Kanamarí language

(Redirected from ISO 639:knm)

Kanamarí, or Katukina-Kanamari, is a Katukinan language spoken by about 650 individuals in Amazonas, Brazil. It is considered endangered.

Kanamarí
Katukina-Kanamari
Native toBrazil
RegionAmazonas
Ethnicity3,340 (2006–2008)[1]
Native speakers
1,300 (2006)[1]
Dialects
  • Kanamari (Dyapá)
  • Katukina
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
knm – Kanamari
kav – Katukina
Glottologkana1291
ELPDyapá

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.[2]

Synonyms and dialect names include Tshom-djapa, Tsohon-djapa, Wiri-dyapá, Pidá-dyapá, Kutiá-dyapá (Kadiu-diapa, Cutiadapa), Tucun-diapa, Bendiapa, Parawa.

Etymology

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The term Katukina is derived from the Proto-Purus term *ka-tukanɨ, meaning 'speaker of an indigenous language'.[3] As a result, it is used to refer to a few different unrelated languages belonging to separate language families, including Panoan and Arawakan:

Phonology

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Consonants

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Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b d
Nasal m n ɲ
Fricative h
Approximant l

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 [].

Vowels

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Front Central Back
unrounded rounded
High i ɯ ɯː u
Low a

/i/ and /u/ may be realized as approximant sounds [j] and [w], when preceding another vowel.[4]

Grammar

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The syntax of Kanamarí is characterized by ergative–absolutive alignment.[5] 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

tyuku wa:pa

die dog

'The dog died.'

no-ti

2.SG.GEN-kill

paiko

grandfather

no-ti paiko

2.SG.GEN-kill 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

ki:tan idi:k

sleep 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

pi:da na=ti paiko

jaguar GEN=kill grandfather

'The jaguar killed grandfather.'

References

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  1. ^ a b Kanamari at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Katukina at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Harald Hammarström (2013) Review of the Ethnologue, 16th Ed.
  3. ^ Carvalho 2019.
  4. ^ dos Anjos 2011.
  5. ^ Queixalós 2010.
  • Queixalós, Francesc (2010). "Grammatical relations in Katukina-Kanamari". In Gildea, Spike; Queixalós, Francesc (eds.). Ergativity in Amazonia. pp. 235–284. doi:10.1075/tsl.89.10que.
  • dos Anjos, Zoraide (2011). Fonologia e Gramática Katukina-Kanamari [Katukina-Kanamari Phonology and Grammar] (PDF) (Ph.D. thesis). Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  • Queixalós, Francesc (2012). "The Katukina-Kanamari antipassive". In Authier, Gilles; Haude, Katharina (eds.). Ergativity, Valency and Voice. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 227–258.
  • Carvalho, Fernando Orphão de Carvalho (2019). "On the Etymology of the Ethnonym Katukina". Revista Brasileira de Línguas Indígenas. 2 (1).
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