Jê–Tupi–Carib (or TuKaJê) is a proposed language family composed of the Macro-Jê, Tupian and Cariban languages of South America. Aryon Rodrigues (2000) based this proposal on shared morphological patterns. In an earlier proposal, Rodrigues (1985) had also proposed a Tupí-Cariban language family.
The Je-Tupi-Carib proposal replaces earlier long-range hypotheses, e.g. Greenberg's phyla "Jê-Pano-Carib" (linking Macro-Jê and Cariban to Panoan) and "Tupi-Arawak" (linking Tupian to Arawakan), or Mason's "Macro-Tupí-Guaranían" family (1950: 236–238) which groups Tupian together with Bora–Witoto and Zaparoan.
However, in some cases, similarities among the language families are clearly due to more recent linguistic diffusion, as with Tupian and Jê languages (Timbira; Guajajara, Tembe, Guaja, Urubu-Ka'apor, etc.) in the lower Tocantins-Mearim area. Linguistic diffusion among Jê, Tupian, Cariban, Arawakan, and Trumai languages is also evident among the languages of the Xingu Indigenous Park.
Comparison
Nikulin (2015)
Nikulin (2015) compared the vocabulary of Proto-Macro-Jê, Proto-Tupí, and Proto-Carib. In this comparison, only four matches were found among all three proto-languages: 'name', 'tooth', 'to eat', and 'ear'.
- ‘to go’: p-Tupian *to, p-Bororo *tu, p-Cariban *[wɨ]tə[mə]
- ‘arm’: p-Mundurukú *paʔ, p-Macro-Jê *paC, Chiquitano pa-, p-Kariri *bo(ro-), p-Cariban *apə-rɨ
- ‘foot’: p-Tupian *py, p-Macro-Jê *pVrV, p-Bororo *bure, Kariri *bɨ(ri-), (?) Chiquitano pope-, (?) p-Cariban *pupu-ru
- ‘seed’: p-Tuparí-Karitiana *j-upa, p-Cariban *əpɨ (*-tɨpə)
- ‘stone’: p-Macro-Jê *kra(C), p-Kariri *kro
- ‘tree’: p-Bororo *i, p-Kariri *dzi
- ‘to sleep’: p-Jabutí *nũtã, Chiquitano a-nu, p-Bororo *unutu / *-nutu, p-Kariri *-unu, (?) p-Macro-Jê *ũtᵊ
Nikulin (2023)
Nikulin (2023) identifies the following cognates in Macro-Jê and Tupian as further evidence for a Macro-Jê–Tupian family.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Good distribution in both families
! Gloss !! Proto-Macro-Jê !! Proto-Tupian
|-
| 3rd person non-coreferential prefix || *i- / *c- || *i- / *c-
|-
| ‘meat, flesh’ || *ĩt / *-ñĩt || *ẽT / *-jẽT
|-
| ‘to stand’ || *ja (nonfinite *-ja-m) || *-ja or *-ʔãP
|-
| ‘name’ || *-jet || *-jeT
|-
| ‘father’ || *-jo₂m || *-joP
|-
| ‘pus’ || *-jo₂w° || *-joP ‘fish roe, pus’
|-
| ‘tooth’ || *-juñ° || *-jãC
|-
| ‘to ingest’ (‘to eat/drink’) || *-ko₂ || *-ꝁo
|-
| ‘tree, tree-like object (leg, horn, bone)’ || *(-)ky₁m° || *(-)ꝁɯP
|-
| ‘liver’ || *-mbâ || *-pɨ(-)ʔa / *mbɨ(-)ʔa
|-
| ‘smoke’ || *-ñĩjə̂k || *-jĩːK
|-
| ‘feces’ || *-ñV˜ t° || *-jV˜ T
|-
| ‘earth’ || *ŋgyN° || *ꝁɯC
|-
