Where are the Katukina languages spoken?

These languages are spoken in the states of Amazonas and Acre, Brazil.

Total number of speakers (estimates)

Around 900 according to the figures provided by Rodrigues (AR, 1986)

Classification

The Katukina language reference had 4 active languages in 1986 (AR)

Kanamarí: 600 speakers according to AR

Katawixí: 10 speakers according to AR

Katukina do Bía: 250 speakers according to AR

Txunhuã-djapá: 30 speakers according to AR

Notes on the Katukina language classification

We hereby follow the classification established by Rodrigues (1986).

There is no consensus on the classification of these languages, sometimes considered as a large group of dialects.

Are the Katukina languages endangered?

Yes, all of them are.

There is little information on their vitality but the UNESCO, which recognizes Kanamarí, Katukina and Txunhuã-djapá as one and the same language, considers it as “vulnerable”.

Katawixí is could about to disappear, if not already extinct.

Sources

Rodrigues, Aryon D. Línguas Brasileiras. Para o conhecimento das línguas indígenas. Loyola, São Paulo (1986).

Campbell, Lyle. American Indian languages: the historical linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press (1997).