Languages of hunter-gatherers and their neighbors

Barasano

Family
Tukanoan
Region
South America
ISO 639-3
bsn
Location
-0.02°, -70.81°
Notes
Features
Basic Vocabulary
Flora Fauna Vocabulary
Cultural Vocabulary
Grammatical Data
Ethnographic Information
Data Sources
Chacon, Thiago. 2014. A Revised Proposal of Proto-Tukanoan Consonants and Tukanoan Family Classification. International Journal of American Linguistics 80.3: 275-322. Gómez-Imbert, Elsa. 1997. Morphologie et phonologie barasana: approche non-linéaire. Saint-Denis: Université Paris VIII. (Doctoral disseration). Huber, R.; Reed, R. 1992. Comparative vocabulary: selected words in indigenous languages of Colombia. Instituto Linguistico de Verano. Jones, Paula & Wendell Jones. 1991. Barasano syntax: Studies in the languages of Colombia 2. Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington Publications in Linguistics 101. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington.


Basic Vocabulary (191)
English Spanish Portuguese Semantic Field Part of Speech Orthographic Form Phonemicized Form Gloss as in Source Etymology Code Proto-Form Proto-Language Loan Source Wanderwort Status Etyma Set Etymology Notes General Notes Source
above encima, arriba acima location See Language page
and y e grammar See Language page
ash ceniza(s) cinzas environment õhã́ õhã́ See Language page
at en, a em, a location -hɨ -hɨ See Language page
back espalda costas body hɨdó-hɨ́á hɨdó-hɨ́á See Language page
bad mal mal quality baise, bɨose; roakɨo-se, roho-se baise, bɨose; roakɨo-se, roho-se See Language page
belly barriga barriga body gɨdá-hóá gɨdá-hóá See Language page
below abajo, debajo abaixo location See Language page
big grande grande quality hai-rihaɨ (E), hai-rihɨ; hai-gɨ (H&R) hai-rihaɨ (E), hai-rihɨ; hai-gɨ (H&R) See Language page
black negro preto colour ~ji-se ~ji-se See Language page
blood sangre sangue body ri ri See Language page
boil/pimple espinilla, granos espinha, borbulha body jĩkɨ̃́ jĩkɨ̃́ See Language page
bone hueso osso body ~goa-ro ~goa-ro See Language page
breast pecho, seno peito body ~ohe-a ~ohe-a See Language page
child niño, niña criança human dakegɨ (m); dakego (f.) dakegɨ (m); dakego (f.) See Language page
cloud nube nuvem environment búé-rí, okó gaseri ('clouds, smoke') búé-rí, okó gaseri ('clouds, smoke') See Language page
cold frío frio quality ɨsa- ɨsa- See Language page
correct/true verdad, de veras verdade quality ríóho ríóho See Language page
day día dia time ~ɨbɨa ~ɨbɨa See Language page
dirty sucio sujo quality ɨe-se, ɨe-ri hai- ɨe-se, ɨe-ri hai- See Language page
dingo/wolf fauna See Language page
dry seco seco quality kara-se kara-se See Language page
dull/blunt sin filo, mocho, desafilado, embotado, romo maçante, desamolado, não afiado quality bɨhá-be-ti bɨhá-be-ti See Language page
dust polvo poeira environment bõdã, sitá, bue-ri bõdã, sitá, bue-ri See Language page
ear oreja orelha body ~gabo-ro ~gabo-ro See Language page
earth/soil tierra terra environment sita sita See Language page
egg huevo ovo fauna ria ria See Language page
eye ojo olho body cahe-a cahe-a See Language page
far lejos longe quality sṍ-hɨ̃́ sṍ-hɨ̃́ See Language page
fat/grease grasa gordura body ɨje ɨje See Language page
father padre, papá pai kinship kakʉ; hak-ɨ, kak-ɨ kakʉ; hak-ɨ, kak-ɨ See Language page
feather pluma pena fauna hoa-ró hoa-ró See Language page
fire fuego fogo environment hea hea See Language page
flower flor flor environment goo-ro goo-ro See Language page
fog niebla, neblina nevoeira, bruma, neblina environment bue-ri bue-ri See Language page
fruit fruta fruta flora riká riká See Language page
good bueno bom quality ~keda-se ~keda-se See Language page
hair (of head) cabello cabelo body hoa-ra hoa-ra See Language page
hand mano mão body ~abo ~abo See Language page
3sg el/ella ele/ela grammar ~i (m.); so, ~so (YM) (f).; ti (n.) ~i (m.); so, ~so (YM) (f).; ti (n.) See Language page
head cabeza cabeça body rihoa (J), rɨhoa (E) rihoa (J), rɨhoa (E) See Language page
heavy pesado pesado quality rɨ̃kɨ̃́-sè rɨ̃kɨ̃́-sè See Language page
how? como como grammar dõ bahi-ro dõ bahi-ro See Language page
1sg yo eu grammar jʉ jʉ For pronouns: include bound/cliticized pronominal forms where significantly different from the free forms See Language page
if si se grammar -habã, -hakẽdẽ -habã, -hakẽdẽ See Language page
in/inside dentro, adentro dentro location hubé-a-hɨ hubé-a-hɨ See Language page
intestines intestinos intestinos body gɨdá-bĩ́sĩ́ gɨdá-bĩ́sĩ́ See Language page
lake lago lago environment ɨtá-bɨkɨ-ra ɨtá-bɨkɨ-ra See Language page
leaf hoja folha environment ~hu-ro ~hu-ro See Language page
left/left hand izquierdo esquerdo location/body gãkṍ-katɨa gãkṍ-katɨa See Language page
leg/foot pierna perna body jĩkɨ̃́ jĩkɨ̃́ See Language page
lightning rayo, relámpago relampago environment bɨhó jabe-se bɨhó jabe-se See Language page
liver hígado figado body ~jebe-reti-ro ~jebe-reti-ro See Language page
long largo comprido, longo quality joa-, joe- joa-, joe- See Language page
louse piollo, piojo piolho fauna gia-bɨ̃ gia-bɨ̃ order Phtiraptera See Language page
man/male hombre homem human ~ɨbɨ ~ɨbɨ See Language page
meat/flesh carne carne fauna ri-ro ri-ro See Language page
moon luna lua environment ~buihu, ~buhihu (YM) ~buihu, ~buhihu (YM) See Language page
mother madre, mamá mãe kinship hak-o, kak-o hak-o, kak-o See Language page
mouth boca boca body rise rise See Language page
name nombre nome human ~wabe ~wabe See Language page
near/close cerca de perto quality tɨ́-aka tɨ́-aka See Language page
nape base del cuello, nuca nuca body See Language page
neck cuello pescoço body ãbɨ̃ã ãbɨ̃ã See Language page
new nuevo novo quality ~baba-se ~baba-se See Language page
night noche noite time ~jabi ~jabi See Language page
no/not no não grammar bãdĩ- bãdĩ- See Language page
nose nariz nariz body ~iguea ~iguea See Language page
old viejo velho quality bɨkɨ (m.); bɨkɨo (f.); bɨkɨa-se (n.) bɨkɨ (m.); bɨkɨo (f.); bɨkɨa-se (n.) See Language page
one uno um number koho- koho- See Language page
other otro outro grammar gãhĩ́, gahe- gãhĩ́, gahe- See Language page
pain/painful/sick dolor, doloroso, enfermo dor, doloroso, doente body See Language page
person/human being persona pessoa human ~basɨ (m.); ~baso (f.) ~basɨ (m.); ~baso (f.) See Language page
rain lluvia chuva environment okó kedí-se okó kedí-se See Language page
red rojo vermelho colour ~sua-se ~sua-se See Language page
right/right hand derecha direita location/body ɾíóho-katɨa ɾíóho-katɨa See Language page
road/path camino caminho manufacture ~ba ~ba See Language page
root raíz raiz flora ~je-ba ~je-ba See Language page
rotten podrido podre quality hogá-se hogá-se See Language page
sand arena areia environment haa haa See Language page
sharp afilado, filudo, filoso afiado quality bɨha-se bɨha-se See Language page
short corto curto quality jee-joa-beti- jee-joa-beti- See Language page
shoulder hombro ombro body riká hɨdó riká hɨdó See Language page
shy/ashamed tímido, vergonzoso timido, com vergonha mental See Language page
skin piel pele body gase-ro gase-ro See Language page
sky cielo céu environment ɨ́bɨ̃-gase-ro ɨ́bɨ̃-gase-ro See Language page
small pequeño pequeno quality ~boho-rihɨ; bõhṍ-gɨ̃(-ãkã) (H&R) ~boho-rihɨ; bõhṍ-gɨ̃(-ãkã) (H&R) See Language page
smoke humo fumaça environment bueri bueri See Language page
star estrella estrela environment ~joko ~joko See Language page
stick/wood palo pau, vara flora jukɨ́ jukɨ́ See Language page
stone piedra pedra environment ~gɨta ~gɨta See Language page
tail cola, rabo rabo body ~hiko-ro ~hiko-ro See Language page
that ese/esa esse grammar ~i (m.); iso (f.) ~i (m.); iso (f.) See Language page
3pl ellos/ellas eles/elas grammar ~ida (mf); ti (n.) ~ida (mf); ti (n.) See Language page
thick grueso, gordo, espeso grosso quality tɨ́bi- tɨ́bi- See Language page
thin delgado fino quality hṍrẽ-sẽ́-ãkã hṍrẽ-sẽ́-ãkã See Language page
this este/esta este grammar ~adi (m.); adio (f.) ~adi (m.); adio (f.) See Language page
2sg xx xx grammar ~bʉ ~bʉ See Language page
throat garganta garganta body See Language page
three tres tres number idía- idía- See Language page
thunder truenos trovão environment bɨ'hó há-se bɨ'hó há-se See Language page
bite morder morder body kũdĩ́- kũdĩ́- See Language page
blow soplar soprar body hutí-, wẽ́ã́-tu- hutí-, wẽ́ã́-tu- See Language page
breathe respirar respirar body See Language page
burn quemar queimar environment soe-, ɨ̃hɨ̃́- soe-, ɨ̃hɨ̃́- See Language page
chew masticar, mascar mastigar body See Language page
climb subir subir motion See Language page
come venir vir motion wadí- wadí- See Language page
cook cocinar cozinhar impact See Language page
count contar contar mental See Language page
cry llorar chorar mental See Language page
cut/hack cortar cortar impact ta- ta- See Language page
die/be dead morir morrer state riha-re riha-re See Language page
dig cavar cavar impact koa- koa- See Language page
dream soñar sonhar mental See Language page
drink beber, tomar beber body idi-re idi-re See Language page
eat comer comer body ba-re ba-re See Language page
fall caer cair motion kedí- kedí- See Language page
fear miedo medo mental gui- gui- See Language page
flow fluir fluir motion See Language page
fly volar voar motion wɨ-re wɨ-re See Language page
grow crecer crescer state See Language page
hear oír ouvir mental ahi-re ahi-re See Language page
hide esconder esconder motion See Language page
hit golpear, pegar bater impact haa- haa- See Language page
hold correr, asegurar, sostener segurar other kɨ́-o-, kɨ-tí kɨ́-o-, kɨ-tí See Language page
kill matar matar impact ~sia-re ~sia-re See Language page
know/be knowledgeable saber, conecer saber, conhecer mental ~basi-re ~basi-re See Language page
laugh reír rir mental See Language page
lie down acostarse, echarse deitar motion hesá-, kãhĩ́- hesá-, kãhĩ́- See Language page
live/be alive vivir viver, morar body See Language page
open/uncover abrir abrir other See Language page
