The Otí language, also known as Chavante or Euchavante, is a language isolate once spoken in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, between the Peixe and Pardo rivers.[1] The language became extinct at the beginning of the 20th century, and the last ethnic Oti died in 1988.[2] Only a few word lists are preserved.[3]

Oti
Chavante
Native toBrazil
RegionState of São Paulo
EthnicityOti
Extinctearly 20th century
Language codes
ISO 639-3oti
Glottologotii1244

Greenberg classified Oti as a Macro-Ge language, but he provided almost no supporting data and has not been followed by other researchers.[4]

History

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The Oti were largely exterminated in the late 19th century out of fear that they were Kaingang.[5] Nimuendajú estimated that there were some 50 Oti in 1890.[6] By 1903, there were only 8, divided between two locations, one a few kilometers east of Indiana and east of Presidente Prudente, between the Peixe and Paranapanema rivers, and one in Platina, some 50 km northwest of Ourinhos. The traditional Oti lands up to 1870 had been located between these two places.[7]

Vocabulary

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Loukotka (1968)

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Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.[8]

gloss Otí
hand insua
fire úgide
stone racha
sun isken
moon kuyade
earth biroa
jaguar kuatá
fish eredehe
house gobx
bow iñesteku

Nikulin (2020)

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Some Otí words given by Nikulin (2020),[9]: 78–79  cited from Quadros (1892),[10] Borba (1908: 73–76),[11] and Ihering (1912: 8).[12] For the original word lists by Quadros (1892) and Borba (1908), see the corresponding Portuguese article.

Portuguese gloss
(original)
English gloss
(translated)
Otí
cabeça head ursube; ufúbe
cabelo hair eteche; naôdj
olho eye acli, athli
orelha ear aconxe; acóti; kō's(h)a
nariz nose assondlaibe; sonduái
dente tooth vê; ûa
boca mouth afót
peito chest instúa
mão hand insua
foot jube; fum
sangue blood astaete
água water ocochia; kos(h)îa; diélsede
fogo fire iná; achô; úgide
árvore tree tajane
terra earth biroa
pedra stone rátcha
chuva rain chanin; béia
sente-se! sit down! roiábe
deite fora! (?) throw it away! (?) bója

References

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  1. ^ Lyle Campbell, 1997. American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195094271
  2. ^ CEDI 1991. Oti-Xavante. CEDI 1991: 580–581.
  3. ^ Glottolog
  4. ^ Aryon Rodrigues, "Macro-Jê", in RMW Dixon, 1999, The Amazonian Languages
  5. ^ Ute Ritz-Deutch, 2008. Alberto Vojtech Fric, the German Diaspora, and Indian Protection in Southern Brazil, 1900–1920
  6. ^ Nimuendajú, Curt 1942. The Šerente. Los Angeles.
  7. ^ Fabre (2009)
  8. ^ Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  9. ^ Nikulin, Andrey. 2020. Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo. Tese de Doutorado em Linguística, Universidade de Brasília.
  10. ^ Quadros, F. R. E. Memoria sobre os trabalhos de exploração e observação efetuada pela secção da comissão militar encarregada da linha telegráfica de Uberaba a Cuiabá, de fevereiro a junho de 1889. Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro, Rio de Janeiro, v. 55, n. 1, p. 233–260, 1892.
  11. ^ Borba, T. Actualidade Indígena (Paraná, Brazil). Curitiba: Impressora Paranaense, 1908. 171 pp.
  12. ^ Ihering, H. von. A ethnographia do Brazil meridional. Extracto de las Actas del XVII° Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, pág. 250 y siguientes. Buenos Aires: Imprenta de Coni Hermanos, 1912.
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  • Alain Fabre, 2009, Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: Oti