Languages of hunter-gatherers and their neighbors

Makushi

Family
Cariban
Region
South America
ISO 639-3
mbc
Location
4.32°, -60.22°
Notes
Features
Basic Vocabulary
Flora Fauna Vocabulary
Cultural Vocabulary
Grammatical Data
Ethnographic Information
Data Sources
Abbott, Miriam. 1991. Macushi. Handbook of Amazonian Languages, D.C. Derbyshire & G.K. Pullum, eds. 3. 23-160. Abbott, Miriam, & Patrick Foster. 2007. Macushi. In Mary R. Key, Intercontinental Dictionary Series. Carson, Neusa Martins 1982. Phonology and morphosyntax of Makuxi (Carib). Ph.D. diss., University of Kansas. Meira, Sérgio. Wordlist.


Basic Vocabulary (192)
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 yepoi; pairɨ (IDS) yepoi; pairɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
again de nuevo, otra vez de novo grammar inɨʔrɨ (IDS) inɨʔrɨ (IDS) unknown See Language page
all todo todos other tamɨʔnawɨrɨ (IDS) tamɨʔnawɨrɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
and y e grammar moropai (IDS) moropai (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
ankle tobillo tornozelo body u-rupukon (IDS) u-rupukon (IDS) inheritance See Language page
armpit axila, sobaco axila body u-yewata (IDS) u-yewata (IDS) inheritance See Language page
ash ceniza(s) cinzas environment runuʔpɨ (IDS) runuʔpɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
at en, a em, a location missing See Language page
back espalda costas body i-npo (IDS) i-npo (IDS) inheritance See Language page
belly barriga barriga body roʔta (SM) roʔta (SM) inheritance See Language page
below abajo, debajo abaixo location yepoi (IDS) yepoi (IDS) unique See Language page
big grande grande quality kureʔne (IDS) kureʔne (IDS) unique See Language page
bite morder morder body yeʔka (IDS) yeʔka (IDS) inheritance See Language page
black negro preto colour arikkɨtun (IDS) arikkɨtun (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
blood sangre sangue body mɨ́ŋ mɨ́ŋ inheritance See Language page
blow soplar soprar body pumɨ (IDS) pumɨ (IDS) inheritance cognate Pemon See Language page
boil/pimple espinilla, granos espinha, borbulha body a-awoi-saʔ (IDS) a-awoi-saʔ (IDS) unknown See Language page
bone hueso osso body yeepɨ’ yeepɨ’ inheritance See Language page
breast pecho, seno peito body i-manatɨ (IDS) i-manatɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
breathe respirar respirar body yetta-pusin (IDS) yetta-pusin (IDS) unknown See Language page
burn quemar queimar environment transitive: poʔtɨ' intransitive: aramɨ (IDS) transitive: poʔtɨ' intransitive: aramɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
chew masticar, mascar mastigar body yapo (IDS) yapo (IDS) inheritance See Language page
child niño, niña criança human moré moré inheritance See Language page
climb subir subir motion enuku (IDS) enuku (IDS) inheritance See Language page
cloud nube nuvem environment missing See Language page
cold frío frio quality komiʔ (IDS) komiʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
come venir vir motion iipɨ (IDS) iipɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
cook cocinar cozinhar impact rentɨ (SM) rentɨ (SM) inheritance cognate Pemon See Language page
correct/true verdad, de veras verdade quality yairɨ (IDS) yairɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
count contar contar mental kuʔneʔtɨ (IDS) kuʔneʔtɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
cry llorar chorar mental ikarau (IDS) ikarau (IDS) inheritance cognate Pemon See Language page
cut/hack cortar cortar impact yaʔtɨ (IDS) yaʔtɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
day día dia time aʔka (SIL) aʔka (SIL) unknown Arawak See Language page
die/be dead morir morrer state saʔmanta (IDS) saʔmanta (IDS) unique See Language page
dig cavar cavar impact yaka (IDS) yaka (IDS) inheritance See Language page
dingo/wolf fauna missing See Language page
dirty sucio sujo quality koron; nora (IDS) koron; nora (IDS) unique; inheritance See Language page
dream soñar sonhar mental eʔmoronoʔpe (IDS) eʔmoronoʔpe (IDS) inheritance See Language page
drink beber, tomar beber body enɨrɨ (IDS) enɨrɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
dry seco seco quality awaʔpiʔta (IDS) awaʔpiʔta (IDS) unique See Language page
dull/blunt sin filo, mocho, desafilado, embotado, romo maçante, desamolado, não afiado quality ikeʔ-mara (IDS) ikeʔ-mara (IDS) unique See Language page
dust polvo poeira environment kutuppan (IDS) kutuppan (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
ear oreja orelha body u-pana (IDS) u-pana (IDS) inheritance See Language page
earth/soil tierra terra environment non non inheritance See Language page
eat comer comer body entamoʔka (IDS) entamoʔka (IDS) inheritance See Language page
egg huevo ovo fauna pomói pomói inheritance See Language page
eye ojo olho body -énu -énu inheritance See Language page
faeces heces, mierda, excremento, estiércol fezes body missing See Language page
fall caer cair motion enaʔpɨ (IDS) enaʔpɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
far lejos longe quality aminke (IDS) aminke (IDS) inheritance See Language page
fat/grease grasa gordura body kaiwan (IDS) kaiwan (IDS) doubtful loan, direction unknown Arawak- Wapishana: kʰiwinii See Language page
father padre, papá pai kinship paʔpá paʔpá doubtful loan Portuguese See Language page
fear miedo medo mental esiʔnɨpɨ (IDS) esiʔnɨpɨ (IDS) unique See Language page
