Pankararú (Pancaré, Pankaré, Pancaru, Pankaruru, Pankarará, Pankaravu, Pankaroru, Pankarú, Brancararu) is an extinct language of eastern Brazil. There are 6,000 ethnic Pankararú, but they all speak Portuguese. In 1961, only two elders could remember anything of the language. Today, they live in Brejo dos Padres and other villages of Tacaratu, Pernambuco State. The language was originally spoken between the Moxotó River and the Pajeú River.[1]
In the 19th century the people split into two ethnic groups, the Pankararú and the Pankararé. One quarter of the Pankararé retain their traditional religion. Their language, however, is unattested,[2] and can only be assumed to be a dialect of Pankararu.
Classification
Pankararú has no proven relatives and remains unclassified. There are similarities with Tukano and Tupian. Meader (1976) found that of 80 known lexical items, one third (26) are clearly cognate with Tupian languages. He speculates that the last speakers of Pankararú may therefore have been bilingual in Tupi. The identity of the rest of the vocabulary has not been identified, and Pankararú may be a language isolate.
Loukotka (1968) also lists these languages as being formerly spoken in Tacaratu, Pernambuco State. It is not known whether or not they were related to Pankararú:[1]
Jeriticó or Jiripancó – village of Pindaé near Brejo dos Padres in Tacaratu, Pernambuco. Survivors now speak only Portuguese.
Macarú – village of Brejo dos Padres, Tacaratu. A few survivors now speak only Portuguese.
Koiupanká[3] and Karuazu[4] may have been related.
Kalankó (Cacalancó), with descendants now living in Água Branca, Alagoas, may have also been related to Pankararú.[5]
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968)
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[1]
gloss
Pankarurú
man
porkiá
sun
panyé
earth
zyobazyí
tobacco
azyó
Pompeu (1958)
Language variety from Pompeu (1958), originally collected by Carlos Estêvam:[6]
Below is a 1961 word list of Pankarú (Pankararú) recorded in Brejo dos Padres by Wilbur Pickering from his informant João Moreno. The list is published in Meader (1978).[7]
