Nambikwaran languages

The Nambikwaran languages are a language family of half a dozen languages, all spoken in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. They have traditionally been considered dialects of a single language, but at least three of them are mutually unintelligible.

Nambikwaran
Geographic
distribution
Mato Grosso, Brazil
Linguistic classificationOne of the world's primary language families
Subdivisions
Glottolognamb1299[1]

The varieties of Mamaindê are often seen as dialects of a single language, but are treated as separate Northern Nambikwaran languages by Ethnologue. Sabanê is a single speech community and thus has no dialects, while the Nambikwara language has been described as having eleven.[2]

The total number of speakers is estimated to be about 1,500, with Nambikwara proper being 80% of that number.[3] Most Nambikwara are monolingual but some young men speak Portuguese.[4] Especially the men of the Sabanê group are trilingual, speaking both Portuguese and Mamainde.[5]

Genetic relations

Price (1978) proposes a relationship with Kanoê (Kapixaná), but this connection is not widely accepted.[6]

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Aikanã, Irantxe, Itonama, Kanoe, Kwaza, Peba-Yagua, Arawak, Bororo, and Karib language families due to contact.[7]

Varieties

Jolkesky (2016)

Internal classification by Jolkesky (2016):[7]

(† = extinct)

Nambikwara
  • Sabane
  • Nambikwara, Northern
    • Guaporé: Mamainde; Negarote; Tawende
    • Roosevelt: Lakonde; Latunde; Tawande
  • Nambikwara, Southern
    • Alantesu: Alantesu; Hahãintesu; Waikisu; Wasusu
    • Halotesu: Halotesu; Kithãulhu; Wakalitesu; Sawentesu
    • Manduka: Hukuntesu; Niyahlosu; Siwaisu
    • Sarare

Loukotka (1968)

Below is a full list of Nambikwaran language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.[8]

  • Eastern dialects
    • Tagnaní - spoken on the Castanho River (Roosevelt River), Mato Grosso.
    • Tamaindé - spoken on the Papagaio River and Marquez de Sousa River, state of Mato Grosso.
    • Neneː - spoken at the confluence of the Juína River and Juruena River, Mato Grosso.
    • Tarunde - spoken in the same region on the 12 de Outubro River.
  • Central dialects
    • Kokozú / Uaindze / Ualíxere - spoken on the left bank of the 12 de Outubro River.
    • Anunze / Soálesu - spoken between the Papagaio River and Camararé River, Mato Grosso.
    • Kongoreː - spoken on the Buriti River, Mato Grosso.
    • Navaite - spoken on the Dúvida River, Mato Grosso. (Unattested)
    • Taduté - spoken by the neighbors of the Navaite tribe on the Dúvida River.
  • Western dialects
    • Tauité / Tawite - spoken on the Camararé River, state of Mato Grosso.
    • Uaintasú / Waintazú - spoken in Mato Grosso on the right bank of the Pimenta Bueno River. (Unattested)
    • Mamaindé - spoken on the Cabixi River, state of Mato Grosso. (Unattested)
    • Uamandiri - spoken between the Cabixi River and Corumbiara River. (Unattested)
    • Tauandé - spoken on the São Francisco Bueno River, Mato Grosso. (Unattested)
    • Malondeː - spoken in the same region but exact location unknown. (Unattested)
    • Unetundeː - spoken on the upper course of the Dúvida River. (Unattested)
    • Tapóya - language of the same region, exact location unknown. (Unattested)
  • Northern dialects

Mason (1950) lists the following varieties under "Nambicuara proper":[9]

Mason (1950)

  • Northeastern
    • Eastern: Cocozu
    • Northeastern: Anunzé
  • Southwestern
    • Western: Tamaindé
    • Central and Southern
      • Uaintazu
      • Kabishi
      • Tagnani
      • Tauité
      • Taruté
      • Tashuité

Sabane is listed by Mason (1950) as "Pseudo-Nambicuara" (Northern).