feather pluma pena fauna missing See Language page
fire fuego fogo environment apóó apóó inheritance See Language page
fish xx xx fauna moróʔ moróʔ inheritance See Language page
flow fluir fluir motion missing See Language page
flower flor flor environment yariʔku (IDS) yariʔku (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
fly volar voar motion ereuwe (IDS) ereuwe (IDS) inheritance cognate Pemon; compare Tupi-Guarani- Nheengatu:wewé; Cocama: uwe See Language page
fog niebla, neblina nevoeira, bruma, neblina environment missing See Language page
foot pie pé body púúpú púúpú unique See Language page
fruit fruta fruta flora yekkari (IDS) yekkari (IDS) semantic shift flower See Language page
good bueno bom quality morɨ (IDS) morɨ (IDS) inheritance shared Pemon See Language page
grow crecer crescer state akɨpɨ; arenta (IDS) akɨpɨ; arenta (IDS) inheritance See Language page
hair (of head) cabello cabelo body siipo siipo inheritance See Language page
hand mano mão body míá míá inheritance at least N Amaz subgroup See Language page
head cabeza cabeça body i-puʔpai (IDS) i-puʔpai (IDS) inheritance See Language page
hear oír ouvir mental eta (IDS) eta (IDS) inheritance See Language page
heavy pesado pesado quality amaiʔne (IDS) amaiʔne (IDS) inheritance See Language page
hide esconder esconder motion esonomɨ (IDS) esonomɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
hit golpear, pegar bater impact paʔtɨ (IDS) paʔtɨ (IDS) unique See Language page
hold correr, asegurar, sostener segurar other apiʔsɨ (SM) apiʔsɨ (SM) inheritance See Language page
how? como como grammar oʔnon yeʔka (IDS) oʔnon yeʔka (IDS) unique See Language page
if si se grammar ya (IDS) ya (IDS) missing See Language page
in/inside dentro, adentro dentro location ya (IDS) ya (IDS) inheritance See Language page
intestines intestinos intestinos body i-siwisikɨ (IDS) i-siwisikɨ (IDS) unique See Language page
itch hormiguear, sentir comezón coçar body kaʔnare (IDS) kaʔnare (IDS) unique See Language page
kill matar matar impact wɨʔ (IDS) wɨʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
lake lago lago environment ikuʔpɨ (IDS) ikuʔpɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
laugh reír rir mental sii (IDS) sii (IDS) unique See Language page
leaf hoja folha environment yare (IDS) yare (IDS) inheritance See Language page
left/left hand izquierdo esquerdo location/body kai-winɨkɨi (IDS) kai-winɨkɨi (IDS) unknown See Language page
lie down acostarse, echarse deitar motion aittun (IDS) aittun (IDS) unknown See Language page
lightning rayo, relámpago relampago environment waraʔnapi esensiʔma (IDS) waraʔnapi esensiʔma (IDS) semantic shift thunder See Language page
live/be alive vivir viver, morar body koʔmamɨ (IDS) koʔmamɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
liver hígado figado body yere (IDS) yere (IDS) inheritance See Language page
long largo comprido, longo quality kusan (IDS) kusan (IDS) unique See Language page
louse piollo, piojo piolho fauna ayan (SM) ayan (SM) inheritance order Phtiraptera See Language page
lung pulmón pulmão body u-yarakku (IDS) u-yarakku (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
meat/flesh carne carne fauna saráru saráru unique See Language page
moon luna lua environment kapói kapói inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
mother madre, mamá mãe kinship maʔmá maʔmá loan Spanish See Language page
mouth boca boca body mutá mutá inheritance See Language page
name nombre nome human yeseʔ (IDS) yeseʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
nape base del cuello, nuca nuca body u-mɨ yeʔpɨ (IDS) u-mɨ yeʔpɨ (IDS) unique See Language page
near/close cerca de perto quality aminke pra (IDS) aminke pra (IDS) inheritance See Language page
neck cuello pescoço body uʔ-mɨ (IDS) uʔ-mɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
new nuevo novo quality amenan (IDS) amenan (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
night noche noite time ewaron (SIL) ewaron (SIL) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
no/not no não grammar kaane (IDS) kaane (IDS) unique See Language page
nose nariz nariz body u-yeuna (IDS) u-yeuna (IDS) inheritance See Language page
old viejo velho quality penaroʔ (IDS) penaroʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
one uno um number tiwíŋ tiwíŋ inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
open/uncover abrir abrir other atarakamɨ-ka (IDS) atarakamɨ-ka (IDS) inheritance See Language page
other otro outro grammar inɨno (SM) inɨno (SM) inheritance See Language page
pain/painful/sick dolor, doloroso, enfermo dor, doloroso, doente body paran (IDS) paran (IDS) inheritance cognate Pemon See Language page
person/human being persona pessoa human pemóŋkóŋ pemóŋkóŋ inheritance cognate Pemon See Language page
pound/beat machacar, golpear bater impact iʔpopɨtɨ (SM) iʔpopɨtɨ (SM) unique See Language page
rain lluvia chuva environment konoʔ (IDS) konoʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
red rojo vermelho colour suyú suyú inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
right/right hand derecha direita location/body mai-winɨkɨi (IDS) mai-winɨkɨi (IDS) unique See Language page
road/path camino caminho manufacture eréétɨ eréétɨ unknown See Language page
root raíz raiz flora kara (IDS) kara (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
