The book Amazonian Languages, compiled by R. M. W. Dixon and A. Y. Aikhenvald, published in 1999, is already a reference work indeed, practically compulsory reading for anyone interested in linguistics, the indigenous languages of Amazonia and the ethnology of lowlands South America. Nonetheless, the book contains sections and themes that have provoked strong reactions in the scientific community both inside and outside Brazil. This essay presents not only the book's undoubted contributions towards advancing our knowledge of Amazonian languages, but also the criticisms justifiably levelled at some of its chapters, caused by empirical and theoretical limitations, as well as others concerning the book's introduction and its provocative opinions regarding specific research policies in South America. The introduction to the book opposes categories (national versus foreign linguists), plays verbal sophistry with identities (missionary linguists and linguistic missionaries) and paints a contestable and erroneous picture of what it means to research and study indigenous languages, 'Amazonian' or otherwise.
Indigenous Languages; Linguistics; Amazonia; Ethnolinguistics; Linguistic policies