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for various Nambikwaran languages.[8]

glossTauitéSabanéAnunzeElotasuKokozúTagnaníTamaindéNeneTarundé
one améroknaknákenágeetegenõganagidzyarebanurékanákero
two balénehaːrosearudehaunõbandyerelaurébaʔãdo
head ua-negetüdwa-haniːkintoa-nekisúga-nakitúnuhi-naitenu-naite
tongue tayú-hendüuai-lehrúaño-herutoái-herúuai-hendénoio-hidndenuiú-endénui-edende
hand toái-kizeːdepibáuai-kizédwa-hikisutoái-ikisúua-hiténuhiː-hĩtenuna-noré
woman akiːnaʔñazédusédosútemoreːndenoretenorédenõ
water ariuarazéiñausuunsazúnarutundúnahirindenarundénáru
sun utianezeːyótaikidazéudiʔenikisuuterikisúchondínahndenaneré
maize guyakizeːkayátsukayátsugiatékaiatekiakinindékiáteninde
parrot anʔanzíkakaitezéãhruáhluaundaréaúndere
bow arankizeːukizéúkisuhukisúhutéhuteaindé
white eːseːnanzeːpãtekuidisúhanahéndesudéʔendehanidzarehaniʔna

Proto-language

Proto-Nambikwaran
Proto-Nambiquara
Reconstruction ofNambikwaran languages

Proto-Nambiquara reconstructions by Price (1978):[10]

glossProto-Nambikwaran
‘maize, corn’*ka³yat³
‘tapir’*hv³¹ũː¹m
‘moon’*h'e³¹v³
‘water (n)’*na1pə̃³¹
‘now’*hi¹n
‘water’*yaut³
‘to tie’*t'ait¹
‘to walk’*h'ai²
‘that’*tei²l
‘here’*tiː¹
‘bow’*pok'³
‘wing’*n'əi³C
‘to hit’*su³l
‘to drink’*naː²
‘animal’*ha³no³la³
‘mouth’*youː²
‘good’*məu³li⁴
‘white’*pãn³
‘to play’*ləuː²n
‘head’*naik³
‘hair’*ĩć³
‘dog’*waiː³yvl³
‘to fall’*hi²
‘road’*ha³tẽp³
‘savannah’*mãl³
‘to sing’*pain³
‘grass’*sit³
‘meat’*sĩn³
‘house’*s'ip³
‘bark, shell’*kv³ləu³
‘to dig’*'uh³
‘sky’*h'əu³p(an⁴)
‘to smell’*nh'õn³
‘horn’*na³
‘rain’*ha³mə̃i³
‘ashes’*Cv³nõn³
‘snake’*t'ep³
‘to scratch’*kɨn²
‘to eat’*yain³
‘long’*ləː²
‘heart’*yv³lã¹k
‘string’*ẽp³
‘string’*nu²
‘to run’*hip³
‘to chop’*tau³
‘child’*mə̃ić³
‘to give’*õː¹
‘to lie (down)’*ć'aː¹
‘tooth’*wiː³
‘day’*lãn²ti³
‘two’*p'aː¹l(in¹)
‘to sleep’*ha³mũ³n'i²
‘he’*pai³
‘his’*na²
‘to rub’*lɨ¹nɨ³
‘to listen’*ain³
‘I’*t'ai²l
‘my’*t'a²
‘knife’*yu³l
‘to speak’*sɨ¹
‘beans’*ka³mat³
‘liver’*p'i⁴l
‘arrow’*hauːt'¹
‘flower’*yãuć³
‘fire’*yat²
‘leaf’*ha⁴ćeih³
‘leaf’*n'ãn'⁴
‘cold’*liː²
‘fog’*wi³Ca²
‘tobacco’*h'əić³
‘fat’*pa³nẽit¹
‘man’*en³t'
‘to swell’*wa⁴kaː³n
‘knee’*kat'³
‘to throw’*ta⁴naː¹m
‘there’*ti⁴paː³t
‘firewood’*(ha³)ne¹
‘to clean’*pəuː¹t
‘to clean’*han³
‘tongue’*pəi³l
‘smooth’*wa³suː³
‘worm’*yõ³yõ³C
‘far’*uː²l
‘monkey’*huć³
‘mother’*na²C
‘hand’*pik'²
‘left hand’*wãt³
‘husband’*wei³ćãi¹
‘to kill’*hãːn³
‘forest’*ća³w'əin³
‘to bite’*ĩː³m
‘woman’*(ha³)t'eh³
‘to swim’*həup²
‘nose’*a⁴miː³ć
‘night’*ka³na³C
‘to see’*ẽː²p
‘eye’*ei³ka³
‘jaguar’*ya³na¹l
‘where’*pai¹
‘ear’*n'a⁴
‘bone’*soh³
‘egg’*nau³
‘father’*wãi¹
‘father’*mĩː³n
‘bird’*ai³k'
‘tree, stick’*ha³piː³ć
‘foot’*yu³k'
‘stone’*t'a³pa³l
‘to hold’*hi³
‘breast’*nũn⁴k
‘fish’*h'ain³
‘feather’*w'əit¹
‘little’*ći³qi⁴hn
‘leg’*nəi²k
‘heavy’*sa³t'ei¹
‘louse’*ka³nãip¹ni³
‘black’*(ta³)ton³
‘pull’*sĩn³ćouː¹
‘when’*na³
‘what’*Ca¹tei²
‘to burn’*thəp⁴
‘hot’*mãn²
‘round’*ma³tũ³ma³tũn³
‘straight’*wain³
‘to laugh’*kãm³li¹
‘spit’*ka²sip¹
‘dry season’*ka³məi³kəu³n
‘dry’*lon¹
‘seed’*kɨ⁴
‘to sit’*yauː²
‘dirty’*n'aː¹ć'iː³
‘fear’*sup³l
‘earth’*k'ĩp³
‘earth’*nu³
‘crooked’*ta³ko³ta³kon³
‘guts’*ka³nai¹
‘one’*ka³naː³ka⁴(nat³)
‘fingernail, claw’*kai³l
achiote*top³
‘old’*tĩn³
‘wind’*'it³
‘green’*sa³t'əiː³sa³i'əin³
‘red’*həi³n
‘to come’*mãː²
‘to live’*ka³t'en³
‘to fly’*h'in³
‘you’*w'ai²n
‘your’*mã⁴
‘to return’*wam²l
‘to vomit’*lop³

