Nheengatu

Nheengatu, also known as Modern Tupi, Língua Geral Amazônica (Amazonian General Language), and Amazonic Tupi, is a Tupi–Guarani language. It is spoken throughout the Rio Negro region among the Baniwa, Baré, and Warekena people in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, and the state of Amazonas, Brazil. The language has been one of Amazonas' official languages since 2002. Outside of the Rio Negro region, the Nheengatu language is spoken across the Baixo Amazonas region among the Sateré-Mawé, Maraguá, and Mura people. In the Baixo Tapajós and the state of Pará, Nheengatu is mainly spoken among the Borari and the Tupinambá peoples. A 2010 study by UNESCO estimated the number of Nheengatu speakers at around 10,000. In 2025, Thomas Finbow, a professor at the University of São Paulo, estimated that there were between 5,000 and 7,000 speakers in Brazil, and fewer than 10,000 globally, including small communities in Venezuela and Colombia. Nheengatu is sometimes used to study language change, as it has documentation that spans several centuries.