pound/beat machacar, golpear bater impact See Language page
say decir dizer mental ji- ji- See Language page
scratch rascar rasgar impact See Language page
see ver ver mental ~ia-re ~ia-re See Language page
shoot tirar, disparar, balear atirar impact See Language page
sit sentar(se) sentar state hujá- hujá- See Language page
sleep dormir dormir body ~kadi-re ~kadi-re See Language page
sniff/smell olfatear, oler cheirar body wĩdĩ́- wĩdĩ́- primarily transitive See Language page
spit escupir cuspir body See Language page
split partir, dividir rachar, dividir, partir impact háábat-ó-, bohé- háábat-ó-, bohé- See Language page
squeeze estrujar, exprimir espremer impact bihé- bihé- See Language page
stab/pierce apuñalar, acuchillar apunhalar impact hu-, sare- hu-, sare- See Language page
stand estar de pié ficar em pé state rɨ̃gṍ- rɨ̃gṍ- See Language page
steal robar roubar other See Language page
suck chupar chupar body ũ'hṹ-, udí- ũ'hṹ-, udí- See Language page
swell hincharse inchar body bĩhĩ́- bĩhĩ́- See Language page
swim nadar nadar motion baahe-re baahe-re See Language page
think pensar pensar mental tɨ́-o-ɨ̃́ã́-, ji- tɨ́-o-ɨ̃́ã́-, ji- See Language page
throw tirar, lanzar atirar, jogar impact roká-, reá-, kõã- roká-, reá-, kõã- See Language page
tie up/fasten atar, amarrar amarrar impact sia- sia- See Language page
turn girar, volter, torcer virar other may be transitive or intransitive See Language page
vomit vomitar vomitar body bɨ̃́jõ- bɨ̃́jõ- See Language page
walk caminar, andar andar motion wa-re wa-re See Language page
work trabajar trabalhar other See Language page
yawn bostezar bocejar body See Language page
tongue lengua lingua body ~jebe-ro ~jebe-ro See Language page
tooth diente dente body guhi-a guhi-a See Language page
two dos dois number hɨa- hɨa- See Language page
water agua agua environment oko oko See Language page
1pl.incl nosotros (inclusivo) nós (inclusivo) grammar ~badi ~badi no inclusive/exclusive distinction unless noted See Language page
1pl.excl nosotros (exclusivo) nós (exclusivo) grammar jɨa jɨa See Language page
wet mojado molhado quality wea- wea- See Language page
what? que, qué que grammar ~je ~je See Language page
when? cuando quando grammar dṍ kṍ-rõ, di-ka dṍ kṍ-rõ, di-ka See Language page
where? donde onde grammar dõ, di-hɨ, di-ku dõ, di-hɨ, di-ku See Language page
white blanco branco colour boti-se boti-se See Language page
who? quien, quién quem grammar ~jibɨ/~di (m.); ~jibo/diso (f.) ~jibɨ/~di (m.); ~jibo/diso (f.) See Language page
wife esposa esposa kinship bãdãh-o bãdãh-o See Language page
wind viento vento environment bĩdṍ bĩdṍ See Language page
wing ala asa body ké-rɨhɨ ké-rɨhɨ See Language page
woman/female mujer mulher human ~robi-o ~robi-o See Language page
yellow amarillo amarelo colour sɨri-se sɨri-se See Language page
2pl ustedes vocês grammar ~bɨa ~bɨa See Language page
foot pie pé body gɨbo gɨbo See Language page
again de nuevo, otra vez de novo grammar See Language page
all todo todos other jã-hedí-ro jã-hedí-ro See Language page
ankle tobillo tornozelo body See Language page
armpit axila, sobaco axila body See Language page
faeces heces, mierda, excremento, estiércol fezes body See Language page
lung pulmón pulmão body ɨsɨ́ kõã-rĩ-hoa ɨsɨ́ kõã-rĩ-hoa See Language page
sweat sudar suor, suar body See Language page
itch hormiguear, sentir comezón coçar body See Language page
bark corteza casca environment jukɨ-gase jukɨ-gase See Language page
fingernail uña unha body ~abo-gase-ro ~abo-gase-ro See Language page
heart corazón coração body ɨsɨ-a ɨsɨ-a See Language page
sun sol sol time ~buihu, ~buhihu (YM) ~buihu, ~buhihu (YM) See Language page
mountain/hill montaña, colina, loma, cerro morro, serra environment ~gɨtaɨ ~gɨtaɨ See Language page
green verde verde quality ~sɨbe-se ~sɨbe-se See Language page
hot caliente quente quality asi-se asi-se See Language page


Flora Fauna Vocabulary (133)
English Spanish Portuguese Semantic Field Part of Speech Linnean Name Orthographic Form Phonemicized Form Gloss as in Source Etymology Code Proto-Form Proto-Language Loan Source Etymology Notes Wanderwort Status Etyma Set Range of Term Word Structure Word Structure Notes Classifier Classifier Notes Hypernym Source Association with Social Categories Ritual/Mythologically Significant Ritual Notes Food Source Food Notes Medicinal Medicinal Notes How Collected Who Collects How Prepared Psychotropic Psychotropic Notes Traded Trade Notes Distribution Habitat Dangerous Ethnobiology Notes Species Notes General Notes
bat murciélago morcego flora-fauna Chiroptera spp. osó osó See Language page
bird pajaro, ave passaro flora-fauna bɨ̃́di bĩ́dĩ See Language page
curassow mitu, montete (Peru), paujil/panjuil (Peru), paujil de Salvin (Peru for Mitu salvini) mutum flora-fauna Crax sp., Nothocrax sp. rõhĩ́ rõhĩ́ See Language page Amazonia
toucan tucán, pinsha (Peru) tucano flora-fauna Ramphastos sp. rasé rasé See Language page Widespread Amazonia
gray-winged trumpeter Grulla, Trompetero Ala Gris jacamim flora-fauna Psophia crepitans See Language page Northern Amazonia (N of Solimões), not in northern Colombia; Dark-winged trumpeter is found south of Solimões
guan pava, pucacunga (Peru), pava de Spix (Peru) jacu flora-fauna Penelope sp. katá katá See Language page Different types have different localized ranges
tinamou tinamu, perdiz, gallineta inambu, inhambu flora-fauna family Tinamidae See Language page Widespread Amazonia
hummingbird colibrí, picaflor (Peru) beija-flor flora-fauna family Trochilidae bĩbĩ bĩbĩ See Language page Widespread
kingfisher martín pescador, catalan (Peru) martim-pescador flora-fauna family Alcedinidae See Language page Widespread Amazonia
owl (large) búho, lechuza corujão flora-fauna order Strigiformes bɨhɨ́hogo bɨhɨ́hogo See Language page Widespread
macaw ara, guacamaya Arara flora-fauna family Psittacidae; Ara sp. bãhã́ bãhã́ See Language page Widespread Amazonia
parrot loro real, loro (Sp. form is a loan from Carib) papagaio flora-fauna Amazona amazonica wekó wekó See Language page Widespread
dove paloma pomba flora-fauna family Columbidae See Language page
hawk halcón, gavilán gavião flora-fauna family Accipitridae See Language page
vulture buitre, gallinazo, rinahui (Peru) urubu flora-fauna family Cathartidae juká juká See Language page Widespread South America
duck pato pato, marreco flora-fauna Anatidae family See Language page
great egret Garza Blanca, Guyratî Garça-Branca-Grande flora-fauna Ardea alba See Language page Widespread South America
woodpecker pájaro carpintero, carpintero pica-pau flora-fauna family Picidae See Language page Widespread Amazonia
dog (camp, domestic) perro cachorro flora-fauna Canis famililaris yai; eká-ri jáí (H&R) eká-ri jáí See Language page Not native; widespread
dog (wild; bush dog) sachaperro, Perro de Monte, Zorro Vinagre, Guanfando; Zorro Ojizarco, Zorro Negro, Perro de Orejas Corta cachorro-do-mato flora-fauna Speothos venaticus; Atelocynus microtis See Language page Widespread Amazonia
anteater oso hormiguero; tapia pelejo or pelejo chico for Cyclopes didactylus tamanduá flora-fauna Myrmecophaga tridactyla (giant anteater); Cyclopes didactylus (silky anteater) bẽkã́ bɨkó bẽkã́ bɨkó See Language page Widespread Amazonian lowlands
armadillo armadillo, carachupa (Peru), yangunturi (Peru for Giant armadillo) tatu flora-fauna family Dasypodidae; e.g. Priodontes maximus (Giant armadillo), Dasypus novemcinctus, Dasypus kappleri hãbõ, bujó (R95) hãbõ See Language page Widespread in Amazonia
sloth pereza, pelejo (Peru), perezoso (Peru) macaco preguica flora-fauna Choloepus sp., Bradypus sp. See Language page Widespread Amazonia
alligator, black caiman babilla; cachirre jacaré flora-fauna Melanosuchus niger, Caiman schlerops; Paleosuchus sp. hea gɨsó hea gɨsó See Language page Throughout Amazonia Port term reportedly borrowed from Tupi
electric eel anguila eléctrica poraquê flora-fauna Electrophorus electricus See Language page
fish (generic) pez peixe flora-fauna wai wai See Language page
pacu fish palometa, garopita, garopa, curhuara (Peru) pacu flora-fauna Mylossoma sp. See Language page
pirana piraña, caribe piranha flora-fauna subfamily Serrasalmidae bũjṹ bũjṹ See Language page Widespread Amazonia
tigerfish taraira, guabina, huasaco (Peru) traíra flora-fauna Hoplias sp. See Language page Widespread Amazonia
mandi catfish maparate (used in Peru for some types of catfish, including Auchenipterus sp.), cunchi (used in Peru for some types of catfish), bagre (catfish) mandi flora-fauna Auchenipterus sp. See Language page Widespread Amazonia
speckled catfish surubí, pintadillo surubim, sorubim flora-fauna Pseudoplatystoma sp. See Language page Widespread Amazonia
toad sapo sapo flora-fauna order Anura taro taro See Language page
iguana iguana, garipiares (Colombia) camaleão flora-fauna Iguana sp. jua jua See Language page iguana' is reportedly from Arawak iwana
small lizard lagartija calango flora-fauna order Squamata See Language page
stingray (generic) rayas látigo, raya arraia flora-fauna Potamotrygon sp. See Language page
crab cangrejo caranguejo flora-fauna infraorder Brachyura See Language page
anaconda anaconda, boa, boa acuática grande sucuri flora-fauna genus Eunectes hĩdõ hĩdõ See Language page Widespread Amazonia
boa boa; mantona (red-tailed boa); boa de altura jiboia flora-fauna family Boidae, subf. Boinae hĩdõ hĩdõ See Language page
snake (generic) culebra, serpiente cobra flora-fauna ãjã ãjã See Language page
snake (poisonous generic) or rattlesnake víbora (Peru), jergón (Peru), yarara jararaca flora-fauna Bothrops jararaca/atrox eri (rattlesnake) eri (rattlesnake) See Language page Widespread South America
tortoise (red foot, yellow foot/giant) tortuga, morrocoy, motelo jabutí, tartaruga flora-fauna Yellow-footed: Geochelone denticulata; Red-footed: Geochelone carbonaria guu guu See Language page Widespread
Amazon dolphin bufeo, delfín, tonina (del Orinoco) boto cor-de-rosa flora-fauna Inia geoffrensis See Language page Downstream of major rapids and waterfalls