rotten podrido podre quality aa-kata-saʔ (IDS) aa-kata-saʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
sand arena areia environment kásapán kásapán unknown See Language page
say decir dizer mental missing See Language page
scratch rascar rasgar impact kaʔnama (SM) kaʔnama (SM) unknown See Language page
see ver ver mental eraʔma (IDS) eraʔma (IDS) inheritance See Language page
sharp afilado, filudo, filoso afiado quality ikeʔ (IDS) ikeʔ (IDS) unknown See Language page
shoot tirar, disparar, balear atirar impact poka (SM) poka (SM) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
short corto curto quality piaʔmɨtɨ (IDS) piaʔmɨtɨ (IDS) unique See Language page
shoulder hombro ombro body u-mota (IDS) u-mota (IDS) inheritance See Language page
shy/ashamed tímido, vergonzoso timido, com vergonha mental missing See Language page
sit sentar(se) sentar state ereuta (IDS) ereuta (IDS) inheritance See Language page
skin piel pele body piipɨ piipɨ inheritance See Language page
sky cielo céu environment kaʔ (IDS) kaʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
sleep dormir dormir body wetun (IDS) wetun (IDS) unknown See Language page
small pequeño pequeno quality siʔmɨrikkɨ (IDS) siʔmɨrikkɨ (IDS) inheritance shared Pemon See Language page
smoke humo fumaça environment wɨreʔsin (SIL) wɨreʔsin (SIL) inheritance See Language page
sniff/smell olfatear, oler cheirar body puʔnɨkɨ (IDS) puʔnɨkɨ (IDS) inheritance primarily transitive See Language page
spit escupir cuspir body u-yetaku yenumɨ-u-ya (IDS) u-yetaku yenumɨ-u-ya (IDS) inheritance See Language page
split partir, dividir rachar, dividir, partir impact yaʔmorikka (IDS) yaʔmorikka (IDS) inheritance See Language page
squeeze estrujar, exprimir espremer impact suʔka (IDS) suʔka (IDS) inheritance at least N Amaz subgroup See Language page
stab/pierce apuñalar, acuchillar apunhalar impact yasoʔka (IDS) yasoʔka (IDS) unknown See Language page
stand estar de pié ficar em pé state satti pe (IDS) satti pe (IDS) unique See Language page
star estrella estrela environment sírikɨ́ sírikɨ́ inheritance likely loan into Yanomami See Language page
steal robar roubar other yamaʔronpa (IDS) yamaʔronpa (IDS) inheritance See Language page
stick/wood palo pau, vara flora meʔsipu (IDS) meʔsipu (IDS) unique See Language page
stone piedra pedra environment tɨʔ (SIL) tɨʔ (SIL) inheritance See Language page
suck chupar chupar body yuʔna (IDS) yuʔna (IDS) unknown See Language page
sweat sudar suor, suar body missing See Language page
swell hincharse inchar body awɨi (SM) awɨi (SM) inheritance See Language page
swim nadar nadar motion u-pɨnɨnu (IDS) u-pɨnɨnu (IDS) inheritance See Language page
tail cola, rabo rabo body i-taukɨ (IDS) i-taukɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
that ese/esa esse grammar missing See Language page
thick grueso, gordo, espeso grosso quality ereʔsin (IDS) ereʔsin (IDS) unique See Language page
thin delgado fino quality siiriru (IDS) siiriru (IDS) unique See Language page
think pensar pensar mental esenumenka (IDS) esenumenka (IDS) inheritance See Language page
this este/esta este grammar missing See Language page
2sg xx xx grammar á-mɨ-rɨ́ á-mɨ-rɨ́ inheritance See Language page
three tres tres number séúru-né séúru-né inheritance See Language page
throat garganta garganta body uʔmɨ yetta (IDS) uʔmɨ yetta (IDS) unique See Language page
throw tirar, lanzar atirar, jogar impact yenumɨ (IDS) yenumɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
thunder truenos trovão environment waraʔnapiya taa (IDS) waraʔnapiya taa (IDS) inheritance See Language page
tie up/fasten atar, amarrar amarrar impact yewaʔtɨ (IDS) yewaʔtɨ (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
tongue lengua lingua body u-nu (IDS) u-nu (IDS) inheritance See Language page
tooth diente dente body -yé -jé inheritance See Language page
turn girar, volter, torcer virar other turn over: eraʔtɨ; turn around: ennaʔpo (IDS) turn over: eraʔtɨ; turn around: ennaʔpo (IDS) inheritance may be transitive or intransitive See Language page
two dos dois number sáákɨ-né sáákɨ-né inheritance See Language page
vomit vomitar vomitar body yarakka (IDS) yarakka (IDS) inheritance? See Language page
walk caminar, andar andar motion aasáá aasáá unknown See Language page
water agua agua environment tuna tuna inheritance See Language page
wet mojado molhado quality aman-saʔ (IDS) aman-saʔ (IDS) unique See Language page
what? que, qué que grammar ɨʔ (IDS) ɨʔ (IDS) unique See Language page
when? cuando quando grammar ɨʔ pensa (IDS) ɨʔ pensa (IDS) unique See Language page
where? donde onde grammar oʔnon pata (IDS) oʔnon pata (IDS) inheritance See Language page
white blanco branco colour áímutun áímutun inheritance See Language page
who? quien, quién quem grammar anɨʔ (IDS) anɨʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
wife esposa esposa kinship noopi noopi inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
wind viento vento environment aʔsitun (IDS) aʔsitun (IDS) inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
wing ala asa body yapɨri (IDS) yapɨri (IDS) inheritance See Language page
woman/female mujer mulher human wɨriʔ (SIL) wɨriʔ (SIL) inheritance See Language page
work trabajar trabalhar other esenyakaʔma (IDS) esenyakaʔma (IDS) inheritance See Language page
yawn bostezar bocejar body entapiʔma (IDS) entapiʔma (IDS) inheritance See Language page
yellow amarillo amarelo colour aʔmutun (IDS) aʔmutun (IDS) unique See Language page
