Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199593569
- eISBN:
- 9780191739385
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593569.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
Languages of the Amazon basin are among the most fascinating in the world. This is where one finds unusual sounds, unexpected ways of classifying nouns, elaborate positional verbs, to name just a few ...
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Languages of the Amazon basin are among the most fascinating in the world. This is where one finds unusual sounds, unexpected ways of classifying nouns, elaborate positional verbs, to name just a few features. Most Amazonian languages have been in contact with each other for many generations. Many people are multilingual, and the unusual patterns of multilingualism have given rise to intriguing patterns of language contact, extensive linguistic areas, and numerous features shared due to contact between people There are over 300 languages grouped into over fifteen language families, plus a fair number of isolates. The six major linguistic families of the Amazon basin are Arawak, Tupí, Carib, Panoan, Tucanoan and Macro‐Jê; smaller families include Makú, Guahibo, Yanomami, Witotoan, Zaparoan, Tacana, Harakmbet, Arawá and Chapacuran. Discussion in the book also includes, albeit in more cursory fashion, language families spoken in the areas adjacent to Lowland Amazonia: Chibchan, Barbacoan, Choco, and Guaicuruan. The book starts with a potted history of Amazonian peoples and their languages, and the disastrous effects of the European invasion. After a brief discussion of cultural aspects and people's lifestyle, the profile of each major and minor family are outlined. There is then discussion of the unusual patterns of language contact and multilingual interaction. Further chapters discuss the sounds of Amazonian languages; the ways in which they express possession, gender, and time and tense. In many Amazonian languages one needs to always state how one knows things, known as the category of ‘evidentiality’. Amazonian languages are relatively poor in number words, but rich in elaborate speech styles and means of expression. The book offers extensive examples, many from author's own fieldwork in Amazonia.Less
Languages of the Amazon basin are among the most fascinating in the world. This is where one finds unusual sounds, unexpected ways of classifying nouns, elaborate positional verbs, to name just a few features. Most Amazonian languages have been in contact with each other for many generations. Many people are multilingual, and the unusual patterns of multilingualism have given rise to intriguing patterns of language contact, extensive linguistic areas, and numerous features shared due to contact between people There are over 300 languages grouped into over fifteen language families, plus a fair number of isolates. The six major linguistic families of the Amazon basin are Arawak, Tupí, Carib, Panoan, Tucanoan and Macro‐Jê; smaller families include Makú, Guahibo, Yanomami, Witotoan, Zaparoan, Tacana, Harakmbet, Arawá and Chapacuran. Discussion in the book also includes, albeit in more cursory fashion, language families spoken in the areas adjacent to Lowland Amazonia: Chibchan, Barbacoan, Choco, and Guaicuruan. The book starts with a potted history of Amazonian peoples and their languages, and the disastrous effects of the European invasion. After a brief discussion of cultural aspects and people's lifestyle, the profile of each major and minor family are outlined. There is then discussion of the unusual patterns of language contact and multilingual interaction. Further chapters discuss the sounds of Amazonian languages; the ways in which they express possession, gender, and time and tense. In many Amazonian languages one needs to always state how one knows things, known as the category of ‘evidentiality’. Amazonian languages are relatively poor in number words, but rich in elaborate speech styles and means of expression. The book offers extensive examples, many from author's own fieldwork in Amazonia.
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199593569
- eISBN:
- 9780191739385
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593569.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
The verb is the centrepiece of most Amazonian languages. The verb is where the complexity lies. We focus on some recurrent meanings expressed in the verb, covering tense, aspect and modality. Many ...
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The verb is the centrepiece of most Amazonian languages. The verb is where the complexity lies. We focus on some recurrent meanings expressed in the verb, covering tense, aspect and modality. Many Amazonian languages have a relatively rare category of frustrative, meaning ‘I did something in vain’. Commands in Amazonian languages combine reference to distance in space and in time, and also politeness. Incorporating a noun or an adposition into the verb contributes to its overall complexity. In many cases, only an obligatorily possessed noun can be incorporated into a verb. Incorporating adverbs and postpositions results in creating new causatives and applicatives. The chapter concludes with a brief overview of how Amazonian languages contribute to our understanding of the typology of incorporation.Less
The verb is the centrepiece of most Amazonian languages. The verb is where the complexity lies. We focus on some recurrent meanings expressed in the verb, covering tense, aspect and modality. Many Amazonian languages have a relatively rare category of frustrative, meaning ‘I did something in vain’. Commands in Amazonian languages combine reference to distance in space and in time, and also politeness. Incorporating a noun or an adposition into the verb contributes to its overall complexity. In many cases, only an obligatorily possessed noun can be incorporated into a verb. Incorporating adverbs and postpositions results in creating new causatives and applicatives. The chapter concludes with a brief overview of how Amazonian languages contribute to our understanding of the typology of incorporation.