mushroom champiñón, hongo cogumelo flora-fauna (any edible generic) See Language page prioritize generic term that includes any edible species
black palm bacaba, mapora, pusui, patabá bacaba flora-fauna Oenocarpus bacaba See Language page Mature forests of Rio Negro and Upper Amazon may be confused in some entries with O. bataua
açai palm huasí (Peru), asahi, manaca (Ven), asaí, palmiche (Colombia) açaí flora-fauna Euterpe sp. See Language page floodplains, swamp; esp. northern Amazonia
miriti palm moriche (Col, Ven), aguaje (Col, Peru), achual, miriti buriti flora-fauna Mauritia flexuosa See Language page Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela; in and near swamps trunks contain sago-like starch
palm for roof thatch pui, irapay, hoja de irapay, caraná caraná flora-fauna Mauritiella armata OR Lepidocaryum tenue (irapay), Mauritius carana See Language page Mauritia carana is limited principally to the Rio Negro and Upper Orinoco regions; dry catinga forests palm
paxiuba palm pona, huacrapona, cashapona, macanilla, pachiuba paxiuba flora-fauna Iriartea exorrhiza OR Iriartea deltoidea See Language page Widespread Amazonia palm
peach palm, pejibaye palm chontaduro (Col, Ecuador); pipire (Col); pijuayo (Peru), pijiguao (Ven); tembe (Bol) pupunha flora-fauna Bactris gasipaes ~ɨde ~ɨde pupunha palm Chacon 2014: Appendix A
seje palm ungurahui (Peru), palma de seje, milpesos, patabá patoá, patuá flora-fauna Jessenia bataua, aka Oenocarpus bataua See Language page mostly north of Equator; common in Amazonia may be confused with O. bacaba - compare entries
coca coca coca flora-fauna Erythroxylum coca kahí kahí See Language page secondary scrub vegetation. lower alt. of eastern Andes plant
cotton algodón algodão flora-fauna Gossypium (barbadense: long fibers; hirsutum: short fibers) jɨtá jɨtá See Language page secondary scrub vegetation plant; some sources may confound with kapok Ceiba pentandra (esp. if a single gloss for 'cotton' is given')
kapok ceiba, huimba, lupuna (Peru for Ceiba sp.) sumaumeira flora-fauna Ceiba pentandra See Language page northern South America and central America; common in disturbed areas tree
hot pepper ají, pimentón/pimiento rojo, pucunucho (Peru), charapilla (Peru) pimenta flora-fauna Capsicum sp., principally chinensis and frutescens bia bia See Language page secondary scrub vegetation, indigenous garden plant
peanut maní (may be loan from Taino Arawak), cacahuete amendoim flora-fauna Arachis hypogaea See Language page plant
pineapple piña abacaxi flora-fauna Ananas comosus See Language page plant
arrow cane, wildcane caña flecha, caña brava, caña isana cana para flechas, frecheira, Cana-do-rio flora-fauna Gynerium sagittatum jũ'kã́-bĩ́bĩ́ jũ'kã́-bĩ́bĩ́ See Language page tropical regions, especially river banks plant
banana, plantain banano, banana, cambur, bellaco, variedad de plátano banana flora-fauna Musa sp. ohó ohó See Language page Names for banana/plantain may be derived from bastard plantain by semantic shift.
beans frijoles, frejol, caraotas (negras, rojas, blancas) feijão flora-fauna Phaseolus spp. See Language page plant
grass hierba, pasto capim, grama flora-fauna (generic) taa taa See Language page
maize, corn mazorca, maiz milho flora-fauna Zea mays oh'ó-riká oh'ó-riká See Language page widespread, esp. in river floodplains plant
tobacco tabaco tabaco flora-fauna Nicotiana tabacum bɨ̃dṍ bɨ̃dṍ See Language page plant
tree árbol arvore flora-fauna jukɨ jukɨ See Language page
achiote, anatto achiote urucum flora-fauna Bixa orellana bũsã́ bũsã́ See Language page secondary scrub vegetation and indigenous gardens shrub
inga guaba, guamo, guama, shimbillo (Peru) inga flora-fauna Inga spp. See Language page Secondary scrub vegetation and indigenous gardens. North and South America (Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Suriname, Colombia)
avocado palta, aguacate abacate flora-fauna Persea americana See Language page secondary scrub vegetation and indigenous gardens tree
bitterwood tortuga caspi, pretina (Peru for tree and tumpline); carahuasca (Peru) envira flora-fauna Duguetia sp. OR Fusaea longifolia OR Guatteria chrysopetala See Language page secondary forests, native to Brazil tree
brazil nut castaña castanha do para (B. excelsa); castanha de cutia (C. edulis) flora-fauna Bertholletia excelsa [cf. Couepia edulis 'castanha do cutia'] See Language page 1) Couepia: restricted area within Brazil, Rio Purus basin and middle Solimões. 2) Bertholletia: elev: consistently about 200m; mature forests. Widely distributed from Peru, E. Colombia, Brazil to Nicaragua. tree
cashew anarcado, castaña de cajú, nuez de la India, marañon, cajú, merey (Venezuela) caju flora-fauna Anacardium occidentale / giganteum See Language page secondary scrub vegetation and indigenous gardens tree; most sources will not distinguish between occidentale and other varieties
genipap jagua, majagua - Colombia, caruto, xagua - Venezuela, bigrande - Bolivia, huito, yaguayagua - Peru, ygualti - Nicaragua, maluco - Mexico genipapo, jenipapo flora-fauna Genipapa americana See Language page widespread lowland SA shrub
japurá oreja de murcielago japurá flora-fauna Erisma japura See Language page large tree
rubber tree (sorva) caucho, siringa, shiringa seringa, borracha flora-fauna Hevea sp. See Language page Widespread Amazonia tree
ucuqui yugo, caimitillo del monte (Peru) ucuqui flora-fauna Pouteria ucuqui See Language page native to NW Amazonia, found primarily in Vaupes and Caqueta regions other species of Pouteria exist and have much-used edible fruit; these can be subsituted where relevant
Amazon tree-grape uva de monte, uvilla (Peru), puruma, caime, caimarona (and variants; Col.) cucura flora-fauna Pourouma cecropiifolia See Language page grows wild in Western Amazon basin; cultivated in Colombia since pre-Colombian times a tree; not a true grape
manioc (bitter or generic) yuca brava mandioca flora-fauna Manihot esculenta kĩ kĩ See Language page not generally cultivated in western (subAndean) Amazon. Arroyo-Kalin (2010) argues for a correlation with distribution of dark earths, mostly formed after 1AD, and the modeled-incised pottery tradition. Provides more starch and is more pest-resistant than the sweet variety, but requires much processing. Arroyo-Kalin (2010) proposes that bitter type was developed from sweet through post-ceremic agricultural intensification (motivated by high starch yield
manioc (sweet) yuca, caribe macaxeira flora-fauna Manihot esculenta See Language page Primary staple in western/subAndean Amazonia, less important elsewhere No processing required, but lower starch yield and pest resistance than bitter variety
potato papa batata flora-fauna Solanum tuberosum See Language page secondary scrub vegetation compare entries for sweet potato
potato, sweet potato camote, batata dulce, batata, cumara batata-doce flora-fauna Ipomoea batatas jãhĩ́ jãhĩ́ See Language page plant
cará tuber, purple or white camote, sachapapa cará roxo, branco flora-fauna Dioscorea sp. See Language page secondary scrub vegetation; forest clearings plant
tannia, yautia huitina (Peru), ñame taioba branca flora-fauna Xanthosoma spp. jãbṍ jãbṍ See Language page
bottle-gourd (vine) or calabash (tree) calabazo, calabaza; auyama (Dominican Republic and Venezuela), ayote (parts of Central America), zapallo (parts of South America), tutumo/totumo/totuma (Cresc tree), huingo (Peru for Crescentia cujete), tapara cabaça flora-fauna Crescentia cujete (round variety - tree); (Cucurbita) Lagenaria siceraria (bottle variety - vine) koa-ro ('gourd', H&R) koa-ro ('gourd', H&R) See Language page indigenous gardens plant; tree
squash calabaza, calabacines, auyamas, zapallos, huingo (Peru) abóbora flora-fauna Cucurbita sp. See Language page plant
cipó vine tamishi, bejuco, yare cipó flora-fauna Heteropsis spp. See Language page secondary forest, floodplain vine
fish poison, barbasco barbasco, matapez (Colombia) timbó flora-fauna Lonchocarpus spp. See Language page secondary forests and secondary srcrub vegetation shrub/tree
hallucinogenic vine, banisterium, ayahuasca ayahuasca, yage ayahuasca, caapi flora-fauna Banisteriopsis caapi kahí idí-re kahí idí-re See Language page semi-domesticated, native to Amazonian basin, esp. NW vine
hallucinogenic snuff vilca, cebil, yopo paricá, yopo flora-fauna Anadenanthera sp. or virola See Language page
insect (generic) insecto insecto flora-fauna generic See Language page
ant (generic) hormiga formiga flora-fauna Formicidae bẽkã́híá-bɨ̃́ bẽkã́híá-bɨ̃́ See Language page
bullet ant, lesser giant hunter ant conga, hormiga yanabe (Colombia), isula (Peru), Hormiga Veinticuatro tocandira flora-fauna Paraponera clavata See Language page
leaf-cutter ant Colombia: zampopo, hormiga arriera; Venezuela: bachaco; Peru: curuhuinse saúva flora-fauna Atta sp. bẽka; bẽkã́híá-bɨ̃́ bẽka; bẽkã́híá-bɨ̃́ See Language page
honeybee abeja abelha flora-fauna Apis mellifera; Tetragonisca angustula; Trigona amazonensis beroa-bɨ̃ beroa-bɨ̃ See Language page
cockroach cucaracha barata-do-mato flora-fauna order Blattaria See Language page
firefly, lightning bug lampírido, luciérnaga (Peru), añañahui (Peru), cocuyo (attributed Taino origin) vagalume flora-fauna fam: Elateridae, Fengodidae, Lampyridae See Language page
butterfly, moth mariposa borboleta flora-fauna order Lepidoptera See Language page
moth mariposa nocturna, polilla mariposa flora-fauna order Lepidoptera See Language page
angleworm lombriz minhoca flora-fauna order Opisthopora See Language page
centipede ciempiés centopéia flora-fauna class Chilopoda See Language page
scorpion escorpión; alacran escorpião flora-fauna order Scorpiones kotibaha kotibaha See Language page
cicada cigarra, chicharra cigarra flora-fauna super fam. Cicadoidea See Language page
flea pulga pulga flora-fauna order Siphonaptera rɨ̃gṍbẽ́ rɨ̃gṍbẽ́ See Language page
blowfly/housefly mosca mosca flora-fauna Diptera bekó bekó See Language page
