Amonap language

Amonap
Kuikuro–Kalapalo
Native toBrazil
RegionXingu Indigenous Park, Mato Grosso
EthnicityKuikuro, Kalapalo, Matipu
Native speakers
1,000 (2006)[1]
Cariban
  • (Nahukwa)
    • Amonap
Dialects
  • Kuikuro–Kalapalo
  • Matipuhy
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
kui – Kuikúro-Kalapálo
mzo – Matipuhy
Glottolognucl1656
ELPKuikuro

Amonap, also known as Apalakiri, is a Cariban language spoken by the Kuikuro and Kalapalo peoples of Brazil, and formerly by the Matipu. It is spoken in seven villages along the Culuene River in the Xingu Indigenous Park of Mato Grosso.[2]

Although bilingualism in Brazilian Portuguese is prevalent among the men of the community, Amonap is not as immediately endangered as are many Brazilian languages. As of 2006, there are an estimated 1,100 native speakers of the language, including 600 Kuikúro and 500 Kalapálo, who speak the same language but are ethnically distinct. The Endangered Languages Project lists the language as "threatened".[3]

In collaboration with linguist Bruna Franchetto, the Kuikuro have created a library of recordings that feature Kuikuro stories in the language that is archived at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America. The remainder of this article will discuss the language as spoken by the Kuikuro.

  1. ^ Kuikúro-Kalapálo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Matipuhy at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ 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)
  3. ^ "Did you know Kuikuro is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2017-02-10.