bad mal mal quality imakuiʔpɨ (IDS) imakuiʔpɨ (IDS) unique See Language page
3sg el/ella ele/ela grammar mɨ́-kɨ-rɨ́ mɨ́-kɨ-rɨ́ inheritance See Language page
1sg yo eu grammar u-rɨ u-rɨ inheritance For pronouns: include bound/cliticized pronominal forms where significantly different from the free forms See Language page
leg/foot pierna perna body i-peʔ (IDS) i-peʔ (IDS) unknown See Language page
man/male hombre homem human warayoʔ (SIL) warayoʔ (SIL) inheritance See Language page
3pl ellos/ellas eles/elas grammar ínka-mo-ró ínka-mo-ró inheritance See Language page
know/be knowledgeable saber, conecer saber, conhecer mental epuʔtɨ (IDS) epuʔtɨ (IDS) inheritance cognate Pemon See Language page
1pl.incl nosotros (inclusivo) nós (inclusivo) grammar anna anna inheritance no inclusive/exclusive distinction unless noted See Language page
1pl.excl nosotros (exclusivo) nós (exclusivo) grammar ú-rɨ-nɨ-kóŋ ú-rɨ-nɨ-kóŋ unknown See Language page
2pl ustedes vocês grammar á-mɨ-rɨ́-nɨ-kóŋ á-mɨ-rɨ́-nɨ-kóŋ inheritance N Amaz subgroup See Language page
bark corteza casca environment yéi-piipɨ yéi-piipɨ inheritance See Language page
fingernail uña unha body u-yenya piʔpɨ (IDS) u-yenya piʔpɨ (IDS) inheritance See Language page
heart corazón coração body u-yewan (IDS) u-yewan (IDS) inheritance See Language page
sun sol sol time wéi wéi inheritance See Language page
mountain/hill montaña, colina, loma, cerro morro, serra environment wɨʔ (SIL) wɨʔ (SIL) inheritance See Language page
green verde verde quality rora (IDS) rora (IDS) inheritance See Language page
hot caliente quente quality aʔneʔ (IDS) aʔneʔ (IDS) inheritance See Language page


Flora Fauna Vocabulary (138)
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
achiote, anatto achiote urucum flora-fauna Bixa orellana missing See Language page 1 0 0 0 1 secondary scrub vegetation and indigenous gardens no shrub
inga guaba, guamo, guama, shimbillo (Peru) inga flora-fauna Inga spp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Secondary scrub vegetation and indigenous gardens. North and South America (Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Suriname, Colombia) no
agouti (black agouti, black-rumped agouti) Guatusa Negra, Añuje, Agutí (black-rumped), picure, jochi colorado cutia flora-fauna Dasyprocta spp. akuri (SM) akuri (SM) loan into protolg, direction unknown Tupi-Guarani Mello (2000) reconstructs for Proto-TG. Occurs widely in Carib; but loan into (?) Piaroa /æk'uri/; Nheengatu /akuti/; Achuar agutí WW %akuti See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
alligator, black caiman babilla; cachirre jacaré flora-fauna Melanosuchus niger, Caiman schlerops; Paleosuchus sp. akaré akaré loan (into protolg?) N Amazonian subgroup? (shared Akawaio, Pemon, Makushi, maybe Waimiri-Atroari) Tupi-Guarani *yakaré reconstructed for Proto-Tupi-Guarani (Schleicher 1998) WW %jakare See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Throughout Amazonia no? Port term reportedly borrowed from Tupi
Amazon dolphin bufeo, delfín, tonina (del Orinoco) boto cor-de-rosa flora-fauna Inia geoffrensis missing See Language page 1 0 0 0 0 Downstream of major rapids and waterfalls no
mouse, rat ratón camundongo, rata flora-fauna Mus musculus missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
anaconda anaconda, boa, boa acuática grande sucuri flora-fauna genus Eunectes wɨi (SM) wɨi (SM) inheritance Northern Carib? (attested Mapoyo, Makushi, Eñepa) See Language page 2 0 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia yes
angleworm lombriz minhoca flora-fauna order Opisthopora moʔ (generic worm) moʔ (generic worm) worm (generic) inheritance Northern Carib? (attested Pemongan group, Carijona) See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
ant (generic) hormiga formiga flora-fauna Formicidae ayúú (generic ant) ayúú (generic ant) unknown See Language page 0 0 0 0 0
anteater oso hormiguero; tapia pelejo or pelejo chico for Cyclopes didactylus tamanduá flora-fauna Myrmecophaga tridactyla (giant anteater); Cyclopes didactylus (silky anteater) missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonian lowlands no
armadillo armadillo, carachupa (Peru), yangunturi (Peru for Giant armadillo) tatu flora-fauna family Dasypodidae; e.g. Priodontes maximus (Giant armadillo), Dasypus novemcinctus, Dasypus kappleri muʔru (SM) muʔru (SM) inheritance N Amazonian subgroup (Akawaio, Pemon, Makushi, Eñepa) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread in Amazonia no
arrow cane, wildcane caña flecha, caña brava, caña isana cana para flechas, frecheira, Cana-do-rio flora-fauna Gynerium sagittatum missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 tropical regions, especially river banks no plant
avocado palta, aguacate abacate flora-fauna Persea americana missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 secondary scrub vegetation and indigenous gardens no tree
banana, plantain banano, banana, cambur, bellaco, variedad de plátano banana flora-fauna Musa sp. parurú parurú inheritance? Unknown Wanderwort: likely Sp/Pt origin (platano); paru and similar variants found in Tanimuca, Yucuna, Makushi, Carijona (in other Carib lgs as 'bastard plantain); other variants of platano also widespread. Also ha’ru (H&R) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no Names for banana/plantain may be derived from bastard plantain by semantic shift.
