Kanamarí language

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

Not to be confused with Kanamaré language, Panoan Katukína language, or Catuquinarú language.
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
ELP

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

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

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t tʃ k
voiced b d dʒ
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 [k̚].

Vowels
Front Central Back
unroundedrounded
High i iː ɯ ɯː u uː
Low a aː

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

Grammar

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 from.

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
  1. 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, Fernando O. de. 2019. On the etymology of the ethnonym Katukina. Revista Brasileira de Línguas Indígenas (Vol. 2, 1) - 2019.
  4. dos Anjos, Zoraide (2011). Fonologia e Gramática Katukina-Kanamari (PDF) (Ph.D. Dissertation). Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  5. Queixalós, Francesc (2010). "Grammatical relations in Katukina-Kanamari". In Gildea, Spike; Queixalós, Francesc (eds.). Ergativity in Amazonia. pp. 235–284.
  • Queixalós, Francesc 2012. The Katukina-Kanamari antipassive. In: Gilles Authier and Katharina Haude (eds). Ergativity, Valency and Voice. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. (pp. 227–258)
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