Aikanã language
Aikanã (sometimes called Tubarão,[3] Corumbiara/Kolumbiara, or Huari/Uari/Wari) is an endangered language isolate[1] spoken by about 200 Aikanã people in Rondônia,[4] Brazil. It is morphologically complex and has SOV word order.[5] Aikanã uses the Latin script. The people live with speakers of Koaia (Kwaza).
Aikanã | |
---|---|
Tubarão, Huari | |
Native to | Brazil |
Region | Rondônia |
Native speakers | 200 (2007)[1] |
Dialects |
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | tba |
Glottolog | aika1237 [2] |
Classification
Van der Voort (2005) observes similarities among Aikanã, Kanoê, and Kwaza, but believes the evidence is not strong enough to definitively link the three languages together as part of a single language family. Hence, Aikanã is best considered to be a language isolate.[6]
Jolkesky (2016) also notes that there are lexical similarities with Kanoe, Kwaza, and Nambikwara due to contact.[7]
Varieties
Varieties listed by Loukotka (1968):[8]
- Huari (Corumbiara) - spoken between the Corumbiara River and Guarajú River, Rondônia
- Masaca (Aicana) - spoken on the left bank of the Corumbiara River
- Aboba - extinct language once spoken on the Guarajú River
- Maba - extinct language once spoken on the Guajejú River (unattested)
- Puxacaze - once spoken on the Guajejú River, Brazil (unattested)
- Guajejú - once spoken at the sources of the Jamarí River and Candeia River (unattested)
Phonology
Phonological inventory:[9]
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i y | u | |
Mid | ɛ ø | a~ə | |
Open |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | ĩ | ũ | |
Mid | ɛ̃ | ||
Open | ã |
Consonants
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ñ /ɲ/ | ||
Stop | p /p/ b /b/ |
t /t/ d /d/ |
k /k/ | ’ /ʔ/ | |
Fricative | s /s/ th /ð/ |
j/h /h/ | |||
Affricates | ts /t͡s~t͡ʃ/ | ||||
Trills | r /r/ | ||||
Approximant | w /w/ | l /l/ | y /j~ʒ/ |
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Huari and Masaca, as well as Capixana.[8]
gloss Huari Masaca Capixana one amemeeː amäme pátairä two arukai atuka kãerá three ümaitü piakaúkä head chimé tinupá i-kutá ear ka-niyú ka-nĩgó i-tẽyõ tooth múi mõiː i-pé hand iné iné i-so woman chikichíki dätiá míaʔä water hané hánä kuni fire íne íné iní stone huahuá urorä akí maize atití ákí atití tapir arimé alümä itsá
Further reading
- Vasconcelos, I. P. (2004). Aspectos da fonologia e morfologia da língua Aikanã. Maceió: Universidade Federal de Alagoas. (Masters dissertation).
References
- Hein van der Voort (2007). "Theoretical and social implications of language documentation and description on the eve of destruction in Rondônia" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Aikanã". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- Hein van der Voort (2004). A Grammar of Kwaza. Walter de Gruyter. p. 9. ISBN 3-11-017869-9.
- "Ethnologue report for language code:tba". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- "Aikana Language and the Aikanã Indian Tribe". Native Languages of the Americas website. 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- Van der Voort, Hein. 2005. Kwaza in a comparative perspective. International Journal of American Linguistics 71: 365–412.
- Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
- Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
- "Aikana Pronunciation Guide". Native Languages of the Americas website. 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-10.