Brazil

Mineiro

also: Belo Horizonte Portuguese

The Brazilian Portuguese of Minas Gerais and the surrounding interior. Distinguished by characteristic vowel reductions, monophthongisation of diphthongs, and a distinctive lexicon.

Gaúcho

also: Sulista, Southern Brazilian Portuguese

The Brazilian Portuguese of Rio Grande do Sul and southern Brazil. Distinct from northern Brazilian varieties, with strong Spanish (Rioplatense) and Italian/German immigrant contact features.

Paulistano

also: São Paulo Portuguese

The Portuguese of São Paulo and the surrounding state. The most populous Brazilian variety and a common reference for the broader Brazilian standard.

Carioca

also: Rio de Janeiro Portuguese, Fluminense

The Portuguese of Rio de Janeiro. Recognisable for its palatalised /s/ in coda position — a feature shared with Lisbon — and a distinctive intonation.

Nordestino

also: Northeastern Brazilian Portuguese

The Portuguese of Brazil's Northeast region around Recife, Salvador, and Fortaleza. Internally varied, with a distinct lexicon shaped by African and indigenous languages.

Asháninka

An Arawakan language spoken in the central Peruvian Amazon and adjacent western Brazil. The most-spoken Amazonian Arawakan language, with around 100,000 speakers.

Pemón

also: Arekuna, Kamarakoto

A Cariban language of the Gran Sabana and adjacent highlands of Venezuela, Guyana, and northern Brazil. Around 30,000 speakers; the language of the Pemón people of Mount Roraima.

Macushi

also: Makushi

A Cariban language spoken across the Roraima savannas of northern Brazil, southwestern Guyana, and adjacent Venezuela. Closely related to Pemón.

Tucano

also: Tukano, Dahsea

A Tukanoan language of the Vaupés region on the Brazil-Colombia border. Used as a regional lingua franca; the most-spoken Eastern Tukanoan variety.

Yanomami

also: Yanomamö

A cluster of Yanomaman languages spoken across the Brazil-Venezuela Amazonian border. Around 30,000 speakers, with internal varieties (Yanomami, Sanumá, Ninam, Yanam) often considered separate languages.

Xavante

also: A'uwẽ

A Macro-Jê language of the Xavante people of central Brazil, in the cerrado of Mato Grosso. Around 20,000 speakers, with active bilingual education in Xavante communities.

Kaingang

The largest southern Macro-Jê language, spoken across communities in Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Around 30,000 speakers, with literary materials in Kaingang since the late 19th century.

Nheengatu

also: Lingua Geral Amazônica, Modern Tupi

A Tupi-Guaraní language descended from old Tupinambá; the historical Lingua Geral of Amazonia. Co-official in São Gabriel da Cachoeira (Brazil), the only municipality in Brazil with Indigenous co-official languages.

Mbyá Guaraní

A Guarani variety distinct from Paraguayan Guaraní, spoken by the Mbyá people across southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and north-eastern Argentina. The most widely spoken Indigenous Guaraní variety in Brazil.

Wayampi

also: Wajãpi

A Tupi-Guaraní language of the Oyapock river basin, straddling French Guiana and northern Brazil. Around 1,500 speakers; one of French Guiana's recognised regional languages.