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Parakana Indian Language (Awaete)

Language: Parakana is a Tupian language of South America. It is an agglutinative language. Parakana is spoken by about 900 people in Brazil today.

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Names: Parakana is the people's own name for themselves. They are also known as the Apiterewa or the Awaete. Alternate spellings of these names include Parakanã, Paracanã, Paracana, Parakanân, Parocana, Parkana, Parkanã, Parkaña, Apiteréwa, and Awaeté.

The Parakana tribe is frequently confused with the Asurini do Xingu tribe, which is also known as Awaete. This confusion is worsened by the fact that a third tribe, the Akwawa are sometimes also referred to as "Asurini"-- and the Akwawa language is so closely related to Parakana that they are often considered dialects of the same language. The Awaete/Asurini do Xingu language, however, is more distinct from the other two--similar to the difference between Spanish and Portuguese.

Parakana Language Resources

Languages of Central Brazil:
Map showing where in Brazil the Parakana language is spoken.

Parakanã:
Linguistic chart of phonemes in the Parakanã language.

Parakana Language Tree:
Theories about Parakana's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

Idioma Parakanã:
Information about the Parakana language in Spanish.

Parakana Words of Life:
Translations of Bible stories into Parakana.

OLAC: Parakana:
Reference list of Parakana language materials.

Endangered Languages Project: Parakana:
Bibliography of Parakana language resources.

Parakana Culture and History Links

Tribal Map of Brazil:
Map showing the location of indigenous communities in Brazil, including Parakana.

Indigenous Peoples in Brazil: Parakana:
Information about Parakana culture and history.

Links, References, and Additional Information

  Wikipedia: The Parkana Indians:
   Encylopedia entries about the Parakana tribe.
  Brazilian Culture:
   Information and links about the indigenous culture of Brazil.
  Povo Parakanã

Os Paracanãs:
Information about the Parakana tribe in Portuguese.

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