Krenak language

Krenak
Krenak
Botocudo
Borum
Native to	Brazil
Region	Minas Gerais
Ethnicity	150 Krenak (2012)
Native speakers	10? (2006)
Language family	Macro-Gê Trans–São Francisco Krenak; ;
Dialects	Nakrehé; Uti Krag (Nakpie);
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kqq
Glottolog	kren1239
ELP	Krenak
Linguasphere	89-JAA-aa
	Krenak is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

The Krenak language, also Borum or Botocudo, is an Indigenous language of Brazil classified as an independent branch of the Macro-Gê languages. It was once spoken by the Krenak people in Minas Gerais, but is known primarily by older women today.

History

Documentation

A significant source of documentation on Krenak is a 3,000-word dictionary published in 1909 by Bruno Rudolph.^[3] No complete grammar exists for Krenak; it is one of the most poorly documented Indigenous languages of Brazil.^[4]

Status

Presently, Portuguese is the native language for almost all Krenak, and the language is spoken exclusively by elders. However, the Krenak are very active in language revitalization.^[5]

Geographical distribution

The Krenak originate from the Doce River valley, although they have had a significant presence in the Vanuíre Indigenous Territory in the municipality of Arco-Íris in São Paulo since the mid-1940s. According to the Ethnologue, Krenak is spoken between Conselheiro Pena and Resplendor in the state of Minas Gerais, as well as in a small enclave along the east bank of the Doce in São Paulo.^[6]

Phonology

Vowels
	Front	Central	Back
Close	i ĩ	ɨ	u ũ
Close-mid		ə
Open-mid	ɛ ɛ̃		ɔ ɔ̃
Open		a ɜ̃

Consonants
		Bilabial	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p	t	t͡ʃ		k	ʔ
Plosive/ Affricate	voiced	b	d	d͡ʒ		g
Fricative				ʒ			h
Nasal	voiceless	m̥	n̥		ɲ̊	ŋ̊
Nasal	voiced	m	n		ɲ	ŋ
Tap			ɾ
Approximant		w			j

/h/ can also have an allophone of a velar [x].

Prenasal allophones [ᵐb, ⁿd, ⁿd͡ʒ, ᵑɡ] are heard as a result of a preceding nasal or nasal vowel before a voiced stop sound.^[7]

Vocabulary

Several lexical loans from one of the Língua Geral varieties have been found identified. Examples include tuŋ ‘flea’ and krai ‘non-Indigenous person, foreigner’.^[8]

References

↑ Crevels, Mily (2012-01-13), "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking", in Campbell, Lyle; Grondona, Verónica (eds.), The Indigenous Languages of South America, DE GRUYTER, pp. 167–234, doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167, ISBN 978-3-11-025513-3, retrieved 2026-05-09
↑ Moore, D. (2006), "Brazil: Language Situation" (PDF), Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics, Elsevier, pp. 117–128, doi:10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/01855-1, ISBN 978-0-08-044854-1, retrieved 2026-10-26{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
↑ Rivet, Paul (1910). "Bruno -Rudolph. Wörterbuch der Botokudensprache (Vocabulaire de la langue botokudo)". Journal de la société des américanistes. 7 (1). Société des Américanistes: 316–316.
↑ Seki, Lucy (1987). "Apontamentos Para a Bibliografia Da Língua Botocudo/Borum". Revista de Antropologia. 30/32. Revista de Antropologia: 511–535. ISSN 0034-7701.
↑ https://etnolinguistica.wdfiles.com/local--files/tese%3Afrassetto-2018/Frassetto_2018_RecuperacaoLexical_Krenak.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
↑ Krenak at Ethnologue (29th ed., 2026)
↑ Nepomuceno Pessoa, Katia (2012-01-06). Análise fonética e fonológica da língua Krenak e abordagem preliminar de contos Botocudo (Doutor em Linguística thesis) (in Portuguese). Campinas, SP: Universidade Estadual de Campinas. doi:10.47749/t/unicamp.2012.845777. hdl:20.500.12733/1617066.
↑ Nikulin, Andrey; Silva, Mário André Coelho da (2020). "As línguas Maxakalí e Krenák dentro do tronco Macro-Jê". Cadernos de Etnolingüística. 8 (1): 1–64.

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[1] Crevels, Mily (2012-01-13), "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking", in Campbell, Lyle; Grondona, Verónica (eds.), The Indigenous Languages of South America, DE GRUYTER, pp. 167–234, doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167, ISBN 978-3-11-025513-3, retrieved 2026-05-09

[2] Moore, D. (2006), "Brazil: Language Situation" (PDF), Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics, Elsevier, pp. 117–128, doi:10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/01855-1, ISBN 978-0-08-044854-1, retrieved 2026-10-26{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)

[3] Rivet, Paul (1910). "Bruno -Rudolph. Wörterbuch der Botokudensprache (Vocabulaire de la langue botokudo)". Journal de la société des américanistes. 7 (1). Société des Américanistes: 316–316.

[4] Seki, Lucy (1987). "Apontamentos Para a Bibliografia Da Língua Botocudo/Borum". Revista de Antropologia. 30/32. Revista de Antropologia: 511–535. ISSN 0034-7701.

[5] ttps://etnolinguistica.wdfiles.com/local--files/tese%3Afrassetto-2018/Frassetto_2018_RecuperacaoLexical_Krenak.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[6] Krenak at Ethnologue (29th ed., 2026)

[7] Nepomuceno Pessoa, Katia (2012-01-06). Análise fonética e fonológica da língua Krenak e abordagem preliminar de contos Botocudo (Doutor em Linguística thesis) (in Portuguese). Campinas, SP: Universidade Estadual de Campinas. doi:10.47749/t/unicamp.2012.845777. hdl:20.500.12733/1617066.

[Nikulin-Silva-Maxakalí-Krenák-8] Nikulin, Andrey; Silva, Mário André Coelho da (2020). "As línguas Maxakalí e Krenák dentro do tronco Macro-Jê". Cadernos de Etnolingüística. 8 (1): 1–64.

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