bat murciélago morcego flora-fauna Chiroptera spp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
beans frijoles, frejol, caraotas (negras, rojas, blancas) feijão flora-fauna Phaseolus spp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no plant
honeybee abeja abelha flora-fauna Apis mellifera; Tetragonisca angustula; Trigona amazonensis wáŋ wáŋ inheritance Northern Carib? See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
bird pajaro, ave passaro flora-fauna toron (SM) toron (SM) inheritance Northern Carib? See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
bitterwood tortuga caspi, pretina (Peru for tree and tumpline); carahuasca (Peru) envira flora-fauna Duguetia sp. OR Fusaea longifolia OR Guatteria chrysopetala missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 secondary forests, native to Brazil no tree
black palm bacaba, mapora, pusui, patabá bacaba flora-fauna Oenocarpus bacaba missing See Language page 2 1 0 0 0 Mature forests of Rio Negro and Upper Amazon no may be confused in some entries with O. bataua
boa boa; mantona (red-tailed boa); boa de altura jiboia flora-fauna family Boidae, subf. Boinae aman (SM) aman (SM) inheritance Unknown (Akawaio, Mapoyo, Pemon) Possible loan into Quichua: amaru See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
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) pisa (SM) pisa (SM) unique See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 indigenous gardens no plant; tree
brazil nut castaña castanha do para (B. excelsa); castanha de cutia (C. edulis) flora-fauna Bertholletia excelsa [cf. Couepia edulis 'castanha do cutia'] missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 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. no tree
brown woolly monkey Mono Lanudo Común, Choro, Churucu, mono choro (Peru), mono lanudo cafe, barrigudo de Humboldt macaco barrigudo flora-fauna Lagothrix lagothricha iwáriká iwáriká generic monkey missing Pemongan group (Makushi, Pemon, Akawaio) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
bullet ant, lesser giant hunter ant conga, hormiga yanabe (Colombia), isula (Peru), Hormiga Veinticuatro tocandira flora-fauna Paraponera clavata missing See Language page 2 0 0 0 0 yes
butterfly, moth mariposa borboleta flora-fauna order Lepidoptera péppé péppé inheritance Unknown (attested Waimiri-Atroari, Makushi) See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
capybara Capibara, Carpincho, Ronsoco capivara flora-fauna Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris pɨrawi (SM) pɨrawi (SM) inheritance Northern Carib? See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
cashew anarcado, castaña de cajú, nuez de la India, marañon, cajú, merey (Venezuela) caju flora-fauna Anacardium occidentale / giganteum yoroiʔ (SM) yoroiʔ (SM) inheritance - WW Northern Carib? %eroi Broader (wild and domesticate) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 secondary scrub vegetation and indigenous gardens no tree; most sources will not distinguish between occidentale and other varieties
cashew anarcado, castaña de cajú, nuez de la India, marañon, cajú, merey (Venezuela) caju flora-fauna Anacardium giganteum yoroiʔ yoroiʔ inheritance Northern Carib? See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Brazil, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Guyana no
centipede ciempiés centopéia flora-fauna class Chilopoda missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
cicada cigarra, chicharra cigarra flora-fauna super fam. Cicadoidea missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
cipó vine tamishi, bejuco, yare cipó flora-fauna Heteropsis spp. missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 secondary forest, floodplain no vine
coca coca coca flora-fauna Erythroxylum coca missing See Language page 1 0 0 1 1 secondary scrub vegetation. lower alt. of eastern Andes no plant
cockroach cucaracha barata-do-mato flora-fauna order Blattaria masarua (Cunha04) masarua (Cunha04) inheritance possible link? Carib (*)masarawa, TG *taraBe See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
collared peccary sajino, pecarí de collar, jabalf, Javelina, Saíno, Pecarí de Collar caititu, caetitu flora-fauna Pecari tajacu, Tayassu tajacu paraka (SM) paraka (SM) inheritance Northern Carib? See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
cotamundi, coatimundi Coatí, Tejón, Achuni, zorro guache quati flora-fauna genus Nasua missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
cotton algodón algodão flora-fauna Gossypium (barbadense: long fibers; hirsutum: short fibers) kotoʔkaʔ (SM) kotoʔkaʔ (SM) inheritance N Amazonian group (attested Pemon, Akawaio, Makushi, prob. Eñepa) See Language page 0 0 0 0 1 secondary scrub vegetation no plant; some sources may confound with kapok Ceiba pentandra (esp. if a single gloss for 'cotton' is given')
crab cangrejo caranguejo flora-fauna infraorder Brachyura missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
cricket saltón, grillo grilo flora-fauna family Gryllidae kariʔsa (SM) kariʔsa (SM) inheritance Pemongan group (attested Akawaio, Pemon, Makushi, Eñepa) See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
curassow mitu, montete (Peru), paujil/panjuil (Peru), paujil de Salvin (Peru for Mitu salvini) mutum flora-fauna Crax sp., Nothocrax sp. akami (SM) akami (SM) inheritance Guyana and N Amazonian branches? See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Amazonia no
deer venado veado, cariacu flora-fauna family Cervidae, esp. Odocoileus virginianus wáíkín wáíkín inheritance Pemongan (attested Makushi, Eñepa, Pemon) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
dog (camp, domestic) perro cachorro flora-fauna Canis famililaris areimaraaká areimaraaká unknown shared Pemon; prob. loan into Wapishana Probably a loan into Arawak Wapishana: aɽimaɽak; similar form occurs in Pemon, Akawaiao; Simpson 1941 claims that these words are of Carib origin. See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Not native; widespread no
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 missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
dove paloma pomba flora-fauna family Columbidae áyà áyà unique See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
duck pato pato, marreco flora-fauna Anatidae family maiwá maiwá inheritance N Amazonian subgroup See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
edible palm-dwelling larva (palm weevil) suri, mojojoy larva, broca-do-coqueiro, aramandaiá flora-fauna Rhynchophorus sp. arariʔ (SM) arariʔ (SM) unknown See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
electric eel anguila eléctrica poraquê flora-fauna Electrophorus electricus aríŋrá aríŋrá inheritance N Amazonian subgroup (Akawaio, Pemon, Makushi, Eñepa) See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 yes
