Tupian languages
From Free net encyclopedia
Tupi is the name of a language family that was spoken along the Brazilian coast at the time of its discovery. The Portuguese, when landing in Brazil, found out that wherever they went along the vast coast of this newly discovered land, natives spoke a similar language which was then named "língua geral" (general language). It was systematized by the Jesuits and spoken until the nineteenth century in that region. It is still used today by Indians around the Rio Negro region, where it is called Nheengatu [ñe-engatOO], or "fine language".
The Tupi language subgroup consists of 6 languages in the Tupi-Guarani language family: Tupi Antigo, Nhengatu, Tupinkin, Potiguara, Omagua, and Cocoma.
The Tupi-Guarani language family is part of a larger Tupian stock, which may be related to the Gê and Carib families in a Je-Tupi-Carib grouping.
See also
- Tupí-Guaraní languages
- Tupi Antigo
- Lingua Geral
- List of Spanish words of Indigenous American Indian origin
