Endangered Languages Project - Pirahã

Pirahã

^{[aka Pirahán, Piraha, Múra-Pirahã]}

Classification: Isolate

·

vulnerable

ALSO KNOWN AS		Pirahán, Piraha, Múra-Pirahã, Mura-Piraha, Pirahá
CLASSIFICATION		Isolate
ORTHOGRAPHY		Latin
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		myp
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		Everett (2008) does not believe in a Muran family; rather, he believes that “Pirahã and the now extinct related dialect, Mura, form a single language isolate, unrelated to any other known language” (Everett 2008: 28), that they are “two very similar dialects of a single language” (2008: 29). Mason (1950: 285) also considered the three Muran "languages" as dialects. Ethnologue (2013) also to group Pirahã and Múra together as a single language (for which they give Múra-Pirahã as an alternant name).

Compare Sources (7)

Information from: “Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking” (167-234) . Crevels, Mily (2012) , Lyle Campbell and Veronica Grondona · Mouton de Gruyter

Vulnerable

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
389
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
389
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Note that FUNASA (2010) lists 420 (figure also cited in Povos Indígenas no Brasil (2014)).

DATE OF INFO: 2006

TRANSMISSION

PLACES: Brazil

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
360
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
1,500
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Some also use Portuguese.

(2016 unchanged.)

DATE OF INFO: 200

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
Scripts (Writing system): Latin

PLACES: Brazil

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Amazonas state, along the Maici and Autaces rivers

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
389
Native speakers worldwide

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
150
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
360
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
360
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Most men understand Portuguese, though not all can express themselves in this language. Women understand very little Portuguese and never use it to express themselves.

DATE OF INFO: 2000

TRANSMISSION

PLACES: Brazil

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Amazonas State, Tapajos and Madeira rivers area, on the Maici River, a tributari of the Marmelos which again flows into the Madeira, Terra Indigena Piraha.

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
110
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1986

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "The people are almost completely monolingual."

PLACES: Brazil

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Amazonas state, along the Maici river

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LOCATION INFORMATION

COORDINATES

COORDINATES

-6.9264,-61.1279

Compare Sources (2)

Information from: “The World Atlas of Language Structures” . Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer · Oxford University Press