Puri language

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

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.

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

A hypothetical inventory of Puri, based on phonological data from various scholars, was created by Neto in 2007. ^{[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.

References

1. Puri at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. "Puri Language (PRR) – L1 & L2 Speakers, Status, Map, Endangered Level & Official Use | Ethnologue Free". Ethnologue (Free All). Retrieved 2025-10-02.
3. Neto, Ambrósio Pereira da Silva (2007). Revisão da Classificaçao Da Família Lingüística Puri (PDF) (Thesis). p. 23. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
4. Campbell, Lyle (2024-06-25), "Indigenous Languages of South America" , The Indigenous Languages of the Americas (1 ed.), Oxford University PressNew York, pp. 182–279, doi:10.1093/oso/9780197673461.003.0004, ISBN   978-0-19-767346-1 , retrieved 2025-04-21
5. Puri, Txâma Xambé; Puri, Tutushamum; Puri, Xindêda (2021-01-20). "Kwaytikindo: retomada linguística Puri" . Revista Brasileira de Línguas Indígenas. 3 (2): 77. doi: 10.18468/rbli.2020v3n2.p77-101 . ISSN   2595-685X.
6. "Puri". South American Phonological Inventory Database (SAPhon v2.1.0). UC Berkeley. Retrieved 23 November 2022.