Karu language
Karu, one of several languages called Baniwa (Baniva), or in older sources Itayaine (Iyaine), is an Arawakan language spoken in Colombia, Venezuela, and Amazonas, Brazil. It forms a subgroup with the Tariana, Piapoco, Resígaro and Guarequena languages.[3] There are 10,000 speakers.[4]
| Karu | |
|---|---|
| Baniwa | |
| Tapuya | |
| Native to | Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil |
| Ethnicity | Baniwa people |
Native speakers | 12,000 (2001–2007)[1] |
Arawakan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Official status | |
Official language in |  |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:bwi – Baniwakpc – Curripako |
| Glottolog | bani1259 Baniwa-Curripaco[2] |
Varieties
Aikhenvald (1999) considers the three main varieties to be dialects; Kaufman (1994) considers them to be distinct languages, in a group he calls "Karu". They are:
- Baniwa of Içana (Baniua do Içana)
- Curripaco (Kurripako, Ipeka-Tapuia-Curripako)
- Katapolítani-Moriwene-Mapanai (Catapolitani, Kadaupuritana)
Various (sub)dialects of all three are called tapuya, a Brazilian Portuguese and Nheengatu word for non-Tupi/non-Guarani Indigenous peoples of Brazil (from a Tupi word meaning "enemy, barbarian"). All are spoken by the Baniwa people. Ruhlen lists all as "Izaneni"; Greenberg's Adzánani (= Izaneni) presumably belongs here.
Ramirez (2019) gives the following classification for three separate dialect chains:[5]
- Southern (Karotana): lower Içana River, also a group living in Victorino on the Guainia River (Colombia-Venezuela border)
- Mapatsi-Dákeenai (Yurupari-Tapuya)
- Wadzoli-Dákeenai (Urubu-Tapuya)
- Dzawi-Mínanai (Yauareté-Tapuya)
- Adaro-Mínanai (Arara-Tapuya)
- Central (Baniwa): middle Içana River (from Assunção Mission to Siuci-Cachoeira) and its tributaries (Aiari River and lower Cuiari River); also around Tunuí
- Hohódeeni
- Walipere-Dákeenai (Siucí-Tapuya)
- Máolieni (Cáuatapuya)
- Mápanai (Ira-Tapuya)
- Awádzoronai
- Molíweni (Sucuriyú-Tapuya)
- Kadáopoliri
- etc.
- Northern (called "Koripako" in Brazil): upper Içana River (from Matapi upwards), Guainia River, headwaters of the Cuiari River
- Ayáneeni (Tatú-Tapuya)
- Payoálieni (Pacútapuya)
- Komada-Mínanai (Ipéca-Tapuya)
- Kapitti-Mínanai (Coatí-Tapuya)
- etc.
Grammar
Sounds
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | plain | p | t̪ | t | k | |||
| aspirated | pʰ | t̪ʰ | tʰ | kʰ | ||||
| voiced | b | d | ||||||
| Affricate | plain | ts | tʃ | |||||
| aspirated | tsʰ | tʃʰ | ||||||
| voiced | dz | dʒ | ||||||
| Fricative | plain | ɸ | ʃ | ʂ | ç | h | ||
| voiced | β | ʐ | ||||||
| Flap | voiced | ɺ | ||||||
| voiceless | ɺ̥ | |||||||
| Nasal | voiced | m | n | ɲ | (ŋ) | |||
| voiceless | m̥ | n̥ | ɲ̊ | |||||
| Approximant | w ~ ʍ | j ~ j̊ | ||||||
- Voiced approximant sounds can fluctuate to voiceless sounds among dialects.
- /ŋ/ only occurs when preceding a velar consonant.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | |
| Mid | e eː | o oː |
| Low | a aː |
- When occurring as short, the vowels /i e a o/ are realized as [ɪ ɛ ə ʊ]. They are also realized as both short and long nasals /ĩ ẽ ɐ̃ õ/, [ɪ̃ ɛ̃ ə̃ ʊ̃].[6]
Alignment System
Baniwa has active–stative alignment.[7] This means that the subject of an intransitive clause is sometimes marked in the same way as the agent of a transitive clause, and sometimes marked in the same way as the patient of a transitive clause. In Baniwa alignment is realized through verbal agreement, namely prefixes and enclitics.
