Karirí-Xocó

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A language of Brazil

ISO 639-3
kzw
Alternate Names
Cariri, Dzubukuá, Kariri Xucó, Karirí, Kipeá, Kiriri, Tumbulalá, Xocó, Xokó, Xokó-Karirí, Xukuru Kariri, Xukurú
User Population

No known L1 speakers. Spoken into last half of 20th century. Ethnic population: 1,470 (Crevels 2012).

Location

Alagoas state.

Language Status

9 (Dormant).

Classification
Language isolate
Dialects

Kipeá (Quipea), Kamurú (Camuru), Sabujá (Pedra Branca). Other dialects or languages are even less well attested. Classified as Equatorial, Macro-Carib (Swadesh), Macro-Ge (1975 A. Rodrigues), Isolate (Larsen 1984).

Typology

14 consonants and 7 vowels.

Language Use

Shifted to Portuguese [por].

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Karirí-Xocó
Other Comments

Xokó, Karirí-Xokó, Xukuru-Kariri are all descendants of indigenous groups that used to inhabit northeast Brazil. It is not clear whether they spoke 3 different languages or just one (Crevels 2007).