (''Cacalancó''), with descendants now living in

Água Branca, Alagoas Água Branca is a municipality located in the western of the state of Alagoas. Its population 20,230 (2020) and its area is 455 km². IBGE /ref> Geography Climate References Municipalities in Alagoas {{Alagoas-geo-stub ...

, may have also been related to Pankararú.

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968)

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items. :

Pompeu (1958)

Language variety from Pompeu (1958), originally collected by Carlos Estêvam:Pompeu Sobrinho, Thomaz. 1958. ''Línguas Tapuias desconhecidas do Nordeste: Alguns vocabulários inéditos''. Boletim de Antropologia (Fortaleza-Ceará) 2. 3-19. :

Meader (1978)

Below is a 1961 word list of Pankarú (Pankararú) recorded in Brejo dos Padres by Wilbur Pickering from his informant João Moreno. The list is published in Meader (1978). :

References

* Fabre, Alain (2005)
''Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: PANKARARU / PANKARARÉ''
* Meader, Robert E. (1976):
Índios do Nordeste: Levantamento sobre os Remanescentes Tribais do Nordeste Brasileiro
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pankararu language Language isolates of South America Unclassified languages of South America Extinct languages of South America Unattested languages of South America Indigenous languages of Northeastern Brazil