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Glite Dictionary
Tupi-Guarani language

Tupi-Guarani language

9.9
A family of related native languages that people speak in South America, especially Brazil
  • noun
: idioma tupí-guaraní
  • The Tupi-Guarani language family has influenced many place names in Brazil.

Examples

  • Several dialects of the Tupi-Guarani language are still spoken by native communities today.

  • The Tupi-Guarani language family includes several dialects.

  • Researchers study the Tupi-Guarani language to learn about indigenous cultures of South America.

  • Many indigenous communities speak the Tupi-Guarani languages.

  • Researchers study the Tupi-Guarani language to learn about indigenous cultures of South America.

  • Several dialects of the Tupi-Guarani language are still spoken by native communities today.

  • The Tupi-Guarani language family has influenced many place names in Brazil.

Synonyms

Tupi-Guarani
vsTupi-Guarani language
9.9

A group of related native languages spoken in South America, especially Brazil and Paraguay

refers to the same family but highlights Brazil and nearby regions instead of Paraguay

Surface Forms

Tupi-Guarani language singular
Tupi-Guarani languages plural

Morphology

Tupi-Guarani + language

The structure is a proper-name label plus the noun 'language' (the common pattern X + language), so a learner who knows 'Tupi-Guarani' as a name and 'language' will readily infer it refers to a language (or family of languages) called Tupi-Guarani. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and does not require idiomatic knowledge, making the meaning transparent to B1 learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

Tupi-Guarani language is named after two large native groups, Tupi and Guarani. It refers to a group of related native languages spoken in parts of South America, so the name simply means the 'languages of the Tupi and Guarani peoples'.