cricket saltón, grillo grilo flora-fauna family Gryllidae See Language page
edible palm-dwelling larva (palm weevil) suri, mojojoy larva, broca-do-coqueiro, aramandaiá flora-fauna Rhynchophorus sp. See Language page
praying mantis, stick insects mantis religiosa louva-a-deus flora-fauna order Mantodea, family Mantidae See Language page
mosquito mosquito, zancudo mosquito, carapana flora-fauna Anopheles sp. bɨ̃tẽ́ bɨ̃tẽ́ See Language page
termites, white-ants comején (Peru), termitas cupim flora-fauna order Isoptera butúá-bɨ̃́ butúá-bɨ̃́ See Language page
tick garrapata carrapato flora-fauna superfam Ixodoidea See Language page
wasp avispa; specific type: ronzapa/ronsapa caba flora-fauna order Hymenoptera, sub: Apocrita See Language page
snail caracol, churo (Peru) caracol flora-fauna class Gastropoda sʉ̃hʉ See Language page
spider araña aranha flora-fauna Arachnidae, Araneae bʉhʉ bɨhɨ́ See Language page
jaguar yaguar, yaguareté, jaguar, otorongo (Peru), tigre (Peru) onca flora-fauna Panthera onca bãkãroka jai; macarocayaí (R95) bãkãroka jai See Language page
manatee vaca marina, manatí peixe-boi flora-fauna Trichechus sp. ocójututiro (R95) okóhututiro (R95) See Language page
brown woolly monkey Mono Lanudo Común, Choro, Churucu, mono choro (Peru), mono lanudo cafe, barrigudo de Humboldt macaco barrigudo flora-fauna Lagothrix lagothricha See Language page
howler monkey (red-handed) mono aullador, mono coto (Peru) guariba flora-fauna Alouatta belzebul [or other Alouatta sp.] ugɨ́ ugɨ́ See Language page
tufted capuchin monkey mono negro (Peru), Machín Negro, Maicero Cachón, mono maicero macaco prego flora-fauna Cebus apella gaké gaké See Language page
white-fronted capuchin Machín Blanco, mono blanco, Maicero Cariblanco, mono blanco (Peru) Caiarara flora-fauna Cebus albifrons See Language page
white-fronted spider monkey Machin Blanco, Mono Araña de Vientre Amarillo, maquisapa (Peru), braceadora (Colombia) macaco aranha, coatá, quatá flora-fauna Ateles belzebuth/paniscus wau (spider monkey) wau (spider monkey) See Language page
opossum zarigüeya, rabipelado, zorro, zorrillo mucura flora-fauna family Didelphidae oa (R95) oa (R95) See Language page
giant otter Lobo Grande de Río, nutria gigante, lutria ariranha flora-fauna Pteronura brasiliensis tĩbĩ; majájesaʉ (R95) tĩbĩ See Language page
neotropical otter (small) Nutria, Lobo de Agua, lobito de rio, perro de agua (Colombia) lontra flora-fauna Lontra longicaudis timí (R95) See Language page
collared peccary sajino, pecarí de collar, jabalf, Javelina, Saíno, Pecarí de Collar caititu, caetitu flora-fauna Pecari tajacu, Tayassu tajacu 'kĩ jesé kĩ jesé See Language page
white-lipped peccary Chancho de Monte, Cariblanco, Huangana queixada flora-fauna Tayassu pecari 'hãrã jesé; ciyesé (R95) hãrã jesé See Language page
porcupine puerco espín, erizo (Peru), casha cushillo (Peru) cuandu, porco-espinho flora-fauna family Erethizontidae See Language page
cotamundi, coatimundi Coatí, Tejón, Achuni, zorro guache quati flora-fauna genus Nasua mijísudiro (R95) mihísudiro (R95) See Language page
agouti (black agouti, black-rumped agouti) Guatusa Negra, Añuje, Agutí (black-rumped), picure, jochi colorado cutia flora-fauna Dasyprocta spp. buu buu See Language page
capybara Capibara, Carpincho, Ronsoco capivara flora-fauna Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris 'ria wekɨ́; riayesé (R95) ria wekɨ́ See Language page
green acouchi Guatín, Punchana, curi, picurito rabudo, picurito rabilargo cutiara flora-fauna Myoprocta pratti caim kaim See Language page
paca (lowland) Guanta, Paca, Majaz, majás (Peru), labba (Guyana) paca flora-fauna Cuniculus paca (Agouti paca is sometimes used as well although cuniculus is the correct term.) sẽbẽ; sémé (R95) sẽbẽ See Language page
mouse, rat ratón camundongo, rata flora-fauna Mus musculus bii bii See Language page
squirrel ardilla, danta (Ven) serelepe, quatipuru, esquilo flora-fauna family Sciuridae See Language page
tapir sachavaca, danta anta flora-fauna Tapirus terrestris wekɨ́ wekɨ́ See Language page
deer venado veado, cariacu flora-fauna family Cervidae, esp. Odocoileus virginianus jãbã; namá (R95) jãbã See Language page
horse caballo cavalho flora-fauna Equus caballus See Language page


Cultural Vocabulary (97)
English Spanish Portuguese Semantic Field Part of Speech Orthographic Form Phonemicized Form Gloss as in Source Etymology Code Proto-Form Proto-Language Loan Source Wanderwort Status Etyma Set Etymology Notes Word Structure Word Structure Notes General Notes Source
basket (general) canasta, canasto, cesta cesto culture-material See Language page
basket, small canasta, canasto, cesta cesto pequeno, tampado culture-material See Language page
bead abalorio, mostacilla, cuenta, gota, puca; necklace=collar miçanga culture-material See Language page
bed cama cama culture-material kã́dɨ̃́-hesá-ri-a-ro kã́dɨ̃́-hesá-ri-a-ro See Language page
hammock hamaca, chinchorro rede culture-material hũʉgʉ, hũɨ̃ hũʉgʉ, hũɨ̃ See Language page
bench, seat banco, silla, asiento banco culture-material hujá-ri-a-ro hujá-ri-a-ro See Language page
canoe canoa canoa transport kūbu; kũbũ-ã (H&R) kūbu; kũbũ-ã (H&R) See Language page
drum (large signal) tambor, manguaré, maguaré (Colombia) tambor culture Used to be used by Tukanoan peoples (and others?), sound carried for long distances See Language page
drum tambor tambor culture-mythology generic: 'ha-bɨsi-o-ri-a-huria generic: 'ha-bɨsi-o-ri-a-huria See Language page
shaman, healer chamán, brujo xaman, pajé, feiticeiro culture-mythology kũbũ kũbũ In RN region, there is typically one person per village (if that) who is a full-fledged 'shaman'. He is very much a specialist and has considerable power to cure, as well as power to curse. He is respected and feared. Shamans are thought to turn themselv See Language page
healer curandero benzador, curandeiro, kumu (Tukano) culture-mythology Refers to a lower-level healer; in RN region, most older men in a village have this capacity, and command a repertoire of healing spells. Power is primarily for good, whereas the true shaman is capable of malignant acts as well. See Language page
broom escoba vassoura culture-material See Language page
clothing ropa roupa culture-mythology sudi sudi See Language page
fence, palisade cerco cerca other may be related to defense/warfare? See Language page
firewood leña lenha other hea hea See Language page
Curupira (spirit type) Curupira, Madremonte Curupira culture-mythology malignant forest spirit, covered with long hair, feet turned backward; in Upper Rio Negro region See Language page
ghost (of dead person)/evil spirit espíritu malo, espíritu maligno, fantasma, demonio espirito culture-mythology See Language page
deity/powerful spirit/culture figure dios(es), deidad divinidade, figura mítica culture-mythology In RN region, frequently translates as 'Bone-Son', 'One on the bone', etc. See Language page
flute flauta, quena (Peru) flauta culture-mythology tõro tõro multiple types? japurutu, deer-bone, etc. See Language page
panpipe carrizo, zampoñas, flautas de pan, rondadora caniço, flauta de pã culture-mythology wewo wewo See Language page
hollow log/trough for beer-making canoa para chicha cocho de caxiri narcotics See Language page
ritual song cycle (kapiwaya) kapiwaya capiwaya culture-mythology See Language page
knife cuchillo faca culture-material kṍbẽ́-hãĩ-ãkã kṍbẽ́-hãĩ-ãkã See Language page
machete machete facão culture-material See Language page
axe/stone axe hacha (de piedra) machado (de pedra) subsistence tool kõbẽ-ã́ kõbẽ-ã́ especially for clearing fields See Language page
arrow flecha flecha subsistence tool jéruɨ, jíruɨ jéruɨ, jíruɨ hunting, warfare See Language page
spear lanza lança subsistence tool gãhṍã́ besu-ro gãhṍã́ besu-ro See Language page
bow arco arco subsistence tool tẽbṹ-bedo tẽbṹ-bedo arco See Language page
paddle/oar remo remo transport weá-ri-to weá-ri-to See Language page
plate plato prato culture-material See Language page
pot olla, pote panela, vasilha subsistence tool sotɨ́ sotɨ́ See Language page
basin/bowl tazón, plato hondo, taza tijela culture-material See Language page
griddle for cooking flatbread tiesto (Colombia), budare (Venezuela), tortera (Peru) forno para beiju subsistence tool agriculture? See Language page
rattle matraca, maraca marico, chocalho culture-mythology jãsã́ jãsã́ See Language page
resin resina, brea, copal resina, brea, breu subsistence tool See Language page
wax cera cera other See Language page
honey miel mel food only gathered in wild throughout Amazonia? See Language page
stone for lighting fires piedra para hacer fuego pedra para acender fogo culture-material See Language page
rope/string mecate, cuerda, soga corda culture bĩsĩ-bã́, hũ gɨbo bĩsĩ-bã́, hũ gɨbo See Language page
tattoo tatuaje, tatu tatuagem culture-mythology See Language page
thatch/roof crisneja palha, caraná culture-material See Language page
yurupari, jurupari (or any flutes forbidden to women) yurupari jurupari culture-mythology a ritual complex in various parts of Amazonia involving sacred flutes/trumpets, forbidden to women. See Language page
fetish, charm fetiche, encanto, filtro de amor, pusanga feitiço, puçanga culture-mythology See Language page
feather headdress plumaje, corona de plumas enfeite/capacete de penas culture-mythology See Language page
paint body, body paint pintura corporal pintura corporal culture-mythology See Language page
afterworld, land of dead, Heaven tierra do los muertos terra dos mortos culture-mythology See Language page
school escuela escola acculturation See Language page
bottle botella garrafa acculturation See Language page
paper papel papel acculturation See Language page
dream sueño, soñar sonho, sonhar culture-mythology See Language page
chicken gallina galinha acculturation See Language page
grave tumba, sepultura, sepulcro sepultura, sepulcro, cova culture-mythology See Language page
pipe for tobacco pipa cachimbo other See Language page
