Puri language

Puri (Puri: Kwaytikindo 'language') is an extinct and revitalizing language of eastern Brazil, spoken by the Puri people. It ceased being spoken sometime in the 19th century, but the Puri people have begun to use the language once more. It can be considered a language isolate, with the related Coroado language seen as a dialect.

Puri
Puri–Coroado
Kwaytikindo
Pronunciation	[kwajtikiⁿdo]
Native to	Brazil
Ethnicity	Puri people
Extinct	late 19th century[1]
Revival	unknown L2 speakers[2]
Language family	Purian Puri
Dialects	Puri proper Coroado †
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	prr
Glottolog	puri1262  Puri

Classification

Puri is part of the eponymous Purian language family, composed of Coroado, Puri and possibly Waitaká, which is unattested. Previously, the Koropó language was seen as Purian,^[3] but it has been proven to be part of the Maxakalían languages instead.^[4]

History

In the 2010s, a Puri language revitalization project was launched in the indigenous village of Maraká’nà (Maracanã), Rio de Janeiro State.^[5]

Phonology

An inventory of Puri was proposed by Neto in 2007 based on historical data.^[6][3]

Consonants

Consonants of Puri

	Bilabial	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	b ᵐp p	t			k
Nasal	m	n		ɲ
Sibilant affricate			t̠ʃ
Sibilant fricative			ʃ
Approximant				j
Tap/flap		ɾ

Vowels

Vowels of Puri

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	(ɨ)	u
Close-mid	e		o
Open		ä

It is uncertain if [ɨ] existed in Puri.