The Cariban languages are an indigenous language family of South America. Carib languages are widespread across northern South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes and from Maracaibo (Venezuela) to Central Brazil. Cariban languages are relatively close to each other; in some cases, it is difficult to decide whether different groups speak different languages or dialects of the same language. Because of this, the exact number of Cariban languages is not known with certainty (current estimates range from 25 to 40, with 20 to 30 still spoken). The Cariban family is well known in the linguistic world due to Hixkaryana a language with Object-Verb-Subject sentences, previously thought not to exist in human language. Most languages are known to belong to language families (families hereforth). ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Length 6,296 km Elevation of the source 5,597 m Average discharge 219,000 m³/s Area watershed 6,915,000 km² Origin Nevado Mismi Mouth Atlantic Ocean Basin countries Brazil (62. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Hixkaryana is one of the Carib languages, spoken by just over 500 people on the Nhamundá river, a tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil. ...

Carib-speaking peoples occupied the Lesser Antilles several hundred years ago, killing, displacing, or forcibly assimilating the Arawakan peoples who inhabited the islands. The Arawakan language was maintained by the conquered peoples and adopted by the conquerering Caribs. Thus the language is called Island Carib, though it is not part of the Carib linguistic family. It is now extinct but was spoken on the Lesser Antilles until the 1920's. A linguistic descendent of Island Carib, Garífuna, a language of Honduras is also known as Caribe or Black Carib. The Lesser Antilles are part of the Antilles, which together with the Greater Antilles form the West Indies. ... The Arawakan languages are an indigenous language family of South America and the Caribbean. ... This article is about the Island Carib people, who lived on the islands of the Caribbean. ... The Lesser Antilles are part of the Antilles, which together with the Greater Antilles form the West Indies. ... This article is about the Island Carib people, who lived on the islands of the Caribbean. ... The Garifuna or Garífuna are an ethnic group in the Caribbean area, decended from a mix of Amerindian and African people. ...

It has been proposed that the Cariban family may be distantly related to Macro-Je and Tupi languages in a "Je-Tupi-Carib" stock, but this is highly speculative, and the internal relationships of these families are still poorly known. Cariban itself is tentatively divided into two to four branches. The Tupi languages are a language family of 70 languages which are spoken by Indian tribesmen in South America. ... Several of the major language stocks of South America are thought to be related. ...

Northern Carib languages

• Coyaima
• Japrería
• Yupka
• Pemon
• Akawaio
• Patamona
• Macushi
• Atruahí
• Sikiana
• Salumá
• Waiwai
• Akuriyó
• Apalaí
• Tiriyó (Trio)
• Wayana
• Carib
• Arára, Pará
• Txikão
• Mapoyo
• Panare
• Yabarana

Southern Carib languages Pemon or Pemong (in Spanish: Pemón) is a Carib language spoken mainly in Venezuela, specifically in the regions Bolivar State, Gran Sabana, an estimated 4,800 people in Venezuela speak Pemon. ... Akawaio is a Carib language spoken mainly in Guyana, most commonly in the region of the Upper Mazaruni. ... Tiriyó (also known as Trio) is a Cariban language spoken by approximately 2,000 people in a number of villages on both sides of the Brazil-Surinam border in northern Amazonia. ... Panare is a Cariban language, spoken by approximately 3,000-4,000 people in central Venezuela, Estado Bolívar (Bolivar State), generally south of the town of Caicara del Orinoco, south of the Orinoco River. ...

• Carijona
• Hixkaryána
• Kaxuiâna
• Maquiritari
• Bakairí
• Kuikúro-Kalapálo
• Matipuhy
• Yarumá

Hixkaryana is one of the Carib languages, spoken by just over 500 people on the Nhamundá river, a tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil. ...

Links

Ethnologue report for Carib languages