sugarcane/sugar azúcar, caña de azúcar açucar (de cana) acculturation See Language page
skirt falda, saya, fustan, pollera saia culture-material See Language page
shoes zapatos sapatos dress See Language page
policeman polícia policía acculturation See Language page
soldier soldado soldado acculturation See Language page
cat gato gato acculturation See Language page
gun arma, escopeta espingarda, fusil acculturation See Language page
hat sombero chapéu dress See Language page
chief/leader jefe, cacique chefe culture-mythology ɨh-ɨ́ ɨh-ɨ́ See Language page
club garrote, cachiporra clava, porrete subsistence tool See Language page
loincloth taparrabos, guayuco, pampanilla tanga, tapa-sexo dress See Language page
fireplace hogar lareira other See Language page
fishing line cordel/cuerda p/ pescar, sedal, tanze linha de pesca subsistence tool See Language page
salt sal sal food bõã bõã See Language page
song (generic) canción, canto canção culture-mythology See Language page
blowgun cerbatana, pucuna (Peru) zarabatana subsistence tool buhú-a buhú-a currently limited to certain groups (favoring h-g orientation, e.g. Nadahup) within RN region See Language page
dart (blowgun) dardo, birote (Peru), bala (Peru) dardo, seta subsistence tool hunting and warfare See Language page
fan abanico abanador, abano subsistence tool esp. for fanning a cooking fire See Language page
fish (with line) anzuelear, pescar con linea pescar (com linha) food See Language page
fish (with fish-poison) pescar con barbasco, barbasquear pescar com timbó; tinguijar food See Language page
hunt cazar caçar food See Language page
game animal caza, animal de caza caça, animal de caça food Interesting correlation to 'fish' in Tukanoan languages See Language page
gourd (dipper/bowl) cucharón, pate (Peru), totomo, totuma, totumo cuia subsistence tool koa-ro ('gourd', H&R) koa-ro ('gourd', H&R) See Language page
grater rallador, rallo ralador, ralo subsistence tool esp. for grating manioc, but can be used for other things as well See Language page
grid of sticks for smoking meat or placing objects (shelf) barbacoa jirau subsistence tool kaca (Chacon14) kaca (Chacon14) See Language page
mortar mortero pilão subsistence tool See Language page
pestle pilón, mano de mortero, mazo, moledor mão de pilão subsistence tool See Language page
fermented drink masato, chicha caxiri, chicha culture idí-re idí-re prioritizes manioc beer where distinction is made See Language page
flour/meal from manioc fariña, mañoco (Venezuela); harina farinha food agriculture See Language page
flat bread, cassava bread pan de yuca, casabe/cazabe beiju food usually manioc; agriculture, but also can be made from certain wild seeds/fruits See Language page
starch (tapioca, other) almidón goma de tapioca food See Language page
tapioca drink, mingau cahuana, caguana mingau food agriculture See Language page
tipiti (manioc squeezer) tipiti, matafrio, sebucán, exprimador, prensa para yuca tipiti food word of Tupi origin; agriculture: specifically for squeezing poison out of manioc See Language page
tripod for washing manioc trípode tripé subsistence tool agriculture See Language page
venom for darts, poison veneno curare subsistence tool hunting, currently is falling out of use in Vaupés region, associated primarily with h-g groups (but this may be recent?) See Language page
woven strainer/sieve colador tejido, cedazo (Peru), cernedor (Peru) peneira, cumatá subsistence tool agriculture? commonly used for sifting dry manioc flour See Language page
bait for fishing cebo, carnada para pescar, empate (Peru) isca subsistence tool can refer to worms; more generic See Language page
fishtrap trampa de peces, trampa matapi, cacuri subsistence tool See Language page
bottom grinding stone manufacture if different word from top grinding stone See Language page
digging stick subsistence tool See Language page
top grinding stone metate, mano; piedra de moler metate, mano manufacture use word for top grinding stone if different from bottom stone See Language page
boomerang/throwing stick (generic) subsistence tool See Language page
spearthrower subsistence tool See Language page
house other wi wi See Language page


Grammatical Data (226)
Category Grammatical Feature Grammatical Feature: Notes Feature Status Grammatical Notes Source Etymology Notes General Notes Phylogenetic Code
Phonology - Segmental Pre-/post-nasalized stops Analysis posits that the stop is the most relevant underlying phoneme. Comment in notes on whether the nasal contour is understood as a phonetic (allophonic) effect, or is phonologically contrastive. yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.14
Phonology - Segmental Glottalized/ejective consonants Phonemic contrast [NOT counting glottal stop/fricative] no Jones & Jones 1991, p.16 Some sentences may optionally occur with a final glottal stop but this phenomenon is regarded as outside of segmental phonology.
Phonology - Segmental Palatalized stops Phonemic contrast no Jones & Jones 1991, p.8-17
Phonology - Segmental Phonemic vowel length Does the language have long and short vowels? no Jones & Jones 1991, p.8-17
Phonology - Segmental Phonemic glottalization/laryngealization of vowels no Jones & Jones 1991, p.8-17
Phonology - Segmental Complex onsets Onset consists of more than one consonant phoneme no The phonological word may consist of from one to nine syllables. Jones & Jones 1991, p.10
Phonology - Segmental No codas *(C)VC [no also equals highly constrained] yes V and CV are the possible syllable patterns Jones & Jones 1991 p.10
Phonology - Segmental Word-final coda required Do all syllables end in a consonant? no (c)v Jones & Jones 1991, p.10
Phonology - Suprasegmental Contrastive tones Note how many contrastive tones yes 2 contrastive tones; High and High-Low. Gomez-Imbert, p.1
Phonology - Suprasegmental Contrastive stress Does stress occur on different syllables with meaning difference? yes Stress is phonemic on the word level, with one primary stress per word. Jones & Jones 1991, p.10
Phonology - Suprasegmental Nasalization property of morpheme or syllable In contrast to nasalization as a property of segments yes Each morpheme is analyzed as either being all nasal or all oral Jones & Jones 1991, p.13
Phonology - Suprasegmental Nasal spreading across some morpheme boundaries Do some affixes or other morphemes take the nasal/oral properties of the root they attach to? yes Nasalization may spread throughout a word, on a morphological basis, generally spreading to the right. Jones & Jones 1991, p.13
Phonology - Suprasegmental Vowel harmony no Jones & Jones 1991, p.8-9
Morphology - General Verbal fusion (2+ categories marked by portmanteau morphemes on verb) Verb combines two or more categories (tense, aspect, mood, person, number, etc.) in portmanteau morphemes{ [ignore proclitics unless they are fused with values other than person/number] yes Verbal suffixes express emphasis, direction of movement, causation, benefaction, negation, contraexpection, aspect, tense-mood, and person-number. Jones & Jones 1991, p.5
Morphology - General Inflection manifested by replacement of segmental or suprasegmental phonemes Stem change, tone no Jones & Jones 1991, p.45,101
Morphology - General Verbal synthesis (1+ inflectional categories marked by verbal affixes) Morphological complexity in verbs - multiple inflectional affixes in a single verb word yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.5,45 The verb morphology is quite extensive.
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: strongly prefixing There are many more prefixes than suffixes no Jones & Jones 1991, p.5
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: strongly suffixing There are many more suffixes than prefixes yes Affixation in Barasano consists of suffixes only. Jones & Jones 1991, p.5
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: roughly equal or one weakly preferred The numbers of suffixes and prefixes are not notably different no Jones & Jones 1991, p.5
Morphology - General Reduplication: full The full morpheme is reduplicated no Jones & Jones 1991, p.41-47
Morphology - General Reduplication: partial Only part of the morpheme is reduplicated no Jones & Jones 1991, p.41-47
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Productive NN compounding Noun compounds created from two noun phrases are common and systematically produced yes Compound nouns are rare. In the few that occur, the first noun attributes characteristics or properties and the second provides the reference. Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Productive VV serialization (without compounding) Verb roots can be combined in a single predicate without markers of subordination (distinct from subordinating construction) or distinct inflection no Jones & Jones 1991, p.45
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Productive VV compounding Serial verb constructions involve chaining of roots together in one morphophonological word yes Compound verbs are formed by a combination of two roots with the second one being inflected. Jones & Jones 1991, p.45
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Verb-adjunct (aka light verb) constructions There is a set of semantically weak verbs used in complex verbal constructions, e.g. 'take a nap' no Jones & Jones 1991, p.37
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Auxiliary verb(s) There are verbs that accompany main verbs of clauses and take grammatical marking not expressed by main verbs yes Barsano has 3 auxiliaries: ya, yi, yã Jones & Jones 1991, p.37-38 ya 'to do, say, think' is used for Progressive aspect, yi 'to do, say, think' is used with any distance in space/time, yã 'to be' is Durative.
Morphology - Incorporation Incorporation of nouns into verbs is a productive intransitivizing process Verb contains nominal segment no Jones & Jones 1991, p.25 Barasano has only one verb with an incorporated object that does not occur with marked objects and is considered to be instransitive.
