Le langaige du Bresil

Le langaige du Bresil
Bibliothèque nationale de France
First folio of the vocabulary
TypeVocabulary
Date1540s
Language(s)Middle French and Old Tupi
Compiled byJehan Lamy
Size53r–54r
ScriptLatin script
Contents88 entries
AccessionMs. Fr. 24269
The full text of Le langaige du Bresil at Wikisource

Le langaige du Bresil (lit.'the language of Brazil') is a vocabulary produced in the 1540s, considered the oldest substantial record of a Brazilian language, specifically of Old Tupi. It is contained in a manuscript in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, cataloged as "Ms. Fr. 24269", from folio 53r to 54r, and presents 88 entries. Little is known about its compiler, a sea captain or voyage organizer, probably from Bordeaux or Rouen, named Jehan Lamy.

Le langaige du Bresil is important as it demonstrates social relations between the French and Brazilian Indigenous people were not merely limited to commercial interactions, but, on the contrary, both peoples maintained intimate social contacts with each other.