Aryon Rodrigues

Aryon Dall'Igna Rodrigues (4 July 1925, Curitiba - 24 April 2014, Brasília) was a Brazilian linguist, considered one of the most renowned researcher of the indigenous languages of Brazil.

The first Brazilian to obtain a PhD in linguistics in Hamburg (Germany) in 1959. Aryon Rodrigues was invited by Darcy Ribeiro to organize the first post-graduate program in Linguistics in Brazil, in the recently founded Universidade de Brasília (UnB). Aryon left UnB following the coupe in 1964, in solidarity with his colleagues dismissed and persecuted by the military, moving to UFRJ and later to UNICAMP.

Throughout his career, which lasted nearly seventy years, he dedicated himself to the analysis and documentation of various languages such as Xetá and Tupinambá, of the Tupi-Guarani family, and Kipeá of the Kariri family (Macro-Jê). In addition to descriptive and theoretical works in linguistics, Rodrigues contributed to the study of historical and comparative linguistics of the indígenous languages of the continent, particularly of the Tupi family. He originated the hypothesis that relates Tupí, Macro-Jê and Karíb as a single branch of the same macro family.

Aryon Rodrigues published more than 150 scientific works, among them articles, book chapters and books. He created and directed the Laboratório de Línguas Indígenas (LALI) at UnB, and was one of the creators and editors of the Revista Brasileira de Linguística Antropológica (RBLA). In January 2013, he participated in the creation of the Instituto Aryon Dall'Igna Rodrigues (IADR), which will serve as the repository of his papers. Rodrigues died on 24 April 2014.