Morphology - Incorporation Productive incorporation of other elements (adjectives, locatives, etc.) into verbs Like noun incorporation, but incorporated elements are not nouns yes Barasano is a verb-adjective language Jones & Jones 1991, p.63
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Noun classes/genders Nouns are organized into sets with distinct morphological treatment; usually affects all nouns and involves agreement within the NP yes Nouns in Barasano fill the roles of subject, object, benefactive, location, time, manner, and instrument. Jones & Jones 1991, p.19
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Number of noun classes/genders Note the (approximate) total number of noun classes/genders 8 They are divided into eight classes with the most basic division being animate vs. inanimate. Jones & Jones 1991, p.19
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Noun classifiers (distinct from noun classes/genders) Nouns are organized into sets, but only a limited set of nouns may be implicated, with no or limited agreement marking. If only numeral classifiers exist, indicate yes but explain. yes Barasano has an extensive system of noun classifiers, which provide concordance within the noun phrase, and are used to form referring expressions that head noun phrases. Jones & Jones 1991, p.49 11 Major categories of Barasano classifiers; Shape, masses, designs, botanical, disassociated parts, geographical, manner-formed, abstract, associative, general, residue. Shape is the major feature and comprises the largest category.
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Sex is a relevant category in noun class(ification) system for animates Masculine, feminine, neuter yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.20
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Sex is a relevant category in noun class(ification) system for inanimates no Jones & Jones 1991, p.19-21
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Animacy (w/o reference to sex) is a relevant category in the noun class(ification) system Animate/inanimate, human/non-human yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.19
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Sex/gender distinction only in 3rd person pronouns add in notes section whether gender is present in other PNs or not in any PNs; consider with reference to pronouns and person marking only yes In the third person singular there is an animate/inanimate distinction as well as separate forms for masculine and feminine. Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Shape is a relevant category in the noun class(ification) system for animates no Jones & Jones 1991, p.50-51
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Shape is a relevant category in the noun class(ification) system for inanimates yes Shape is the major feature and comprises the largest category. Jones & Jones 1991, p.50
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification "Repeater" classifiers Where no distinct classifier exists, a copy of the noun itself may function in the morphosyntactic classifier "slot" no Jones & Jones 1991, p.49-58
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Numeral classifiers (specific to numerals) Special classifier forms that occur only with numerals no Jones & Jones 1991, p.59 Numerals occur with suffixes which generally refer to an implicit head.
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Classifiers used as derivational suffixes to derive nouns Verb + classifier = 'thing for doing V, thing that does V, etc.' yes Verbs may also have derivational suffixes which form nouns or adverbs. Jones & Jones 1991, p.5
Nominal Categories - Number Singular number may be marked on the noun Often occurs in a small subset of nouns if a single entity is referred to, e.g. insects that normally occur in groups yes Nouns which refer to collections are inherently plural and require a singularizing suffix to refer to a single member. Jones & Jones 1991, p.20
Nominal Categories - Number Plural affix on noun yes Nouns may be pluralized in various ways: the prototypical marker for animate nouns is -a (plural, animate) and the pluralizer for nearly all inanimate nouns is -ri (plural, inan.) Jones & Jones 1991, p.20
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked by stem change or tone on noun no Jones & Jones 1991, p.20-21
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked by reduplication of noun no Jones & Jones 1991, p.19-21
Nominal Categories - Number Plural word/clitic yes In cases where quantifiers modify nouns; hãrã 'many' precedes animates and hairo 'many' precedes inanimates. Jones & Jones 1991, p.58-59
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked on human or animate nouns only no Jones & Jones 1991, p.20-21
Nominal Categories - Number Pronominal plural: stem + nominal plural affix Pronouns use a nominal plural affix not specific to pronouns no Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Nominal Categories - Number Unique associative plural marker e.g. 'John and his associates', 'John and them' no Jones & Jones 1991, p.20 Barasano uses the noun bẽsa (animate group) to refer to 'and those with him'.
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Definite or specific articles Definite = particular referent known to both speaker and addressee; specific = particular referent known to speaker only no Jones & Jones 1991, p.4
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Marker of definiteness distinct from demonstratives Focus on articles/markers whose primary function is to mark definiteness no Jones & Jones 1991, p.32
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Indefinite or non-specific article or marker yes There are three general classifiers frequently used to form new expressions for foreign objects. i.e. 'thing' Jones & Jones 1991, p.56
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Inclusive/exclusive: in free pronominals Inclusive =us + you, exclusive = us but not you yes Barasano has personal pronouns that distinuish between first person plural inclusive and exclusive. Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Inclusive/exclusive: in verbal inflection (bound) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.37
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Distance contrasts in demonstratives (number) Note the number of distances in the demonstrative system 3 The pronouns for animate referents distinguish two degrees of distance- proximate and distal; those for inanimate have an additional medial degree of distance. Jones & Jones 1991, p.32
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Other contrasts in demonstratives (visibility, elevation, etc.) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.32-33
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 3sg pronouns yes In the third person singular there is an animate/inanimate distinction as well as separate forms for masculine and feminine. Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 3pl pronouns no Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 1st and/or 2nd person pronouns no Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Formal/informal distinction in pronouns Polite pronominal variants or differential avoidance of pronouns no Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Reflexive pronouns e.g. English 'himself', Spanish 'se'; distinct form(s) from basic (non-reflexive) pronominals; distinct from reflexive verbal affix yes Reflexive pronouns are formed by adding bãsu 'self' to the personal pronouns Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Adpositions mark core NPs Prepositions or postpositions mark subjects, objects, beneficiaries/recipients yes Barasano uses only postpositions in adpositional phrases. Jones & Jones 1991, p.3
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: number of cases Note the number of grammatical relations that may be morphologically marked on the noun 6 4 morphemes which mark case: -re occurs on NP in the roles of object, experiencer, benefactee, and manner; rãka occurs on noun phrases of accompaniment and instrument; -hu marks locations or times; and ya marks the genitive. Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: only non-core arguments morphologically marked Subjects, objects, beneficiaries/recipients NOT marked, but other grammatical relations are no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: symmetrical All NPs marked if in appropriate syntactic relation; no distinction in marking based on semantics (type of entity) yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: asymmetrical Semantically defined subset of NPs marked for case, e.g. animates no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: suffix or postpositional clitic yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: prefix or prepositional clitic no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: infix or inpositional clitic no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: stem change no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: tone no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: comitative = instrumental Same marking for 'with a person' and 'with an instrument' yes The postposition rãka 'with' indicates coparticipation and instrument. Jones & Jones 1991, p.68-69
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-2 At least some part of the system involves base-2 no Jones & Jones 1991, p.60 hua 'two' is rarely marked as plural
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-5 At least some part of the system involves base-5 yes The Barasana count by fingers and toes, and eventually by people. Jones & Jones 1991, p.36 koho-bõ-kõ-ro(one-hand-count-NOM)
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-10 At least some part of the system involves base-10 no Jones & Jones 1991, p.59-60
Nominal Categories - Numerals Other base (specify) 4, 20, etc. yes The word for twenty is 'one human count'. Jones & Jones 1991, p.36
Nominal Categories - Numerals Etymological transparency in any numerals under 5 e.g. two = 'eye-quantity' no The word for 'five' is koho-bõ-kõ-rõ (one-hand-count-NOM) Jones & Jones 1991, p.36
Nominal Categories - Numerals Numerals do not go above 5 'Many' or some other non-exact term used yes They normally count up to five and beyond that would use 'many'. Jones & Jones 1991, p.36
Nominal Categories - Numerals Numerals do not go above 10 'Many' or some other non-exact term used no
Nominal Categories - Other nominal Tense or aspect inflection on non-verbal predicates i.e. nominal or adjectival yes Deverbal nouns are generally formed by a verb root plus tense marker plus a nominalizer suffix. Jones & Jones 1991, p.42
Nominal Categories - Other nominal Person inflection on non-verbal predicates i.e. nominal or adjectival yes The nominalizer suffix may simply be the regular gender-number suffix for nouns or a combined form of gender, number, animacy, and time and space. Jones & Jones 1991, p.42
Nominal Syntax - Possession Pronominal possessive affixes: prefix on N alienable/inalienable? no Barasano uses the case marker ya (genitive) to express ownership. Jones & Jones 1991, p.61 The genitive ya occurs with a suffix to indicate the possessed.
Nominal Syntax - Possession Pronominal possessive affixes: suffix on N alienable/inalienable? no Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Nominal Syntax - Possession Head/dependent marking in possessive NP: dependent e.g. 'the boy-'s dog' no Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Nominal Syntax - Possession Head/dependent marking in possessive NP: head e.g. 'the boy his-dog' yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.61-62
Nominal Syntax - Possession Possessive classifiers There are special classifiers that occur with possessed entities no Jones & Jones 1991, p.62 For inanimate possessed elements, a classifier suffix is used. The possessor is generally a personal pronoun. The phrases so formed refer back to some previously-mentioned animate, possessed beings
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Morphological marking of inalienable possession Where inalienable possession differs from alienable, the former takes a morphological marker (may include an associated free particle/pronoun) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Morphological marking of alienable possession Where inalienable possession differs from alienable, the latter takes a morphological marker (may include an associated free particle/pronoun) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Default marker for inalienably possessed nouns if unpossessed An inalienable noun that is in an unpossessed state must have a derivational affix or associated form no Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Inalienable possession of kin terms 'my-father' but *father yes Kinship terms are obligatorily preceded by a noun or pronoun which refers to the person so related and which directly precedes the kinship term. Jones & Jones 1991, p.61 Kinship terms are obligatorily preceded by a noun or pronoun which regers to the person so related and which directly precedes the kinship term.
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Inalienable possession of body parts (human/animal) 'my-leg' but *leg no To indicate the possession of body parts, a noun or pronoun is directly followed by the term for the body part. Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Generic human nouns are obligatorily bound/possessed Human nouns must co-occur with another noun (e.g. Hup-man, NonIndian-woman, but *man) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.5 In referring to animates, ya (genitive) is followed by gender-number markers.
Nominal Syntax - Adjectives Underived adjectives There are underived adjectives which do not have counterparts in other word classes no Barasano is a verb-adjective language, which is to say that there is a single set of roots which may take either regular verbal inflection and serve as predicates or may take nom, part., and classifiers and serve as modifiers in NP. Jones & Jones 1991, p.63
Nominal Syntax - Adjectives Gender inflection on adjectives within the NP There is gender agreement/concord (animate/inanimate or masc/fem, etc.) within the NP, e.g. la casa blanca, el perro blanco yes A descriptive noun phrase is formed by a stative verb followed by a gender-number marker or nominalizer. Jones & Jones 1991, p.63 or a participle and a classifier or, for humans, the word bãs- 'human' plus gender-number marker.
