Katukína-Kanamarí language
Katukinan language spoken in Brazil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katukina-Kanamari is a Katukinan language spoken by about 650 individuals in Amazonas, Brazil. It is considered endangered.
| Katukina-Kanamari | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Brazil |
| Region | Amazonas |
| Ethnicity | 38 Tsohom-dyapa (2016), 4,684 Kanamari (2020), 2,004 Katukina do rio Biá (2020)[1][2][3] |
Native speakers | 1,300 (2006)[4] |
Harákmbut–Katukinan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:knm – Kanamarikav – Katukina |
| Glottolog | kana1291 |
| ELP | Dyapá |
The two principal varieties, Kanamari (Canamarí) and Katukina (Catuquina), are mutually intelligible, and have both been confused with neighboring languages with the same or similar names.[5]
Synonyms and dialect names include Tshom-djapa, Tsohon-djapa, Wiri-dyapá, Pidá-dyapá, Kutiá-dyapá (Kadiu-diapa, Cutiadapa), Tucun-diapa, Bendiapa, Parawa.
Etymology
The term Katukina is derived from the Proto-Purus term *ka-tukanɨ, meaning 'speaker of an indigenous language'.[6] As a result, it is used to refer to a few different unrelated languages belonging to separate language families, including Panoan and Arawakan:
- Katukina (Arawakan)
- Katukína (Panoan)
- Catuquinarú (unclassified)
Phonology
Consonants
An alveolar lateral consonant /l/ may be realized as a retroflex lateral [ɭ]. A velar nasal [ŋ] sound is often heard when following after nasal vowels. A glottal stop [ʔ] can be heard before word-initial vowels. A word-final /k/ may also sound unreleased [k̚].
Vowels
/i/ and /u/ may be realized as approximant sounds [j] and [w], when preceding another vowel.[7]
Grammar
The syntax of Kanamarí is characterized by ergative–absolutive alignment.[8] The absolutive argument (i.e. the subject of intransitive verbs and the object of transitive verbs) is unmarked for case, and usually appears following the verb phrase.
tyuku
die
wa:pa
dog
'The dog died.'
no-ti
2.SG.GEN-kill
paiko
grandfather
'You killed grandfather.'
If the absolutive argument is a pronoun, it is represented by its free-standing form.
ki:tan
sleep
idi:k
2.SG
'You slept.'
The ergative argument (i.e. the agent of transitive verbs) is marked for genitive case. If the agent is a pronoun, it is represented by a genitive prefix (as in no-ti paiko 'you killed grandfather' above). If the agent is a full noun, it is linked to the verb with the case marker na, which phonologically attaches to the verb:
pi:da
jaguar
na=ti
GEN=kill
paiko
grandfather
'The jaguar killed grandfather.'