fish (generic) pez peixe flora-fauna moróʔ moróʔ inheritance Northern Carib? (Akawaio, Makushi, Mapoyo, Pemon) Doubtful loan into Hodï: bõʰtõ See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
fish (large type) paiche, pirarucú o arapaima pirarucu flora-fauna Arapaima gigas missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 big rivers only no
fish poison, barbasco barbasco, matapez (Colombia) timbó flora-fauna Lonchocarpus spp. aya aja inheritance See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 secondary forests and secondary srcrub vegetation yes [used to poison people] shrub/tree
flea pulga pulga flora-fauna order Siphonaptera sikɨ́ sikɨ́ inheritance Northern Carib? But compare Secoya sɨk̃ɨ. Also ‘kutʃika’hamo (H&R) See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
blowfly/housefly mosca mosca flora-fauna Diptera ainumɨ (generic fly), turɨ' (horsefly) (SM) ainumɨ, turɨʔ (SM) generic fly unique Also turɨʔ 'horsefly' See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
genipap jagua, majagua - Colombia, caruto, xagua - Venezuela, bigrande - Bolivia, huito, yaguayagua - Peru, ygualti - Nicaragua, maluco - Mexico genipapo, jenipapo flora-fauna Genipapa americana missing See Language page 1 0 0 0 0 widespread lowland SA no shrub
giant otter Lobo Grande de Río, nutria gigante, lutria ariranha flora-fauna Pteronura brasiliensis missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
grass hierba, pasto capim, grama flora-fauna (generic) wanaʔ (SM) inheritance Northern Carib? See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
gray-winged trumpeter Grulla, Trompetero Ala Gris jacamim flora-fauna Psophia crepitans missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Northern Amazonia (N of Solimões), not in northern Colombia; Dark-winged trumpeter is found south of Solimões no
great egret Garza Blanca, Guyratî Garça-Branca-Grande flora-fauna Ardea alba missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread South America no
green acouchi Guatín, Punchana, curi, picurito rabudo, picurito rabilargo cutiara flora-fauna Myoprocta pratti missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
guan pava, pucacunga (Peru), pava de Spix (Peru) jacu flora-fauna Penelope sp. maaká maaká unknown See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Different types have different localized ranges no
hallucinogenic vine, banisterium, ayahuasca ayahuasca, yage ayahuasca, caapi flora-fauna Banisteriopsis caapi missing See Language page 1 0 0 1 0 semi-domesticated, native to Amazonian basin, esp. NW no vine
hawk halcón, gavilán gavião flora-fauna family Accipitridae missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
horse caballo cavalho flora-fauna Equus caballus missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0
hot pepper ají, pimentón/pimiento rojo, pucunucho (Peru), charapilla (Peru) pimenta flora-fauna Capsicum sp., principally chinensis and frutescens pimí pimí inheritance Unknown See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 secondary scrub vegetation, indigenous garden no plant
howler monkey (red-handed) mono aullador, mono coto (Peru) guariba flora-fauna Alouatta belzebul [or other Alouatta sp.] missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
hummingbird colibrí, picaflor (Peru) beija-flor flora-fauna family Trochilidae tukúí tukúí inheritance Northern Carib? Loan Carib > Hodï: tu'kudi See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread no
iguana iguana, garipiares (Colombia) camaleão flora-fauna Iguana sp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no iguana' is reportedly from Arawak iwana
insect (generic) insecto insecto flora-fauna generic missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0
jaguar yaguar, yaguareté, jaguar, otorongo (Peru), tigre (Peru) onca flora-fauna Panthera onca kaikusi (SM) kaikusi (SM) inheritance Unknown (shared Carijona and Makushi) See Language page 1 2 0 0 0 yes
japurá oreja de murcielago japurá flora-fauna Erisma japura missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no large tree
kapok ceiba, huimba, lupuna (Peru for Ceiba sp.) sumaumeira flora-fauna Ceiba pentandra missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 northern South America and central America; common in disturbed areas no tree
açai palm huasí (Peru), asahi, manaca (Ven), asaí, palmiche (Colombia) açaí flora-fauna Euterpe sp. missing See Language page 2 1 0 0 0 floodplains, swamp; esp. northern Amazonia no
cará tuber, purple or white camote, sachapapa cará roxo, branco flora-fauna Dioscorea sp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 secondary scrub vegetation; forest clearings no plant
kingfisher martín pescador, catalan (Peru) martim-pescador flora-fauna family Alcedinidae missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
leaf-cutter ant Colombia: zampopo, hormiga arriera; Venezuela: bachaco; Peru: curuhuinse saúva flora-fauna Atta sp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
firefly, lightning bug lampírido, luciérnaga (Peru), añañahui (Peru), cocuyo (attributed Taino origin) vagalume flora-fauna fam: Elateridae, Fengodidae, Lampyridae missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
macaw ara, guacamaya Arara flora-fauna family Psittacidae; Ara sp. kararúá kararúá unknown possible %arara form? May be loan into Ninam: kaɾaɾawasi WW %ara See Language page 1 1 0 0 1 Widespread Amazonia no
maize, corn mazorca, maiz milho flora-fauna Zea mays aʔanáí aʔanáí inheritance? Proto-Carib possible loan into proto-Carib, cf. Arawak mariki and TG aBati See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 widespread, esp. in river floodplains no plant
manatee vaca marina, manatí peixe-boi flora-fauna Trichechus sp. akasari (SM) akasari (SM) unknown See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
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. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
manioc (bitter or generic) yuca brava mandioca flora-fauna Manihot esculenta kɨséra (generic manioc) kɨséra (generic manioc) inheritance May be source of Pt macaxeira (sweet manioc); may also be related (old loan?) to Arawak kani- forms Broader (manioc) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 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. no 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 kɨséra (generic manioc) kɨséra (generic manioc) missing May be source of Pt macaxeira (sweet manioc); may also be related (old loan?) to Arawak kani- forms Broader (manioc) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Primary staple in western/subAndean Amazonia, less important elsewhere no No processing required, but lower starch yield and pest resistance than bitter variety
