Je–Tupi–Carib languages

Proposed language family of South America

Je–Tupi–Carib (or TuKaJê^[1]) is a proposed language family composed of the Macro-Je (or Macro-Gê), Tupian and Cariban languages of South America. Aryon Rodrigues (2000) based this proposal on shared morphological patterns.^[2][3] In an earlier proposal, Rodrigues (1985) had also proposed a Tupí-Cariban language family.^[4]

The Je-Tupi-Carib proposal replaces earlier long-range hypotheses, e.g. Greenberg's phyla "Jê-Pano-Carib" (linking Macro-Je and Cariban to Panoan) and "Tupi-Arawak" (linking Tupian to Arawakan),^[5] or Mason's "Macro-Tupí-Guaranían" family (1950: 236–238) which groups Tupian together with Bora–Witoto and Zaparoan.^[6]

However, in some cases, similarities among the language families are clearly due to more recent linguistic diffusion, as with Tupian and Jê languages (Timbira; Guajajara, Tembe, Guaja, Urubu-Ka'apor, etc.) in the lower Tocantins-Mearim area.^[7] Linguistic diffusion among Jê, Tupian, Cariban, Arawakan, and Trumai languages is also evident among the languages of the Xingu Indigenous Park.^[8]

Comparison

Nikulin (2015)

Comparison of Proto-Macro-Jê (with W = Proto-Western Macro-Jê; E = Proto-Eastern Macro-Jê), Proto-Tupí, and Proto-Karib from Nikulin (2015):^{[9]: 91–96}

Nikulin (2019)

Jê-Tupí-Cariban basic vocabulary listed by Nikulin (2019):^[10]

• ‘to go’: p-Tupian *to, p-Bororo *tu, p-Cariban *[wɨ]tə[mə]
• ‘arm’: p-Mundurukú *paʔ, p-Macro-Jê *paC, Chiquitano pa-, p-Kariri *bo(ro-), p-Cariban *apə-rɨ
• ‘foot’: p-Tupian *py, p-Macro-Jê *pVrV, p-Bororo *bure, Kariri *bɨ(ri-), (?) Chiquitano pope-, (?) p-Cariban *pupu-ru
• ‘seed’: p-Tuparí-Karitiana *j-upa, p-Cariban *əpɨ (*-tɨpə)
• ‘stone’: p-Macro-Jê *kra(C), p-Kariri *kro
• ‘tree’: p-Bororo *i, p-Kariri *dzi
• ‘to sleep’: p-Jabutí *nũtã, Chiquitano a-nu, p-Bororo *unutu / *-nutu, p-Kariri *-unu, (?) p-Macro-Jê *ũtᵊ

Nikulin (2023)

Nikulin (2023) identifies the following cognates in Macro-Jê and Tupian as further evidence for a Macro-Jê–Tupian family.^[11]

Non-cognate lookalikes or loans are identified by Nikulin (2023) as:

• ‘flat’: Proto-Mawé–Guaranian *-peːP and Ofayé -ɸiʔ
• ‘to kill’: Ofayé -kə˜jʔ, Proto-Chiquitano *kõˀõj- ‘to kill, to die’, and Awetí -kỹj
• ‘liquid’: Proto-Tupian *ʔɯ / *-j-ɯ and Proto-Jabutian *-y
• ‘louse’: Proto-Macro-Jê *-ŋgy₁n° (Eastern only) and Proto-Core Mondé *giT
• ‘neck’: Proto-Tupian *-woT and Proto-Cerrado *-mbut
• ‘powder, paste’: Proto-Tupian *-jõʔõP and Proto-Jabutian *-nũ
• ‘thorn’: Proto-Macro-Jê *-ñĩn° ~ *-ñĩñ° and Tuparí -ĩ

Macro-Chaco hypothesis

Nikulin (2019) suggests a Macro-Chaco hypothesis linking Jê-Tupí-Cariban (including Karirian and Bororoan) with Mataco-Guaicuruan (possibly including Zamucoan):^[10]

• Macro-Chaco
  • Macro-Guaicurú
    • Matacoan
    • Guaicurú
    • (?) Zamuco
  • Jê-Tupí-Cariban
    • Macro-Tupian
      • Tupian
      • Macro-Jê + Chiquitano
    • Macro-Cariban
      • Cariban
      • Karirí
      • Boróro

