The Trans-
Tocantins
Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 2014 ...
languages are a proposed subgroup of the
Northern Jê languages
The Northern Jê or Core Jê languages ( Portuguese: ''Jê Setentrionais'') are a branch of the Jê languages constituted by the Timbira dialect continuum (which includes Canela, Krahô, Pykobjê, Krikati, Parkatêjê, and Kỳikatêjê) a ...
, which comprises four languages spoken to the west of the
Tocantins River
The Tocantins River ( , Parkatêjê dialect, Parkatêjê: ''Pyti'' ɨˈti is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" (''Tukã'' for "toucan" and ''Ti'' for "beak"). It ...
:
Apinajé,
Mẽbêngôkre,
Kĩsêdjê, and
Tapayúna.
It is subdivided in a binary manner into
Apinajé, spoken to the east of the
Araguaia River
The Araguaia River ( , Karajá language, Karajá: ♂ ''Berohokỹ'' eɾohoˈkə̃ ♀ ''Bèrakuhukỹ'' ɛɾakuhuˈkə̃ is one of the major rivers of Brazil, and a tributary of the Tocantins River.
Geography
The Araguaia River comes from ...
, and the
Trans-Araguaia subbranch, which includes the remaining three languages. Together with the
Timbira
Timbira refers to a number of related ethnolinguistic groups of Timbira-speaking Gê peoples native to Northern and Northeastern Brazil. Among those peoples grouped under the name are the Apanyekrá, Apinajé, Kanela, Gavião (Jê), Krahô ...
dialect continuum, the Trans-Tocantins languages make up the
Northern branch of the
Jê family.
The defining innovations of the Trans-Tocantins languages include the replacement of
Proto-Goyaz Jê and
Proto-Northern Jê ''*a-mbə'' ‘eat ''(intransitive)''’ (as preserved in
Canela/
Krahô
The Krahô (, ) are an indigenous Timbira Gê people of northeastern Brazil. The Krahô historically inhabited a portion of modern Maranhão along the Balsas River, but were pushed west by pioneer settlement and cattle farmers. Currently, the K ...
/
Parkatêjê ''apà '',
Pykobjê ''aapỳ'',
Panará ''-ânpâ'') with Proto-Trans-Tocantins ''*ap-ku'' (>
Apinajé ''apku'',
Mẽbêngôkre ''aku'',
Kĩsêdjê/
Tapayúna ''akhu'').
as well as the fortition of
Proto-Northern Jê ''*j'' to ''*ĵ'' in unstressed syllables (except if preceded by the low vowel ''*a''), as shown below.
References
Jê languages
Languages of Brazil
{{Macro-Jê-lang-stub