[2] The Ikpeng were known to inhabit the same land as the Txipaya peoples, near the Iriri River, and they a strong alliance with that group in times of war.
[4] On October 19, 1964, Orlando and Cláudio Villas-Boas encountered Ikpeng villages as they were flying over the Ronuro River in Mato Grosso.
[3] They lived near the Ronuro and Jabotá rivers and, when they were found malnourished and exposed to disease, they accepted resources and later relocation to the Xingu National Park in 1967.
[4] The Ikpeng dispersed for a short time, with different family groups living in different parts of the park, but later regrouped in the early 1970s near the Leonardo Villas-Boas Indigenous Post.
[7] Although large, with a population of over twenty-two thousand speakers, Carib languages have faced drastic changes in its geography and prevalence in the region.
Recently, the Ikpeng language has been analyzed a number of academics most extensively by Frantome Pachecho and Cilene Campetela.
Beginning in 1997, Pacheco wrote "Aspectos da gramática Ikpeng", which explored the morphology, orthography, grammar structure, prosodic aspects, among other topics.
Most recently in 2007 he wrote, "Morfofonologia dos prefixos pessoais em Ikpeng" which focuses on phonology and morphology.
Most notably, the 2008 ProDocLin project documenting the Ikpeng language in different social contexts via audiovisuals with an accompanying lexicon database was conducted by Dr. Angela Fabiola Alves Chagas with assistance from Ingrid Lemos and Maria Luisa Freitas.
It was led by Angela Chegas, assisted by associate researchers Ingrid Lemos and Maria Luisa Freitas, with Ikpeng consultation.
Researchers of Ikpeng, notably Frantome Pacheco, have given special attention to the Ikpeng verb morphology, in which morphemes are used to give nuance to words in the language; they determine the subject or object that is conjugated in the verb, tense, number (plural and singular), inclusivity, causation, interrogation, negation and other more specific characteristics.
[10]ugunhe:DIST:ANIMpe-waEXIST-NEGugun pe-wahe:DIST:ANIM EXIST-NEG"It's not him" [11]e-woy-n3-clothes-GENɨpeEXISTorenhim:PROX:ANIMe-woy-n ɨpe oren3-clothes-GEN EXIST him:PROX:ANIM"He has clothes" [11]neyamthosekɨtpipprettyneyam kɨtpipthose pretty"Those are pretty" [12]In English, there exist separate verbs to express desire, like for instance 'to want.'
ugw-erem1+2-chiefpeEXISTm-it-tɨne2-AUX-DESomroyouugw-erem pe m-it-tɨne omro1+2-chief EXIST 2-AUX-DES you"You want to be our chief" [14]Ikpeng uses to morphemes to conjugate verbs in the "immediate past," meaning a period of time understood to be the moment right before the present and, at the very latest, yesterday.
[19] propro geneŋlɨŋmog-eneŋ-lɨ-ŋmo3.A.1.O-see-REC-COLpro geneŋlɨŋmopro g-eneŋ-lɨ-ŋmo{} 3.A.1.O-see-REC-COL"They say me" [20]To express plurality or a collective in an interrogative phrase, the suffix /-tom/~/rom/ is attached at the end of the verb.
MelobôMelobôMelobôterulɨt-eru-lɨ3.O-give-RECtopkaktopkakbowTʃileni[TʃileniCileneParanParanFrankenikeniPARTniŋkɨnniŋkɨn]PLɨnaɨnaDAT:toMelobô terulɨ topkak Tʃileni Paran keni niŋkɨn ɨnaMelobô t-eru-lɨ topkak [Tʃileni Paran keni niŋkɨn] ɨnaMelobô 3.O-give-REC bow Cilene Fran PART PL DAT:to'Melobô gave the bow to Cilene and Fran' [22]In Ikpeng, demonstrative third-person pronouns are used to indicate the distance and animacy of the entity in relation to the speaker.
[10] atʃinato whereomro-ŋmoyou-COLatʃina omro-ŋmo{to where} you-COL"Where are you (PL) going"ADJZ: adjectivizer DIST: distant PART: particle PROX: proximal REC: recent