Katukinan languages

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Katukinan languages are a small language family spoken in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Acre. It includes two main languages, Katukina-Kanamarí and Katawixi. Some researchers treat Kanamarí and Katawixi as dialects of one language named Kanamari, while others consider them separate languages. There is also discussion about whether Katukinan is related to a larger Harákmbut–Katukinan group.

Many Katukinan varieties have become extinct or shifted to other languages since European contact. A common feature in the language names is the suffix -dyapa or -djapá, which means “tribe” or “clan.” Fabre (2005) lists four attested Katukinan languages: Kanamarí, Txuhuã-djapá, Katukína do Jutaí, and Katawixi. Earlier researchers (Loukotka, 1968; Mason, 1950) recorded many more varieties, sometimes grouped as Southern or Northern Catuquina, and linked to related groups such as Parawa, Canamari, and Tawari. Some of these varieties may form single languages or dialect clusters, and not everything is well documented.

The Tsohom Djapa are believed to speak a Katukinan language. A long history of contact in the central Amazon means Katukinan languages share lexical similarities with other language families, including Jivaro, Máku, Mura-Matanawi, Puinave-Nadahup, Taruma, Tupi, Yanomami, and Arawak.

In short, Katukinan is a small, endangered language family in western Brazil with a few surviving languages and many extinct varieties, and its internal boundaries are still a topic of study.