miriti palm moriche (Col, Ven), aguaje (Col, Peru), achual, miriti buriti flora-fauna Mauritia flexuosa kawai (SM) kawai (SM) inheritance See Language page 2 1 0 0 0 Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela; in and near swamps no trunks contain sago-like starch
mosquito mosquito, zancudo mosquito, carapana flora-fauna Anopheles sp. kankɨ' (SM) kankɨʔ (SM) unique See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
moth mariposa nocturna, polilla mariposa flora-fauna order Lepidoptera missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
mushroom champiñón, hongo cogumelo flora-fauna (any edible generic) missing See Language page 0 2 0 0 0 no prioritize generic term that includes any edible species
neotropical otter (small) Nutria, Lobo de Agua, lobito de rio, perro de agua (Colombia) lontra flora-fauna Lontra longicaudis missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
opossum zarigüeya, rabipelado, zorro, zorrillo mucura flora-fauna family Didelphidae missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
owl (large) búho, lechuza corujão flora-fauna order Strigiformes missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread no
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.) missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
pacu fish palometa, garopita, garopa, curhuara (Peru) pacu flora-fauna Mylossoma sp. waitaʔ (SM) waitaʔ (SM) unknown See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
palm for roof thatch pui, irapay, hoja de irapay, caraná caraná flora-fauna Mauritiella armata OR Lepidocaryum tenue (irapay), Mauritius carana missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Mauritia carana is limited principally to the Rio Negro and Upper Orinoco regions; dry catinga forests no palm
parrot loro real, loro (Sp. form is a loan from Carib) papagaio flora-fauna Amazona amazonica woroké woroké doubtful loan Arawak waru See Language page 1 0 0 0 1 Widespread no
paxiuba palm pona, huacrapona, cashapona, macanilla, pachiuba paxiuba flora-fauna Iriartea exorrhiza OR Iriartea deltoidea missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no palm
peach palm, pejibaye palm chontaduro (Col, Ecuador); pipire (Col); pijuayo (Peru), pijiguao (Ven); tembe (Bol) pupunha flora-fauna Bactris gasipaes missing See Language page 2 1 0 0 0 no
peanut maní (may be loan from Taino Arawak), cacahuete amendoim flora-fauna Arachis hypogaea aʔnɨpu (SM) aʔnɨpu (SM) inheritance N Amazonian group (attested Makushi, Pemon) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no plant
pineapple piña abacaxi flora-fauna Ananas comosus kaiurá kaiurá semantic shift? N Amazonian group (attested Pemon, Akawaio, Makushi) caraua? See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no plant
pirana piraña, caribe piranha flora-fauna subfamily Serrasalmidae missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no [not in this region]
porcupine puerco espín, erizo (Peru), casha cushillo (Peru) cuandu, porco-espinho flora-fauna family Erethizontidae árú árú inheritance Northern Carib? (attested Pemon, Akawaio, Makushi, Wai Wai) East Tukanoan e.g. Desano /wáru/ See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
potato papa batata flora-fauna Solanum tuberosum karisa (SM) karisa (SM) unique See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 secondary scrub vegetation no compare entries for sweet potato
praying mantis, stick insects mantis religiosa louva-a-deus flora-fauna order Mantodea, family Mantidae missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
rubber tree (sorva) caucho, siringa, shiringa seringa, borracha flora-fauna Hevea sp. missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no tree
scorpion escorpión; alacran escorpião flora-fauna order Scorpiones missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 yes
seje palm ungurahui (Peru), palma de seje, milpesos, patabá patoá, patuá flora-fauna Jessenia bataua, aka Oenocarpus bataua missing See Language page 2 1 0 0 0 mostly north of Equator; common in Amazonia may be confused with O. bacaba - compare entries
sloth pereza, pelejo (Peru), perezoso (Peru) macaco preguica flora-fauna Choloepus sp., Bradypus sp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
small lizard lagartija calango flora-fauna order Squamata wairore (SM) wairore (SM) inheritance See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
snail caracol, churo (Peru) caracol flora-fauna class Gastropoda missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
snake (generic) culebra, serpiente cobra flora-fauna ikɨ́í ikɨ́í inheritance Northern Carib? See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
snake (poisonous generic) or rattlesnake víbora (Peru), jergón (Peru), yarara jararaca flora-fauna Bothrops jararaca/atrox missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread South America yes
speckled catfish surubí, pintadillo surubim, sorubim flora-fauna Pseudoplatystoma sp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
spider araña aranha flora-fauna Arachnidae, Araneae missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
squash calabaza, calabacines, auyamas, zapallos, huingo (Peru) abóbora flora-fauna Cucurbita sp. kaiyuma (SM) kaiyuma (SM) inheritance Attested Makushi, Eñepa North Arawak Wapishana: kʰauwiam See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no plant
squirrel ardilla, danta (Ven) serelepe, quatipuru, esquilo flora-fauna family Sciuridae missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
stingray (generic) rayas látigo, raya arraia flora-fauna Potamotrygon sp. missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
potato, sweet potato camote, batata dulce, batata, cumara batata-doce flora-fauna Ipomoea batatas karisa (SM) karisa (SM) loan Arawak See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no plant
tapir sachavaca, danta anta flora-fauna Tapirus terrestris wairá wairá inheritance Pemongan? (attested Pemon, Makushi, Yabarana, maybe Makiritare) See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
termites, white-ants comején (Peru), termitas cupim flora-fauna order Isoptera missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
tick garrapata carrapato flora-fauna superfam Ixodoidea karimitɨ (SM) karimitɨ (SM) inheritance Pemongan group (attested Makushi, Pemon) See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 no
tigerfish taraira, guabina, huasaco (Peru) traíra flora-fauna Hoplias sp. kurúútú kurúútú unknown See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
tinamou tinamu, perdiz, gallineta inambu, inhambu flora-fauna family Tinamidae missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
toad sapo sapo flora-fauna order Anura kúí (small frog) kúí (small frog) small frog unknown May be cognate with other Carib kuu- forms; but see also Achagua kuíiba See Language page 0 2 0 0 0 no
