Xakriabá language

Xakriabá is an extinct or dormant Akuwẽ (Central Jê) language formerly spoken in Minas Gerais, Brazil by the Xakriabá people, who today speak Portuguese. The language is known through two short wordlists collected by Augustin Saint-Hilaire and Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege.

Phonology

Vowels

/i/ can also be heard as in shortened positions.

Consonants

Sounds is heard from /i/ before other vowels or within diphthongs.
Sounds are heard as allophones of /s z/.
Sounds are heard as allophones of /t d n/ when palatalized before /i/.
can be heard as an allophone of /k/.

History

Before 1712, Xakriabá was originally spoken along the São Francisco River near São Romão, Minas Gerais. The Xakriabá were then forced to migrate after being defeated by and other Paulistas from 1690 onwards. In 1819, Saint-Hilaire noted that the Xakriabá of Triângulo Mineiro region spoke a Xerente dialect.