| ‘arm’ || *-pa ‘arm, branch’ || *-pə / *mbə ‘hand, vine-like’,<br/>*-pə-ʔa / *mbə-ʔa ‘arm’
|-
| ‘foot’ || *-pâr° || *-pɨ / *mbɨ
|-
| ‘to burn, to set on fire’ || *(-)py₁k° ~ *(-)py₁ŋ° || *-pɯK
|-
| 3rd person coreferential prefix || *ta- || *tə-
|-
| ‘to give’ || *-ũp || *-õP
|-
| ‘to go up, to rise’ || *-we(C) || *-we(ː)P
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Good distribution in Macro-Jê only
! Gloss !! Proto-Macro-Jê !! Tupian
|-
| ‘hole’ || *-kuñ° || Proto-Mundurukuan *-kã̰j
|-
| ‘ripe’ || *-ndêp° || Tuparí -tep
|-
| ‘to kill’ || *-wĩ || Karo -wĩ
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Good distribution in Tupian only
! Gloss !! Proto-Tupian !! Macro-Jê
|-
| ‘bitter’ || *-ðəP || Proto-Cerrado *-ndap ‘sour, bitter’
|-
| ‘to do, to say, to be like this’ || *-ꝁe || Proto-Southern Jê *kê / *ke
|-
| ‘white’ || *-ǩɨT || Proto-Cerrado *-kaː
|-
| ‘husband’ || *-mẽT || Proto-Macro-Jê *-mbi₂n (Eastern)
|-
| ‘I’ || *o- || Proto-Cerrado *wa
|-
| ‘to wake up’ || *-paK || Proto-Jabutian *-pa
|-
| ‘heavy’ || *-pətɨC || Maxakalí -ptux
|-
| ‘to go’, ‘to come’ || *-tẽP ‘to exit’, *-ʔatẽP ‘to arrive’ || Proto-Macro-Jê *tẽ (nonfinite *-tẽ-m or *-tẽ-n) ‘to go, to come’ (Eastern)
|-
| ‘to arrive’ || *-wɯC ‘to go out, to arrive’ || Proto-Cerrado *wôc, nonfinite *-wôc
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Limited distribution in both families
! Gloss !! Macro-Jê !! Tupian
|-
| ‘bat’ || Proto-Goyaz *nĵêp || Proto-Tupian *jɯP (Kepkiriwat and Mondé)
|-
| ‘to dig’ || Proto-Macro-Jê *-kut (Eastern only) || Proto-Mundurukuan *-ɟ e-kot
|-
| ‘to enter’ || Proto-Jê *ŋgê₂ (plural only) || Proto-Tupian *-ke ~ *-ǩe (Eastern)
|-
| ‘to pierce’ || Proto-Cerrado *-pôk (sg.), *-japôk (pl.) || Proto-Tupi–Guaranian *-puK
|-
| ‘son’ || Proto-Chiquitano *´-tsay || Proto-Tuparian *-jaʔɨP or Proto-Mawé–Guaranian *-caʔɨT
|-
| ‘sour’ || Proto-Jê *-jôK ‘sour, salty’ || Karitiana -syk
|-
| ‘sweet’ || Proto-Macro-Jê *-jə̂ñ (Eastern) || Tuparí -hoy
|}
Non-cognate lookalikes or loans are identified by Nikulin (2023) as:
- ‘flat’: Proto-Mawé–Guaranian *-peːP and Ofayé -ɸiʔ
- ‘to kill’: Ofayé -kə˜jʔ, Proto-Chiquitano *kõˀõj- ‘to kill, to die’, and Awetí -kỹj
- ‘liquid’: Proto-Tupian *ʔɯ / *-j-ɯ and Proto-Jabutian *-y
- ‘louse’: Proto-Macro-Jê *-ŋgy₁n° (Eastern only) and Proto-Core Mondé *giT
- ‘neck’: Proto-Tupian *-woT and Proto-Cerrado *-mbut
- ‘powder, paste’: Proto-Tupian *-jõʔõP and Proto-Jabutian *-nũ
- ‘thorn’: Proto-Macro-Jê *-ñĩn° ~ *-ñĩñ° and Tuparí -ĩ
Macro-Chaco hypothesis
Nikulin (2019) suggests a Macro-Chaco hypothesis linking Jê-Tupí-Cariban (including Karirian and Bororoan) with Mataco-Guaicuruan (possibly including Zamucoan):