In addition to likely shared morphology, there are also various possible Macro-Chaco shared basic vocabulary items, listed below.^[10]

• ‘tooth’: p-Tupian *j-ãc, p-Tupian *j-uñ, p-Bororo *o, Chiquitano oʔo-, p-Cariban *jə, p-Kariri *dza, p-Guaicurú *-owe
• ‘liquid’: p-Tupian *j-ɯ, Chiquitano uʔu- ‘honey’, p-Matacoan *-ʔi
• ‘name’: p-Tupian *j-et, p-Tupian *-jet, p-Bororo *idʒe, Kariri *dze, p-Matacoan *-ej, p-Zamocoan *i, (?) Chiquitano ɨri-
• ‘blood’: p-Tupian *əɯ, p-Tupian *j-O, p-Matacoan *’woj-, p-Guaicurú *-awot, Ayoreo ijo
• ‘seed’: pre-pMundurukú *j-a, p-Tupian *j-əm, p-Bororo *a, Chiquitano ijo-, p-Chiquitano *a, p-Matacoan *-oʔ, p-Guaicurú -a ‘fruit’

Reconstructed pronominal affixes of the protolanguages of the Macro-Chaco families are given in the following table:^{[citation needed]}

In this table the forms marked with (A) refer to ergative/agentive case, and the forms marked with (O) are referred to absolutive/patient/experiencer case.

References

1. Michael, Lev (2021). "The Classification of South American Languages". Annual Review of Linguistics. 7 (1): 329–349. doi:10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011619-030419. ISSN 2333-9683. S2CID 228877184.
2. Rodrigues A. D., 2000, "‘Ge–Pano–Carib’ X ‘Jê–Tupí–Karib’: sobre relaciones lingüísticas prehistóricas en Sudamérica", in L. Miranda (ed.), Actas del I Congreso de Lenguas Indígenas de Sudamérica, Tome I, Lima, Universidad Ricardo Palma, Facultad de lenguas modernas, p. 95–104.
3. Rodrigues, Aryon D. (2009). "A case of affinity among Tupí, Karíb, and Macro-Jê". Revista Brasileira de Linguística Antropológica. 1: 137–162. doi:10.26512/rbla.v1i1.12289.
4. Rodrigues, Aryon. 1985. Evidence for Tupi-Carib relationships. In South American Indian Languages: Retrospect and Prospect, ed. HE Manelis Klein, LR Stark, pp. 371–404. Austin: University of Texas Press.
5. Urban, Greg; Sherzer, Joel (1988). "The Linguistic Anthropology of Native South America". Annual Review of Anthropology. 17: 283–307. doi:10.1146/annurev.an.17.100188.001435. JSTOR 2155915.
6. Mason, J. Alden. 1950. The languages of South America. In: Julian Steward (ed.), Handbook of South American Indians, Volume 6, 157–317. (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143.) Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
7. Cabral, Ana Suelly Arruda Câmara; Beatriz Carreta Corrêa da Silva; Maria Risolta Silva Julião; Marina Maria Silva Magalhães. 2007. Linguistic diffusion in the Tocantins-Mearim area. In: Ana Suelly Arruda Câmara Cabral; Aryon Dall’Igna Rodrigues (ed.), Línguas e culturas Tupi, p. 357–374. Campinas: Curt Nimuendaju; Brasília: LALI.
8. Seki, Lucy. 2011. Alto Xingu: uma área linguística? In: Franchetto, Bruna (ed.), Alto Xingu: uma sociedade multilíngue, p. 57-85. Rio de Janeiro: Museu do Índio/FUNAI. (in Portuguese)
9. Nikulin, Andrey. 2015. On the genetic unity of Jê-Tupí-Karib (Верификация гипотезы о же-тупи-карибском генетическом единстве). Diploma thesis, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
10. Nikulin, Andrey V. 2019. The classification of the languages of the South American Lowlands: State-of-the-art and challenges / Классификация языков востока Южной Америки. Illič-Svityč (Nostratic) Seminar / Ностратический семинар, Higher School of Economics, October 17, 2019.
11. Nikulin, Andrey. "Lexical evidence for the Macro-Jê–Tupian hypothesis" (PDF). Journal of Language Relationship. 21 (1): 3–56.