Língua Geral
Língua Geral was established as an official language from 1689-1727, after which Portuguese was promoted instead, but to no avail. By the mid 18th century, Língua Geral Amazônica (distinct from Língua Geral Paulista, a similar variety used farther south) was used throughout the colony. At this point, Tupinambá remained intact, but as a “liturgical language”. The languages used in daily life had evolved drastically over the century due to language contact, with Tupinambá as the “language of the ritual acts, and Língua Geral Amazônica the language of popular communication and, therefore, of religious instruction”. Moore (2014) observes that by the mid-18th century, Língua Geral Amazônica and Tupinambá were already distinct from each other. By then, the original Tupinambá community was facing a decline, but other speech communities were still required by the Portuguese missionaries to learn the Tupinambá language. Efforts to communicate between communities resulted in the ‘corruption’ of the Tupinambá language, hence the distinction between Tupinambá and Língua Geral Amazônica.