Bibliography

  • Costa, Januacele Francisca da; W. Leo M. Wetzels. 2008. Proto-Nambikwara Sound Structure. Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
  • Araujo, G. A. (2004). A Grammar of Sabanê: A Nambikwaran Language. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. 94. Utrecht: LOT.
  • Gomes, M. A. C. F. (1991). Dicionário Mamaindé-Português/Português-Mamaindé. Cuiabá: SIL.
  • Kroeker, M. H. (1996). Dicionário escolar bilingüe Nambikuara-Português, Português-Nambikuara. Porto Velho: SIL.
  • Price, D. P. (1978). The Nambiquara Linguistic Family. Anthropological Linguistics 20:14-37.

References

  1. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Nambiquaran". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  2. Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian languages: the historical linguistics of Native America. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
  3. Nambiquaran languages. Ethnologue. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  4. Kroeker, 2001 p. 1
  5. Ethnologue. Ethnologue. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  6. Price, David P. 1978. The Nambiquara linguistic family. Anthropological Linguistics 20 (1): 14–37.
  7. Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho De Valhery. 2016. Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Brasília.
  8. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  9. Mason, John Alden (1950). "The languages of South America". In Steward, Julian (ed.). Handbook of South American Indians. 6. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143. pp. 157–317.
  10. Price, D. (1978). The Nambiquara Linguistic Family. In Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 14-37. Published by: Trustees of Indiana University. Accessed from DiACL, 9 February 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.