Waitaká language
Extinct unclassified language of Brazil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Waitaká (Guaitacá, Goyatacá, Goytacaz) is an extinct language of Brazil,[1] on the São Mateus River and near Cabo de São Tomé in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Not a word of it is known. Dialects, or at least tribal divisions, were Mopi, Yacorito, Wasu, and Miri.[2] Loukotka (1968) suggests it may have been one of the Purian languages,[3] though others consider this classification "circumstantial".[1]
Although extinct, the Goytacaz language is traditionally associated with the origin of the toponym Macaé, which is believed to have derived from the term miquié, meaning "river of catfish" in that language.[4]
Reconstruction
Operating under the assumption that Waitaká is a Purian language, Miraldi (2025) reconstructs some words and a phonology.[5][self-published source]