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: action/state (arrive/arrival) There is a morpheme which derives an event from a verb no Jones & Jones 1991, p.45
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: agentive (sing/singer) There is a morpheme which derives an agent or subject from a verb yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.42-43
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: object (sing/song) There is a morpheme which derives a patient or object from a verb no Jones & Jones 1991, p.21
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive verbalizing morphology There is a morpheme which derives a verb from a noun or adjective no Jones & Jones 1991, p.63
Nominal Syntax - Other NP coordination and comitative phrases marked differently 'John and Mary went to market' is marked differently from 'John went to market with Mary' no Jones & Jones 1991, p.68
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Dedicated past marker(s) Past tense is regularly morphologically marked on the verb or elsewhere yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.85
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Multiple past tenses, distinguishing distance from time of reference e.g. distant vs. recent past yes There are three basic past tenses for realis events: immediate & far past, and inferred. Jones & Jones 1991, p.85
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Multiple future tenses, distinguishing distance from time of reference e.g. imminent vs. distant future yes Third person imperatives are divided into near-future and distant-future tenses. Jones & Jones 1991, p.78-82 Proximate and nonproximate markers are only found in first- and third-person imperatives.
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Dedicated future or non-past marker(s) yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.73-92
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: prefix no Jones & Jones 1991, p.82,92
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: suffix yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.82-92 Affixation in Barasano consists of suffixes only.
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: tone or ablaut no Jones & Jones 1991, p.82-92
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect suppletion no Jones & Jones 1991, p.82-92
Verbal Categories - Mood Dedicated imperative morpheme or verb form There is a special morpheme (or morphemes, or a bare verb root where inflection is normally expected) used to signal imperative (command) mood no There are first-, second-, and third-person imperatives in which various features of distance in time and space are distinguished. Jones & Jones 1991, p.75
Verbal Categories - Mood Polite imperative morpheme There is a distinct morpheme for polite imperative constructions (specify if it has other functions in the language) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.75-82 epps - an event that has beginning and end point. Not ongoing so "go get water" is not as a command but something that already is completed
Verbal Categories - Mood Difference between negation in imperative (prohibitive) and declarative clauses There are different strategies for marking negation in imperative and declarative clauses no Negation of imperatives is for the most part regular. Jones & Jones 1991, p.126
Verbal Categories - Mood Dedicated hortative morpheme or verb form (1pl or 3rd person imperative) as opposed to imperative; the person in control of desired state of affairs is not the addressee; ex: 'Let's sing' / 'Let him sing' yes The present plural imperative construction may employ verbs of boh motion and nonmotion to express hortatory commands by the use of -to (second person imperative.) Jones & Jones 1991, p.79-80
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: affix on verb Inflectional marking of capacity to do something no Jones & Jones 1991, p.92-100
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: verbal construction no Jones & Jones 1991, p.92-100
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: other marking no Jones & Jones 1991, p.92-100
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: affix on verb Modal expressing hypothesis yes Anticipatory aspect is used to explain an event by means of the action or state anticipated as the resultant event. Jones & Jones 1991, p.97-98
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: verbal construction no Jones & Jones 1991, p.97-98
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: other marking no Jones & Jones 1991, p.97-98
Verbal Categories - Mood Marking of expected/unexpected action or result There is inflectional marking of expected/unexpected yes The aspect of fulfillment expressed by -koã includes both completive aspect as well as the idea of fulfillment of an expectation. Contraexpectation is expressed by -boa. Jones & Jones 1991, p.92-94,104 The fulfillment may be the expectation or the opposite of the expectation, depending on the context. The opposite is determined pragmatically and not marked. (or by contraexp.)
Verbal Categories - Mood Verbal frustrative Modal expressing frustration ("in vain") no Jones & Jones 1991, p.91 The tenses of conjecture with -boo (subjunctive) to express the subj. mood, i.e., that which would have occurred but did not for some reason.
Verbal Categories - Mood Verbal habitual Modal expressing habituality yes Habitual aspect is indicated by -rũgu (habitual) before the tense-evidential and subject-agreement inflection markers. Jones & Jones 1991, p.98
Verbal Categories - Mood Apprehensive construction There is a single morpheme or verb form to mean '(be careful lest) X happens' yes The tense evidentials of avoidance is marked by -ro. Jones & Jones 1991, p.88
Verbal Categories - Mood Reality status marking on verbs There are dedicated morpheme(s) for realis/irrealis 'actualized/unactualized events' yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.83,88
Verbal Categories - Mood Affect markers (positive/negative) Note whether these inflectional markers are positive or negative no Jones & Jones 1991, p.92-105
Verbal Categories - Directionals Directional elements affixed to the verb There are grammaticalized elements indicating movement away, toward, there and back, etc. yes The second nominalizer used in anticipatory aspect indicates direction of the motion. Jones & Jones 1991, p.97-98
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized visual Indicates information has been witnessed visually - indicate only if an overt marker yes The present nonproximate indicates that the speaker views participant(s) of the event to which he is referring as visible yet removed from himself. Jones & Jones 1991, p.83-84 The suffix -ha is also a present nonproximate.
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized nonvisual Indicates information has been sensed firsthand but not visually (usually heard; also smelled, tasted, felt) yes when the speaker hears what he is referring to, but does not see it, -ro 'heard' is used in place of any other present indicator. Jones & Jones 1991, p.85 To indicate that the information given was heard in tenses other than present, the verb root ruyu 'to be manifested' is used.
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized inferential Indicates information has not been experienced firsthand, but inferred from some kind of evidence - indicate only if an overt marker. yes The inferred past tense is used to mark a past event which the speaker infers on the basis of current evidence. Direct evidence Jones & Jones 1991, p.87
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized reportive Indicates speaker is not responsible for veracity of statement, merely reporting; 'allegedly' yes This tense is indicated by -yu 'inferred' preceding the gender-number markers. Evidence based on what another has told them, indirect/reportative. Jones & Jones 1991, p.87
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized quotative Indicate presence of adjacent representation of repeated discourse no Jones & Jones 1991, p.28 Direct quotes are the complements of ya/yi 'to do, say think'
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Other evidential Any other evidential values not represented above no Jones & Jones 1991, p.83-88
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: verb affix or clitic yes The simplest form of the realis tenses is a verb stem with a tense-evidential marker followed by a suffix for gender and number. Jones & Jones 1991, p.83
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: part of tense system Includes portmanteau morphs no Jones & Jones 1991, p.83
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: separate particle no Jones & Jones 1991, p.83
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: modal morpheme no Jones & Jones 1991, p.83
Verbal Categories - Verbal number Verbal number suppletion no Jones & Jones 1991, p.83
Verbal Categories - Other Social interaction markers Note the type of interaction no Jones & Jones 1991, p.83-88
Word Order No fixed basic constituent order no Regarding word order, the subject is sentence initial when first introduced or in special focus and is sentence final elsewhere. Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Word Order VS in intransitive clauses Verb precedes subject yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.108 The subject occurs before the verb only when it is in special focus or in a fozen constuction.
Word Order VS in transitive clauses yes The subject need not be explicit other than to be indicated by the person and number marking on the main verb. Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Word Order VO in transitive clauses Verb precedes object no Trans. Clauses do not necessarily require an explicit direct object or subject. Jones & Jones 1991, p.108 when the direct object is explicit, it precedes the verb.
Word Order OS in transitive clauses Object precedes subject yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Word Order Preposition-Noun no Jones & Jones 1991, p.63
Word Order Noun-Postposition or case suffix yes Postpositions occur following noun phrases. They head the noun phrase and bear the phrase's case markers. Jones & Jones 1991, p.63
Word Order Gen-Noun Possessive phrase composed of a free possessor and its possessum has possessor first (e.g. John's book) yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Word Order Noun-Gen Possessive phrase composed of a free possessor and its possessum has possessum first (e.g. 'book of John') no Jones & Jones 1991, p.61
Word Order Adj-Noun Adjective precedes the noun yes The descriptive modifier generally precedes the head noun in the noun phrase. Jones & Jones 1991, p.4
Word Order Noun-Adj Adjective follows the noun no Jones & Jones 1991, p.63 Barasano is a verb-adjective language, which is to say that there is a single set of roots which may take either regular verbal inflection and serve as predicates, or may take nominalizers/participials/classifiers and serve as modifiers in noun phrases.
Word Order Dem-Noun yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.32
Word Order Noun-Dem no Jones & Jones 1991, p.32
Word Order Num-Noun yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.59 When they occur with the head noun, they may precede or follow it. (Numerals normally occur with suffixes which generally refer to an implicit head.)
Word Order Noun-Num yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.59 When they follow it, we contend that the head noun is topicalized or in some type of special focus.
Word Order Noun-Rel Relative clause follows noun that it modifies no Jones & Jones 1991, p.149 There seem to be no relative clauses in Barasano just as there are no relative pronouns.
Word Order Rel-Noun Relative clause precedes noun that it modifies no There seem to be no relative clauses in Barasano just as there are no relative pronouns. Jones & Jones 1991, p.149
Word Order Re<Noun>l (internally headed relative) e.g. 'the dog cat chased-NMZR got away' ('the cat that the dog chased got away') no Jones & Jones 1991, p.149
Word Order Relative clause is correlative or adjoined e.g. 'what is running, the dog chased that cat' no Jones & Jones 1991, p.149
Word Order Question word is clause initial 'what', 'who', etc. come first in interrogative clause yes Question-word questions begin with an interrogative pronoun. Jones & Jones 1991, p.120
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: nominative-accusative w/ marked accusative Objects of transitive clauses ('P') have a unique marker, while subjects of transitive ('A') and intransitive ('S') clauses are unmarked or share a different marker from that occurring on objects yes The subject in Barasano bears no case marking whereas the object is generally marked when it is definite. Jones & Jones 1991, p.65 Barasano is a nominative-accusative language.
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: nominative-accusative w/ marked nominative Subjects of transitive and intransitive clauses share a marker, while objects of transitives are unmarked no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: ergative-absolutive Subjects of intransitive clauses and objects of transitives share a unique marker, while subjects of transitive clauses are unmarked or have a different marker no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: tripartite Intransitive subjects, transitive subjects, and transitive objects all receive distinct case markers no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: active-inactive Subjects of intransitive clauses are treated two different ways: like subjects of transitives if they are more agent-like (e.g. he jumped), and like objects of transitives if they are more patient-like (e.g. he fell asleep) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: marked accusative yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: marked nominative no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: ergative-absolutive yes, no, mixed, other no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: tripartite no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: active-inactive no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: nominative-accusative Same as above, for pronominal affixes/clitics on verbs yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: ergative-absolutive yes, no, mixed, other no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: active-inactive no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: hierarchical Marking of A and P depends on their relative ranking on a hierarchy (usually 1>2>3 or 2>1>3) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: split More than one of the above systems is represented in person marking, depending on e.g. person (e.g. 1/2 vs. 3), tense-aspect value, main vs. subordinate clause type, etc. no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: pronouns in subject position Pronominal subjects are free pronouns that occur in the same position as full NP subjects yes A personal pronoun is very often a noun phrase in the subject position and is used in the noun phrase to enhance definiteness. Jones & Jones 1991, p.31
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: prefixes on verb Pronominal subjects are marked as verbal prefixes (free pronouns may be another option) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: suffixes on verb Pronominal subjects are marked as verbal suffixes (free pronouns may be another option) yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: clitics on variable host Pronominal subjects are clitics that can attach to verbs, nominal constituents, etc. no Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: pronouns in non-subject position Pronominal subjects are free pronouns but do not normally occur in the position expected for full NP subjects no Jones & Jones 1991, p.108 The subject occurs before the verb when it is in special focus.
