Updated 2023
As the largest country in South America, covering four time zones and home to more than half of the Amazon Rain Forrest, Brazil is truly a gem in its own right. With a population of approximately 214 million, there’s no doubt that a rich history exists. It is within this framework that our Day Translations blog explores the native languages of Brazil. We’re familiar with at least one of them, but we’ll dive a little deeper and get to know more about the world’s 5th largest country.
Before diving in, we need to know a few quick facts about Brazil and its indigenous people. They are as follows:
- Brazil is home to approximately 896,917 indigenous people who are spread across 305 ethnic groups
- In all, there are around 274 languages in existence and spoken in Brazil
- Only 37.4% of the population speaks an indigenous/native language that is not Portuguese.
- The indigenous people of Brazil are officially recognized as the first and natural owners of the land. As a result of this, they are guaranteed their right to land. This also means that the eviction of indigenous people from their land is prohibited.
Now that we know some essential facts let’s get right into it.
The Native Languages of Brazil
Portuguese
Portuguese is the most widely spoken language in Brazil. Roughly 97% of the population speaks Portuguese, and as such, it is considered their primary/official language.
Portuguese became the country’s official language in the year 1500 due to Portugal’s colonization. Before Portugal’s colonization, Nheengatu was the most widely spoken language. This was one of the native languages of the people. Many Africans and Europeans also spoke Nheengatu.
Ticuna
Ticuna is both an indigenous people group and a native language of Brazil. Also written as Tikuna, this language is spoken today by approximately 50,000 people in the Amazon Basin.
Ticuna is the native language of the Ticuna Indians and is today specified as a langue isolate. This means that it is the only language of its kind and is not part of a language family and is in no way related to any other language. It is, however, believed to be related in some way to the Yuri language, which is now extinct.
An interesting fact to note is that the Ticuna language is tonal. Therefore, the meaning of the words in this language can vary based on the intonations a person makes when speaking.
Kaiwá Guarani
Commonly known as the Guarani, this language is most commonly spoken by the Kaiwá people of Brazil. There are roughly 18,000 native speakers of this language who are still alive today.
The dynamics of this language have it being highly and mutually intelligible to Spanish.
Kaingang
The indigenous Kaingang people of Southern Brazil speak this native language. The Kaingang population is around 30,000 people, with roughly 60% of that population still speaking the Kaingang language today.
Kaingang is a member of the Jê language family. Jê is also a group of Indigenous people from Brazil, a core member of the Macro-Jê family.
The Kaingang language has an alphabet that is still in use today. It is based on the Latin script and has 14 consonants and 14 vowels.
Nheengatu
Nheengatu is a member of the Tupian language family. Today it is spoken by around 3,000 people in Brazil. It also exists in Columbia and Venezuela.
Nhaeengatu is mainly spoken along the Rio Negro, the largest left tributary of the Amazon River. It is also considered an ‘Amazonian General Language’. Nheengatu’s origins can be traced back to being developed from the Tupinambá language (a language spoken by the Tupi people of North Brazil).
An interesting fact to note is that Nhaeengatu became the lingua franca of missionaries and other European settlers after their colonization in the 1700s. It was spoken by both the indigenous people of Brazil as well as the new settlers.
After a while, Nhaeengatu was discontinued as the lingua franca, and Portuguese was put in its place.
Modern-day Nhaeengatu is an official language in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, a municipality in Brazil’s Amazon state. The Nhaeengatu language is closely related to the Paraguayan Guaraní language and is also considered to be mutually intelligible to it.
Wrapping Up the Native Languages of Brazil
It’s always such an incredible and exciting journey to go on to learn more about native languages, and Brazil did not disappoint. There’s so much history and culture wrapped up in the languages of the indigenous people of this country.
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