The Palikur speak Pa’ikwaki, a language affiliated to the Arawak language family. Among the ethnic groups who live in the region of the Uaçá, only they and the Galibi-Kaliña speak a language that is strictly speaking indigenous; the Karipuna and Galibi-Marworno, by different processes, adopted patois, derived from French creole, as a differentiated indigenous language.

Most Palikur men, youths and adults, and several women also speak patois, but they only use it in commercial, political, and social relations outside the villages or, occasionally, in contact with some visitor who speaks this language. When asked whether they speak patois, they usually answer no, for they are “true Indians”, thus marking their difference in relation to the speakers of this language.

On the Brazilian side, most young people who have been to school and several adult men also speak Portuguese. In Guiana, French is the second language, the school is French and there doesn’t exist any differentiated education. The influence of French is greater, for the educational process continues at least until the secondary level (high school), while in Brazil, until recently, education was interrupted at the end of the primary level due to a lack of teachers.