Carioca

Carioca (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaɾiˈɔkɐ] or [kɐɾiˈɔkɐ]) is a Brazilian noun or adjective used to refer to anything related to Rio de Janeiro, the capital and the homonymous state of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. The original word, "kara'i oka", comes from the indigenous Tupi language meaning "house of carijó", which was a native tribe of Rio de Janeiro who lived in the vicinities of Carioca River, between Glória and Flamengo neighbourhoods.

The archaic demonym meaning for the Rio de Janeiro State is "fluminense", taken from the Latin word flumen, meaning "river." Despite the fact "carioca" is a most ancient demonym of Rio de Janeiro's inhabitants (known since 1502), it was replaced by "fluminense" in 1783, when it was sanctioned as the official demonym of the Real Captainship of Rio de Janeiro (later Province of Rio de Janeiro), a few years after the City of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro has become the capital city of the Brazilian colonies. From 1783 and during all the Imperial Regime, "carioca" remained only as a nickname by which other Brazilians called the inhabitants of Rio (city and province). During the first years of the Brazilian Republic, "carioca" was the name given to those who lived in the slums or a pejorative way to refer the bureaucratic elite of the Federal District. Only when the City of Rio lost its status as Federal District and became a Brazilian State (Guanabara State ) by the time the capital city was moved to Brasilia, "carioca" was made a co-official demonym with "guanabarino". In 1975, the Guanabara State was extinct by President Geisel (under the military dictatorship) becoming the present City of Rio de Janeiro and "carioca" was made the demonym of its municipality. Besides the fact "carioca" is not recognized as an official demonym of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazilians call the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro in general (State and city) "cariocas" and most of its inhabitants claim to be "cariocas". Nowadays, social movements like "Somos Todos Cariocas" ("We are all Cariocas") try to achieve the official recognition of "carioca" as a co-official demonym of Rio de Janeiro State.

Like other Brazilians, cariocas speak Portuguese. The carioca accent and sociolect (also simply called "carioca", see below) are the most famous of Brazil, in part because Rede Globo, the second-largest television network in the world, is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Thus, a lot of Brazilian TV programs, from news and documentary to entertainment (such as the novelas), feature carioca-acting and -speaking talent.

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