Documentation and description of Karitiana (Tupian)

• Grant number: 25/16567-7
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Initial Project
• Start date: July 01, 2026
• End date: June 30, 2031
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Karin Camolese Vivanco
• Grantee: Karin Camolese Vivanco
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem (IEL). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Campinas
• Associated researchers: Iris Morais Araújo ; Luciana Raccanello Storto ; Maria del Mar Bassa Vanrell

Abstract

This project aims to conduct a comprehensive documentation of the Karitiana language across diverse socio-cultural contexts and among speakers of different age groups. Karitiana is an endangered indigenous language spoken by approximately 400 people in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. It is the sole representative of the Arikém branch within the Tupian language family. In addition to its linguistic distinctiveness, the Karitiana people exhibit unique cultural traits that set them apart from related groups, such as the practice of cranial deformation. As part of this project, traditional narratives will be recorded, transcribed, and translated, and in response to specific requests from the Karitiana community, four traditional rituals will also be documented: the Jatuarana, the Game, the Chicha, and Traditional Medicine. Furthermore, this project will document the construction of a traditional communal hut-a long-discontinued practice that the community wishes to revitalize. In addition to spontaneous language use, the project will record interaction sessions between children and adults, as well as among children, to better understand language acquisition in the Karitiana context. Elicitation sessions and linguistic experiments will also be conducted to investigate specific aspects of Karitiana grammar.All collected data will be made available through the Tycho Brahe platform (Unicamp/FAPESP), the Centro de Documentação Indígena database (USP/FAPESP), and the research group's official website. (AU)