Macro-Jê languages


Macro-Jê is a medium-sized language family in South America, mostly in Brazil but also in the Chiquitanía region in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It is centered on the Jê language family, with most other branches currently being single languages due to extinctions.

Families

The Macro-Jê family was first proposed in 1926, and has undergone moderate modifications since then.
Eduardo Ribeiro of the University of Chicago finds no evidence to classify Fulniô and Guató as Macro-Jê, pace Kaufman, nor Otí, pace Greenberg. Ribeiro does include Chiquitano, pace Rodrigues.
Glottolog accepts a 'Nuclear Macro-Je' consisting of Jean, Karaja, Krenak-Maxakalian, Ofaie, Rikbaktsa, and Yabutian, with extinct Jeicó unclassified within the family. Lexical parallels with Kamakanan and Purian have yet to be corroborated with reconstructions; the similarities with Purian disappear once Coropo is reclassified as Maxakalian. It notes suggestive grammatical similarities with Bororoan, Kariri, and Chiquitano, of the kind also shared with Tupian and Cariban, but little lexical evidence.
These languages share irregular morphology with the Tupi and Carib families, and Rodrigues and Ribeiro connect them all as a Je–Tupi–Carib family.
Pache suggests a distant genetic relationship between Macro-Jê and Chibchan.

Nikulin (2020)

Nikulin proposes the following internal classification of Macro-Jê:
  • Macro-Jê
  • * Karajá
  • * Western
  • ** Mato Grosso
  • *** Ofayé
  • *** Rikbáktsa
  • ** Jabutí
  • *** Arikapú
  • *** Djeoromitxí
  • * Eastern
  • ** ? Jaikó
  • ** Jê
  • *** Akuwẽ; Northern Jê, Panará
  • *** Ingain; Southern Jê
  • ** Trans–São Francisco
  • *** Borum
  • **** Krenák
  • *** Maxakalí
  • **** Malalí
  • **** Nuclear Maxakalí
  • ***** Maxakalí
  • ***** Ritual Maxakalí; Makoní
  • ***** Pataxó; Pataxó-Hãhãhãe
  • ***** Koropó
  • *** ? Kamakã
  • **** Masakará
  • **** Southern Kamakã
  • ***** Menien
  • ***** Kamakã; Kotoxó/''Mongoyó''
Nikulin does not accept the following languages and language families as part of Macro-Jê.
However, Nikulin considers Chiquitano to be a Macro-Jê language.

Jolkesky (2016)

Jolkesky proposes the following internal classification of Macro-Jê:
  • Macro-Jê
  • * Borum
  • * Ofaye
  • * Rikbaktsa
  • * Yate
  • * Bororo
  • ** Bororo
  • ** Otuke
  • ** Umutina
  • * Maxakali
  • ** Malali
  • ** Maxakali-Pataxo
  • *** Maxakali
  • *** Pataxo
  • * Kamakã
  • ** Masakara
  • ** Kamakã-Menien
  • *** Kamakã
  • *** Menien
  • * Kariri
  • ** Dzubukuá
  • ** Kipeá
  • ** Xoko
  • * Macro-Jê, Nuclear
  • ** Besiro
  • ** Jeoromitxi-Arikapu : Arikapu; Jeoromitxi
  • ** Karaja: Javae; Karaja; Xambioa
  • ** Jê
  • *** Jê, Central
  • **** Akroa
  • **** Xakriaba
  • **** Xavante
  • **** Xerente
  • **** Jeiko
  • *** Jê, Southern
  • **** Ingain: Ingain ; Kimda
  • **** Kaingang-Xokleng
  • ***** Kaingang: Kaingang; Kaingang Paulista
  • ***** Xokleng
  • *** Jê, Northern
  • **** Apinaje
  • **** Kayapo: Mẽbengokre; Xikrin
  • **** Panara
  • **** Suya-Tapayuna: Suya; Tapayuna
  • **** Timbira: Apãniekra; Kraho; Krẽje ; Krĩkati; Parkateje; Pykobje; ''Ramkokamekra''

    Kaufman (1990)

Kaufman finds the proposal "probable".
  • Macro-Jê
  • * Nuclear Macro-Je
  • ** Jê
  • ** Maxakali-Borum
  • *** Borum
  • *** Maxakalían
  • ** Karajá
  • ** Ofayé
  • ** Rikbaktsá
  • ** Yabutian
  • ** ? Jeikó
  • * Borôroan
  • * Kamakã
  • * Karirí
  • * '''Purían'''

    Proto-language

Proto-Macro-Jê is notable for having relatively few consonants and a large vocalic inventory. There are also complex onsets with rhotics, as well as contrastive nasalization for vowels.
Phonological inventory of Proto-Macro-Jê as reconstructed by Nikulin :
  • Consonants: */p, m, w, t, n, r, c, ñ, j, k, ŋ/
  • * Complex onsets: */pr, mr, kr, ŋr/
  • Vowels: */a, â, ə, ə̂, y, o, ô, u, e, ê, i, ə̃, ỹ, ũ, ẽ, ĩ/
  • Maximal syllable structure:, where /°/ = echo vowel
For a list of Proto-Macro-Jê reconstructions by Nikulin, see the corresponding Portuguese article.

Language contact

Many Macro-Jê languages have been in contact with various languages of the Tupí-Guaraní family, which resulted in lexical borrowings. For instance, Ribeiro finds a number of Apyãwa loanwords in Karajá ', tarawè 'parakeet ', txakohi 'Txakohi ceremonial mask', hyty 'garbage as well as several Karajá loans in Apyãwa, Parakanã, and Asuriní of Trocará. Loans from one of the Língua Geral varieties have been found in Karajá ', ĩtajuwa 'money, Maxakalí, Ritual Maxakalí, and Krenak. Chiquitano has borrowed extensively from an unidentified Tupí-Guaraní variety; one example is Chiquitano takones 'sugarcane', borrowed from a form close to Paraguayan Guaraní takuare'ẽ 'sugarcane'.
Some Macro-Jê languages from different branches have secondarily contacted with each other, also resulting in lexical loans. Ribeiro, for instance, identifies several Karajá loans in Mẽbêngôkre, especially in the dialect spoken by the Xikrin group. These loans are thought to have entered Mẽbêngôkre from the variety spoken by the Xambioá group of the Karajá people. Examples include warikoko or watkoko 'tobacco pipe', rara 'kind of basket', wiwi 'song, chant', bikwa 'relative, friend', bero 'puba flour', borrowed from Karajá werikòkò, lala, wii, bikòwa, bèrò.
Loanwords from Brazilian Portuguese are found in many, if not all, Macro-Jê languages spoken in Brazil. Examples from Maxakalí include kapex 'coffee', komenok 'blanket', kapitõg 'captain', pẽyõg 'beans', mug 'bank', tenemiyam 'TV' ; in Karajá, Ribeiro documents the Portuguese loans nieru 'money' and maritò 'suit, jacket', among others.
There is a significant number of loanwords from Chiquitano or from an extinct variety close to Chiquitano in Camba Spanish, including bi 'genipa', masi 'squirrel', peni 'lizard', peta 'turtle, tortoise', jachi 'chicha leftover', jichi 'worm; jichi spirit', among many others.
Jolkesky notes that there are lexical similarities with Arawakan languages due to contact.