Tupinambá / Nhe'engatú
Tupinambá
Tupian (Tupi-Guarani, Subgroup III) · historical / hidden variety
Tupinambá (Old Tupi) was the dominant indigenous language of the Brazilian coast at European contact and the basis of the Jesuit Língua Geral that served as Brazil's colonial lingua franca into the 18th century. Typologically Tupi-Guarani: agglutinative, head-marking, with active-stative alignment and pervasive nasal harmony; its first grammar (Anchieta, 1595) is the earliest description of any South American language. It survives lexically in thousands of Brazilian Portuguese loanwords and place-names (Ipanema, Paraná, jaguar, piranha).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Tupinambá
Water
'y
/ʔɨ/
Fire
tatá
/taˈta/
Sun
kuarasy
/kwaɾaˈsɨ/
Moon
iasy
/jaˈsɨ/
Mother
sy
/sɨ/
Father
tuba
/ˈtuβa/
Eat
'u
/ʔu/
Drink
'u
/ʔu/
Love
aûsub
/aˈwsuβ/
Heart
nhe'ã
/ɲẽˈʔã/
Tree
yby'rá
/ɨβɨˈɾa/
House
oka
/ˈoka/
Dog
îagûara
/jaˈɣwaɾa/
Cat
marakaîá
/maɾakaˈja/
Hand
pó
/po/
Eye
t-esá
/teˈsa/
Hello
ereîubé
/eɾejuˈβe/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
oîepé
/ojeˈpe/
Good
katu
/kaˈtu/
Sources
- Anchieta, José de (1595) Arte de Grammatica da Lingoa Mais Usada na Costa do Brasil. Coimbra: Antonio de Mariz.
- Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida (1998/2013) Método Moderno de Tupi Antigo: a língua do Brasil dos primeiros séculos. São Paulo: Global.
- Rodrigues, Aryon Dall'Igna (1981) Estrutura do Tupinambá. In Lenguas Indígenas de America del Sur.
- Barbosa, A. Lemos (1956) Curso de Tupi Antigo. Rio de Janeiro: São José.
- Glottolog: Tupinamba
Words compared
Compared with related Tupian (Tupi-Guarani, Subgroup III) languages
| Meaning | Tupinambá | Guaraní | Nheengatu | Maguindanao | Kavalan | Makasae | Greek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 'y /ʔɨ/ | y /ɨ/ | ig /iɡ/ | ig /ʔiɡ/ | zanum /zaˈnum/ | ira /ˈira/ | νερό /neˈɾo/ |
| Fire | tatá /taˈta/ | tata /tata/ | tatá /tata/ | apoy /ʔaˈpoj/ | ramax /raˈmax/ | ata /ˈata/ | φωτιά /foˈtʲa/ |
| Sun | kuarasy /kwaɾaˈsɨ/ | kuarahy /kwaɾahɨ/ | kuarasi /kwaɾasi/ | senang /seˈnaŋ/ | siban /siˈban/ | watu /ˈwatu/ | ήλιος /ˈiʎos/ |
| Moon | iasy /jaˈsɨ/ | jasy /dʒasɨ/ | yasi /jasi/ | bulan /buˈlan/ | buran /buˈran/ | uru /ˈuru/ | φεγγάρι /feˈŋɡaɾi/ |
| Mother | sy /sɨ/ | sy /sɨ/ | mãi /mãi/ | ina /ˈʔina/ | tina /ˈtina/ | ina /ˈina/ | μητέρα /miˈteɾa/ |
| Father | tuba /ˈtuβa/ | túva /tuva/ | paiá /paja/ | ama /ˈʔama/ | tama /ˈtama/ | baba /ˈbaba/ | πατέρας /paˈteɾas/ |
| Eat | 'u /ʔu/ | karu /kaˈɾu/ | ku /ku/ | kakan /kaˈkan/ | quman /quˈman/ | nawa /ˈnawa/ | τρώω /ˈtɾo.o/ |
| Drink | 'u /ʔu/ | yʼu /ɨʔu/ | yú /jú/ | inum /ʔiˈnum/ | mimum /miˈmum/ | gehe /ˈɡɛhɛ/ | πίνω /ˈpino/ |
| Love | aûsub /aˈwsuβ/ | hayhu /haɨhu/ | saysu /sajsu/ | kalini /kaˈlini/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | αγάπη /aˈɣapi/ |
| Heart | nhe'ã /ɲẽˈʔã/ | pyʼa /pɨʔa/ | py'ã /pɨʔã/ | pusong /puˈsoŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | καρδιά /kaɾˈðʲa/ |
| Tree | yby'rá /ɨβɨˈɾa/ | yvyra /ɨvɨɾa/ | mira-vra /miɾavɾa/ | kayu /kaˈju/ | kasuy /kaˈsuj/ | ate /ˈate/ | δέντρο /ˈðendɾo/ |
| House | oka /ˈoka/ | óga /oɡa/ | oka /oka/ | walay /waˈlaj/ | lepaw /ləˈpaw/ | oma /ˈoma/ | σπίτι /ˈspiti/ |
| Dog | îagûara /jaˈɣwaɾa/ | jagua /dʒaɡwa/ | yawara /jawaɾa/ | aso /ˈʔaso/ | wasu /waˈsu/ | defa /ˈdɛfa/ | σκύλος /ˈskilos/ |
| Cat | marakaîá /maɾakaˈja/ | mbarakaja /mbaɾakadʒa/ | mariwa /maɾiwa/ | kuting /kuˈtiŋ/ | ngiyaw /ŋiˈjaw/ | — /—/ | γάτα /ˈɣata/ |
| Hand | pó /po/ | po /po/ | pó /po/ | lima /liˈma/ | rima /riˈma/ | tana /ˈtana/ | χέρι /ˈçeɾi/ |
| Eye | t-esá /teˈsa/ | tesa /tesa/ | sesa /sesa/ | mata /maˈta/ | mata /maˈta/ | nana /ˈnana/ | μάτι /ˈmati/ |
| Hello | ereîubé /eɾejuˈβe/ | mbaʼéichapa /mbaʔeitʃapa/ | poranga /poɾaŋɡa/ | assalamu alaikum /assaˈlamu ʔaˈlajkum/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | γεια σου /ˈʝa su/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | aguyje /aɡuɨdʒe/ | katu /katu/ | sukran /ˈsukɾan/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ευχαριστώ /efxaɾiˈsto/ |
| One | oîepé /ojeˈpe/ | peteĩ /peteĩ/ | yepé /jepe/ | isa /ˈʔisa/ | issa /ˈissa/ | u /ʔu/ | ένα /ˈena/ |
| Good | katu /kaˈtu/ | porã /poɾã/ | katu /katu/ | mapiya /maˈpija/ | — /—/ | rau /rau/ | καλό /kaˈlo/ |
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