Prefixes are used to mark:
- Active intransitive subjects (Sa)
- Agents of transitive clauses (A)
- Possessors
- Arguments of adpositions
Enclitics are used to mark:
- Stative intransitive subjects (So)
- Patients of transitive clauses (O)
| Prefixes | Enclitics | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | |
| First person | nu- | wa- | -hnua | -hwa |
| Second person | pi- | i- | -phia | -ihia |
| Third person Nonfeminine | ri- | na- | -ni/ -hria | -hna |
| Third person Feminine | ʒu- | |||
| Impersonal | pa- | -pha | ||
The differences between active and stative intransitive clauses can be illustrated below:
- Transitive: ri-kapa-ni 'He sees him/it'
- Active Intransitive: ri-emhani 'He walks'
- Stative Intransitive: hape-ka-ni 'He is cold'
Noun Classification System
Baniwa has an interesting system of noun classification that combines a gender system with a noun classifier system.[8] Baniwa has two genders: feminine and nonfeminine. Feminine gender agreement is used to refer to female referents, whilst nonfeminine gender agreement is used for all other referents. The two genders are only distinguished in third person singular. Aihkenvald (2007) considers the bipartite gender system to be inherited from Proto-Arawak.[8]
In addition to gender, Baniwa also has 46 classifiers. Classifiers are used in three main contexts:[8]
- As a derivational suffix on nouns, e.g. tʃipaɾa-api (metal.object-CL.hollow) 'pan'
- With numerals, e.g. apa-api mawapi (one-CL.hollow blowgun+CL.long.thin) 'one blow gun'
- With adjectives, e.g. tʃipaɾa-api maka-api (metal.object-CL.hollow big-CL.hollow) 'big pan'
Aihkenvald (2007) divides Baniwa classifiers into four different classes. One set of classifiers is used for humans, animate beings and body parts. Another set of classifiers specify the shape, consistency, quantification or specificity of the noun. Two more classes can be distinguished. One is only used with numerals and the other is only used with adjectives.[8]
Classifiers for Humans and animate beings:[8]
| Classifier | Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ita | for animate males and body parts | apa-ita pedaɾia 'one old man' |
| -hipa | for human males only | aphepa nawiki 'one man' |
| -ma | for female referents | apa-ma inaʒu 'one woman' |
Classifiers according to shape, consistency, quantification and specificity:[8]
| Classifier | Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -da | round objects, natural phenomena and generic classifier | hipada 'stone' |
| -apa | flying animate, semioval objects | kepiʒeni 'bird' |
| -kwa | flat, round, extended objects | kaida 'beach' |
| -kha | curvilinear objects | a:pi 'snake' |
| -na | vertical, standing objects | haiku 'tree' |
| -Ø | hollow, small objects | a:ta 'cup' |
| -maka | stretchable, extended objects | tsaia 'skirt' |
| -ahna | liquids | u:ni 'water' |
| -ima | sides | apema nu-kapi makemaɾi 'one big side of my hand' |
| -pa | boxes, parcels | apa-'pa itsa maka-paɾi one big box of fishing hooks' |
| -wana | thin slice | apa-wana kuphe maka-wane 'a big thin slice of fish' |
| -wata | bundle for carrying | apa-wata paɾana maka-wate 'a big bundle of bananas' |
| -Ø | canoes | i:ta 'canoe' |
| -pawa | rivers | u:ni 'river' |
| -ʃa | excrement | iʃa 'excrement' |
| -ya | skins | dzawiya 'jaguar skin' |
Negation
There are two main strategies for negation in the Kurripako-Baniwa varieties:[4]
- Independent negative markers
- The privative derivational prefix ma-
Different varieties have different negative markers. This is so prominent that speakers identify Kurripako dialects according to the words for 'yes' and 'no'.[4]
| Dialect | Spoken in | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aha-Khuri | Colombia, Venezuela & Brazil | Aha | Khuri |
| Ehe-Khenim | Venezuela | Ehe | Khenim |
| Oho-Karo | Colombia & Brazil | Oho | Karo |
| Oho-Ñame | Colombia & Brazil | Oho | Ñame |
The independent negative markers come before the verb. They are used as clausal negators in declarative and interrogative sentences. They are also used to link clauses.[4]
The privative suffix is attached to nouns to derive a verb which means 'lacking' the noun from which it was derived. The opposite of the privative prefix is the attributive prefix ka-. This derives a verb which means 'having' the noun from which it was derived.[4] The difference can be illustrated below:
- Noun: iipe 'meat'
- Privative: ma-iipe > meepe 'be thin' (lit. lack meat)
- Attributive: ka-iipe > keepe 'be fat' (lit. have meat)
The prefix is used in combination with the restrictive suffix -tsa to form negative imperatives, e.g. ma-ihnia-tsa 'don't eat!'. A privative prefix is also reconstructed in Proto-Arawak privative as *ma-.[9]
Vocabulary
| Baniwa | English |
|---|---|
| Kapa | To See |
| Za | To Drink |
| Hima | To Hear |
| Cami | To Die |
| Nu | To Come |
Further reading
- Gonçalves, Artur Garcia. 2018. Para uma dialetologia baniwa-koripako do rio Içana. M.A. dissertation, Universidade de Brasília.
References
- Baniwa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Curripako at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) - Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Baniwa-Curripaco". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y.; Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. (2014-01-01). Negation in Tariana: A North Arawak Perspective in the Light of Areal Diffusion. doi:10.1163/9789004257023_006.
- Granadillo, Tania; Granadillo, Tania (2014-01-01). On Negation in Kurripako Ehe-Khenim. doi:10.1163/9789004257023_005.
- Ramirez, Henri (2019). Enciclopédia das línguas arawak: acrescida de seis novas línguas e dois bancos de dados. (in press)
- de Souza, Erick Marcelo Lima (2012). Estudo Fonológico da Língua Baniwa-Kuripako [Phonological Analysis of the Baniwa-Kuripako language] (PDF) (Master's thesis) (in Portuguese). University of Campinas.
- Aikhenvald, "Arawak", in Dixon & Aikhenvald, eds., The Amazonian Languages, 1999.
- Aikhenvald, Alexandra (2007). "Classifiers in Multiple Environments: Baniwa of Içana/Kurripako—A North Arawak Perspective on JSTOR". International Journal of American Linguistics. 73 (4): 475. doi:10.1086/523774.
- Michael, Lev; Granadillo, Tania; Granadillo, Lev Michael|Tania (2014-01-01). Negation in Arawak Languages » Brill Online. doi:10.1163/9789004257023.
- "The ASJP Database - Wordlist Baniva". asjp.clld.org. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
External links
- Baniva del Guainia Language
- Baniwa of the Aiary and Içana Collection of Robin M. Wright at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America.
- Curripaco Collection of Jonathan Hill at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America.