Jump to content

Tupi language

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tupí
Tupinambá
Native toBrazil
EthnicityTupinambá, Tupiniquim
Era(survives as Nheengatu)
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
tpn – Tupinambá (Old Tupí, Brasilica) (as a lingua franca, extinct)
tpk – Tupiniquim (Tupinaki) (extinct)
Glottologsubg1261  Tupi + Omagua-Cocama
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

The Tupí Language was the language spoken by the indigenous Tupí People of Brazil. It was related to Guarani. When Portuguese colonizers first came to Brazil, many of the first people they met spoke Tupí. The Portuguese learned the language so that they could talk to the Tupí and convert them to Christianity. Tupí became a lingua franca of Brazil for many years. Its use was encouraged by Jesuit missionaries.

In 1759, the Prime Minister of Brazil forced the Jesuits to leave. More Portuguese settlers that did not speak Tupí moved to Brazil around the same time. These things made most Brazilians want to speak Portuguese instead of Tupí. While Old Tupí is no longer spoken, the Nheengatu language is descended from it.