Kukurá language

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Wikipedia

Kukurá
Created byGuzmán, a Kainguá interpreter for A. V. Frič
Date1901
Setting and usageMato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Purpose
SourcesGuaraní (partially)
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottolog(insufficiently attested or not a distinct language)
kuku1286

Kukurá (Cucurá, Kokura) is a spurious language, fabricated by an interpreter in Brazil and supposedly spoken in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Alberto Vojtěch Frič

History

When Alberto Vojtěch Frič visited Rio Verde, Brazil, in 1901 he took with him a Kainguá Amerindian called Guzmán who said he spoke the language of the local Chavante people. A word list was subsequently published for the so-called Kukurá language, thought to be an isolate, in 1931.[1]

In 1932 Curt Nimuendajú, who had visited the Rio Verde in 1909 and 1913, showed that Guzmán's wordlist consisted half of fake words and half of mispronounced Guaraní.[2] There was no resemblance to the Ofayé language that was actually spoken in the region.[3] Guzmán had also falsified other vocabularies for which he was the informant.[4]

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the spurious language.[5]

glossKukura
tonguekasti
stonetatahü
moonmalahan
houseaul

References

  1. ↑ Loukotka, Čestmír (1931). "Les Indiens Kukura du río Verde, Matto Grosso, Brésil". Journal de la société des américanistes. 23 (1): 121–125. doi:10.3406/jsa.1931.1087.
  2. ↑ Nimuendajú, Curt (1932). "A propos des Indiens Kukura du Rio Verde (Brésil)". Journal de la société des américanistes. 24 (1): 187–189.
  3. ↑ Campbell, Lyle; Grondona, Verónica (2012-01-27). The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide. Walter de Gruyter. p. 133. ISBN 978-3-11-025803-5. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  4. ↑ Campbell, L. (2024). "Phantom, False, and Spurious Languages of South America". The Indigenous Languages of the Americas: History and Classification. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-767346-1. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
  5. ↑ Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.