Natú (a.k.a. Peagaxinan) is an extinct language of eastern Brazil. It was originally spoken on the Ipanema River in the Cariri area near present-day Porto Real do Colégio by the Natú people.[1] It is so poorly attested that "only Greenberg dares to classify [it]".[2] It has, however, been classified in a linguistic family with neighboring Xocó.[3]

Vocabulary

Pompeu Sobrinho (1958)

The following vocabulary of Natu as spoken by Natu caboclos in Porto Real do Colégio, Alagoas was recorded by Carlos Estevão in 1940.[4]

Portuguese gloss
(original)
English gloss
(translated)
Natu
estrélastariroinkó
fogofireshakishá
águawaterkraunã
Rio São FranciscoSão Francisco RiverOpára
cachimbosmoking pipekatuká
cachimbo cerimonialceremonial pipekuzipé
maracámaracashishiá
dinheiromoneymeré
mulherwomanpikwá
gente estranhastrangerszitók, kôbê
boioxkrazó
ovelhasheepsêprun
jacaréalligatorgozê
jabotired-footed tortoise or
yellow-footed tortoise
kati
mandiocamaniocgrogó
feijãobeanma/tsaká
tabaco, fumotobacco, smokebazé

References

  1. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  2. Moseley, Christopher; Asher, R. E.; Tait, Mary (1994), Atlas of the world's languages, London; New York: Routledge, p. 70, ISBN 978-0-415-01925-5
  3. Lima Neto, Valdivino José de; Nunes, Ticiane Rodrigues (2022). "Etnolinguística Indígena: A Classificação da Língua do Povo Xokó". Ensaios Interdisciplinares em Humanidades (PDF). Vol. 5. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande. pp. 400–419.
  4. Pompeu Sobrinho, Thomaz. 1958. Línguas Tapuias desconhecidas do Nordeste: Alguns vocabulários inéditos. Boletim de Antropologia (Fortaleza-Ceará) 2. 3-19.