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person marking on intransitive verbs Intransitive verbs take person-marking clitics/affixes yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person marking (of agents) on transitive verbs Transitive verbs take subject (A) markers yes The subject need not be explicit other than to be indicated by the person and number marking on the verb. Jones & Jones 1991, p.108 Transitive clauses consist of an obligatory transitive verb but do not necessarily require an explicit direct object or subject.
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person-marking (of objects) on transitive verbs Transitive verbs take object (P) markers no Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking 3rd person zero in verbal person marking: subjects 3rd person subjects are not overtly marked within the verbal person-marking system no Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking 3rd person zero in verbal person marking: objects 3rd person objects are not overtly marked within the verbal person-marking system no Jones & Jones 1991, p.108
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Number can be marked separately from person on the verb Verbal person marking exists, but number is (or can) be marked separately no Jones & Jones 1991,p.107-111
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Possessive affixes/clitics on nouns are same as verbal person markers Where nouns take possessive affixes, these are the same as the person-marking affixes no Jones & Jones 1991, p.111 Numerous possessive markings.
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Gender distinguished in verbal person markers For any person, verbal person markers exhibit different forms depending on the gender (masc/fem, animate/inanimate, etc.) of the referent yes Jones & Jones 1991,p.108-109
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice Ditransitive constructions: indirect object In ditransitives (e.g. 'John gives a book to Bill'), the theme (book) is treated in the same way as are objects of transitives, while the recipient/beneficiary (Bill) is treated differently yes Either the recipient or the patient object may occur depending on which is more in focus. Jones & Jones 1991, p.109
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice Ditransitive constructions: double object In ditransitives (e.g. 'John gives Bill a book'), both the theme (book) and the recipient/beneficiary (Bill) is treated in the same way as are objects of transitives no Jones & Jones 1991, p.67 Causative forms of transitive verbs have two objects, both marked with -re
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice Ditransitive constructions: secondary object In ditransitives, the recipient/beneficiary is treated in the same way as are objects of transitives, while the theme (book) is treated differently no Jones & Jones 1991, p.109
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Reciprocal: dedicated morpheme Verb becomes reciprocal through use of reciprocal morpheme associated with the verb (may be attached to the verb root). This morpheme is only used to mean reciprocal. no Jones & Jones 1991,p.107-111
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Reflexive: dedicated morpheme Verb becomes reflexive through use of reflexive morpheme associated with the verb (may be attached to the verb root). This morpheme is used only to mean reflexive. no The second syllable may indicate whether or not a transitive verb is directed toward the agent (reflexive) or elsewhere. Jones & Jones 1991,p.46
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Reciprocal/reflexive: same morpheme Verb becomes reciprocal or reflexive through use of a morpheme that means either reciprocal or reflexive which attaches to the root of the verb no Jones & Jones 1991,p.107-111
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Passive Passive voice usually involves a change to the verb, while the object of the active voice verb is promoted to subject in the passive voice, and the former subject is deleted/demoted no Jones & Jones 1991, p.94
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Antipassive Like passive, but deletes or demotes the object of a transitive verb; usually found in ergative languages no Jones & Jones 1991, p.65-72
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Other intransitivizing morphology There is/are some other mechanism(s) for reducing valency yes The suffix -ya/-sa 'stative', may also indicate intransitivity. Jones & Jones 1991, p.45
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Applicative: benefactive Applicative adds a beneficiary/maleficiary object argument to the verb yes -re marks the benefactee/malfactee of a verb to which -bosa (benefactive) has been suffixed. Jones & Jones 1991, p.68
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Applicative: other Applicative adds some other object argument to the verb no Jones & Jones 1991, p.68
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: prefix Causative is morphological and is attached before the root of the verb no Jones & Jones 1991, p.101
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: suffix Causative is morphological and is attached after the root of the verb yes Barasano forms morphological causatives by affixing -o to the verb root. Jones & Jones 1991, p.101
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative marked by circumfix, stem change, or tone Morphological causative other than simple prefix/suffix no Jones & Jones 1991, p.101 Barasano also has lexical causative verbs derived historically from morphological causatives.
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: serial verb or analytical construction Causative construction that involves periphrasis or serialization yes Jones & Jones 1991,p.102 The verb eka, with a causative suffix, may be preceded by various other verb roots to signify 'to cause to receive'.
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: dedicated 'make do by proxy' Indicates that the causer does not directly cause the action of the verb to be realized, but does so by inducing someone else to carry out the action, e.g. 'John had the house painted.' no Jones & Jones 1991,p.101-103
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: dedicated sociative Indicates that causer participates in event no Jones & Jones 1991,p.101-103
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Other transitivizing morphology (adds valence) There is/are some other mechanism(s) for increasing valency no
Simple Clauses - Negation Clausal negator is a preposed element Clausal negator is a preposed element no Jones & Jones 1991, p.125
Simple Clauses - Negation Clausal negator is a postposed element Clausal negator is a postposed element yes The suffix -beti is used to express standard negation. Jones & Jones 1991, p.125 A shortened form, -be, occurs also.
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: affix Negatives: affix yes Jones & Jones 1991, p.125
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: particle Negatives: particle yes Negative particles bẽhe (J) / bẽ (E) follows nouns, pronouns, postpositional phrases, adjectives, and adverbs. Jones & Jones 1991, p.128 It always occurs somewhere before the verb. The scope of negation is limited to the item which it follows.
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: auxiliary verb Negatives: auxiliary verb yes The negative verb bã is also used to negate nominalizations, as well as sentences, in which there is no explicit subject. Jones & Jones 1991, p.127 The negative verb bã is also used to negate nominalizations, as well as sentences, in which there is no explicit subject.
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: double Standard (non-emphatic) negation typically requires two morphemes, e.g. French 'ne V pas' no Jones & Jones 1991, p.125
Simple Clauses - Negation Distinct negative form for 'NP does not exist' no Jones & Jones 1991, p.127
Simple Clauses - Negation Distinct negative expression 'I don't know' Lexical expression or highly idiomatic phrase no Jones & Jones 1991, p.125-132
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: interrogative particle Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by interrogative particle yes The question markers are -ri, -hari, -di, -ti, one of which occurs on the main verb in both yes-no questions and question-word questions. Jones & Jones 1991, p.115
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: verb morphology Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by interrogative verb morphology no Jones & Jones 1991, p.115
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: word order Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by word order (esp. subject-verb inversion) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.115
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: intonation only Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by intonation only no Jones & Jones 1991, p.124 The first person imperatives may function as questions when they occur with rising intonation.
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Content questions: word order differs from declaratives Content questions distinguished from declaratives by word order (esp. subject-verb inversion) as well as by presence of Q-word (who, what, etc.) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.120
Simple Clauses - Predication Predicate adjectives: verbal Adjectives act like verbs in predicative position yes There is a single set of roots which may take either regular verbal inflection and serve as predicates, Jones & Jones 1991, p.63 Barasano is a verb-adjective language.
Simple Clauses - Predication Predicate adjectives: nominal Adjectives act like nouns in predicative position yes or may take nominalizers, participials, and classifiers, and serve as modifiers in a noun phrase. Jones & Jones 1991, p.63
Simple Clauses - Predication Zero copula for predicate nominals is possible Predicate nominals may occur without a copula (i.e. grammatical in some circumstances, if not all) no A descriptive noun phrase is formed by a stative verb. Jones & Jones 1991, p.63
Simple Clauses - Predication Headless relative clauses Compare Eng 'the one that fell' (but in Eng 'one' could be considered a head) no There seem to be no relative clauses in Barasano just as there are no relative pronouns. Jones & Jones 1991, p.149
Simple Clauses - Predication Headless relative clauses are the dominant or only form of relative clause Relative clauses that form a constituent with a head noun (in a single noun phrase) are rare or nonexistent; some descriptions may refer to adjoined or correlative clauses. no Jones & Jones 1991, p.149
Simple Clauses - Predication Relative clause may occur with a noun classifier/class marker It may be unclear whether the classifier is the nominal head of the construction or is an agreement marker on the relative clause no Jones & Jones 1991, p.149
Simple Clauses - Predication Relativizer is a verbal affix no Jones & Jones 1991, p.149
Simple Clauses - Predication Morphological relativizer is homophonous with nominalizer The same morpheme marks a relative clause and is a nominalizer on verbs (and/or other word classes) no Jones & Jones 1991, p.149 What might normally appear to be a relative clause is analyzed as a nominalized cluase in apposition to a noun, pronoun, proper name, or noun phrase in a subject position.
Simple Clauses - Desiderative expressions Grammaticalized verbal desiderative Indicates that the subject desires to carry out the action denoted by the verb (distinct from verb 'want', but may be grammaticalized from it) yes Adverbial clauses of intention are marked with -rʉa (desiderative) plus nominalizers for gender and number which agree with the subject of the main clause. Jones & Jones 1991, p.156
Simple Clauses - Other Clause chaining Clauses can be grouped such that only one bears most of the verb morphology, and the others are marked as to whether they share a subject with this reference clause. no Jones & Jones 1991, p.149-160 epps - check for same subject vs diff subj
Simple Clauses - Other Morphologically marked switch-reference system There are special markers to indicate same vs. different subject when two clauses are combined yes The same-subject switch reference morphemes are the animate nominalizers, which show agreement in gender and number with the subject of the main clause. Jones & Jones 1991, p.138 Switch reference of the subject is expressed either by overt markers or by no markers. In the second case, the construction is pragmatically interpreted by the hearer based on the lexical content of the verbs and the general context.
Simple Clauses - Other Morphologically marked distinction between simultaneous and sequential clauses Morphology (usually on verb) distinguishes between clauses denoting events that occur at the same time or in sequence no Jones & Jones 1991, p.141-154


Ethnographic Information
Current Population (speakers) Former Population Estimate Subsistence Preference Density Sedentism Ecotome Marriage Pattern Notes Source
Linguistic exogamy