Oti language

The Oti language, also called Chavante or Euchavante in older sources (unrelated to the present-day Xavante people), was spoken by the Oti people of Sao Paulo state, Brazil, between the Peixe and Pardo rivers in the Paranapanema river basin, until it became extinct in the early twentieth century. Joseph Greenberg proposed linking it to the Macro-Je family but supplied almost no supporting data, and the classification has not been accepted; the linguist Lyle Campbell left it unclassified for lack of evidence, and Glottolog treats it as a language isolate. The Oti population collapsed under violent conflict in the late nineteenth century, falling from roughly 50 people in 1890 to eight by 1903 and three by 1910, with the last known speaker dying in 1988. Only about 110 words survive, drawn from three word lists compiled between 1892 and 1912.