tobacco tabaco tabaco flora-fauna Nicotiana tabacum kawáí kawáí doubtful loan into protolanguage Northern Carib? possibly from Arawak 'kuwai' deity? Venezuelan Carib Likely loan into Hodï: Hodï ʰkawoi. Also tamu See Language page 1 0 0 0 1 no plant
tortoise (red foot, yellow foot/giant) tortuga, morrocoy, motelo jabutí, tartaruga flora-fauna Yellow-footed: Geochelone denticulata; Red-footed: Geochelone carbonaria wayamuri (SM) wayamuri (SM) inheritance Northern Carib? (attested Akawaio, Pemon, Makushi, Wai Wai) See Language page 2 1 0 0 0 Widespread no
toucan tucán, pinsha (Peru) tucano flora-fauna Ramphastos sp. missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
tree árbol arvore flora-fauna yéi yéi inheritance Northern Carib? See Language page 0 0 0 0 0
tufted capuchin monkey mono negro (Peru), Machín Negro, Maicero Cachón, mono maicero macaco prego flora-fauna Cebus apella missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
cunuri (tree) cunuri cunuri flora-fauna Cunurea spruceana missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 Amazonia no
ucuqui yugo, caimitillo del monte (Peru) ucuqui flora-fauna Pouteria ucuqui missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 native to NW Amazonia, found primarily in Vaupes and Caqueta regions no other species of Pouteria exist and have much-used edible fruit; these can be subsituted where relevant
vulture buitre, gallinazo, rinahui (Peru) urubu flora-fauna family Cathartidae kurun (SM) kurun (SM) inheritance Northern Carib? cf. TG urubu Likely loan into Warekena (Arawak): kuɺuwitu See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread South America no
wasp avispa; specific type: ronzapa/ronsapa caba flora-fauna order Hymenoptera, sub: Apocrita kamarakkoʔ (SM) kamarakkoʔ (SM) unknown See Language page 0 2 0 0 0 no
white-fronted capuchin Machín Blanco, mono blanco, Maicero Cariblanco, mono blanco (Peru) Caiarara flora-fauna Cebus albifrons missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
white-fronted spider monkey Machin Blanco, Mono Araña de Vientre Amarillo, maquisapa (Peru), braceadora (Colombia) macaco aranha, coatá, quatá flora-fauna Ateles belzebuth/paniscus missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
white-lipped peccary Chancho de Monte, Cariblanco, Huangana queixada flora-fauna Tayassu pecari pɨinkɨ (SM) pɨinkɨ (SM) inheritance See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
Amazon tree-grape uva de monte, uvilla (Peru), puruma, caime, caimarona (and variants; Col.) cucura flora-fauna Pourouma cecropiifolia missing See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 grows wild in Western Amazon basin; cultivated in Colombia since pre-Colombian times no a tree; not a true grape
woodpecker pájaro carpintero, carpintero pica-pau flora-fauna family Picidae missing See Language page 0 0 0 0 0 Widespread Amazonia no
tannia, yautia huitina (Peru), ñame taioba branca flora-fauna Xanthosoma spp. pomói pomói unique See Language page 0 1 0 0 0 no
hallucinogenic snuff vilca, cebil, yopo paricá, yopo flora-fauna Anadenanthera sp. or virola See Language page
dog (camp, domestic) perro cachorro flora-fauna areimaraaká areimaraaká loan direction unknown Arawak See Language page
deer venado veado, cariacu flora-fauna wáíkín wáíkín inheritance See Language page


Cultural Vocabulary (106)
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
afterworld, land of dead, Heaven tierra do los muertos terra dos mortos culture-mythology kaʔ kaʔ heaven unknown See Language page
arrow flecha flecha subsistence tool rupé rupé unknown Possible inheritance with metathesis? hunting, warfare See Language page
axe/stone axe hacha (de piedra) machado (de pedra) subsistence tool waaká waaká inheritance Venezuelan (N. Amazonian) subgroup especially for clearing fields See Language page
bait for fishing cebo, carnada para pescar, empate (Peru) isca subsistence tool musun bait (general) unknown can refer to worms; more generic See Language page
basin/bowl tazón, plato hondo, taza tijela culture-material pisaʔ unknown See Language page
basket (general) canasta, canasto, cesta cesto culture-material wariʔsa Inheritance Pemongan subgroup Also: wopá, waikaraʔpɨ See Language page
basket, small canasta, canasto, cesta cesto pequeno, tampado culture-material missing See Language page
bead abalorio, mostacilla, cuenta, gota, puca; necklace=collar miçanga culture-material kaʔsiru kaʔsiru loan - WW Pemongan subgroup %kasiru See Language page
bed cama cama culture-material atta atta unknown See similar form for 'bench' in Makiritare; possible Arawak loan See Language page
bench, seat banco, silla, asiento banco culture-material aponó aponó inheritance Proto-Carib See Language page
blowgun cerbatana, pucuna (Peru) zarabatana subsistence tool kuraʔ (SM) kuraʔ (SM) inheritance Venezuelan (N. Amazonian) subgroup Maybe Proto-Carib currently limited to certain groups (favoring h-g orientation, e.g. Nadahup) within RN region See Language page
bottle botella garrafa acculturation missing See Language page
bow arco arco subsistence tool uraapa (SM) uraapa (SM) inheritance Proto-Carib arco See Language page
broom escoba vassoura culture-material tuʔtɨmai tuʔtɨmai unique See Language page
canoe canoa canoa transport kanáwa kanáwa doubtful loan (into protolg?) - WW %kanawa WW %kanawa WW occurs in e.g. Wapishana, khanawa; various Carib (kanau, kanawa, kanowa, kanáw); Guayabero, kanáw; Candoshi, kánó; Jivaro, kán; Matses, cano; Napo Lowland Quichua, kanu; Siriano, cũma; Yanomam (kanaw, kanae). Ultimate source sometimes claimed to be Car See Language page
cat gato gato acculturation pisana pisana loan - WW %pisana WW %pisana probably originally from Port bicho 'small animal'; compare E. Tukano, (e.g. Desano pisana); Arawak (e.g. Tariana pisána); Carib (Makushi pisana; Pemon pitʃana); Kakua pitʃina. But note Quechua 'broom' pitʃana See Language page
chicken gallina galinha acculturation kariwana kariwana loan Span/Port 'gallina' (cf. Nordenskiold 1922:29) See Language page
chief/leader jefe, cacique chefe culture-mythology póotɨ-rɨ unique See Language page
club garrote, cachiporra clava, porrete subsistence tool aroʔ missing Compare Nadeb RN kawi.daɾo See Language page
coca narcotics Missing See Language page
cook food food rentɨ Unknown Maybe shared Pemon See Language page
Curupira (spirit type) Curupira, Madremonte Curupira culture-mythology oʔma [?] missing malignant forest spirit, covered with long hair, feet turned backward; in Upper Rio Negro region See Language page
dance (generic) culture-mythology mananu Inheritance Pemongan subgroup See Language page
dart (blowgun) dardo, birote (Peru), bala (Peru) dardo, seta subsistence tool missing hunting and warfare See Language page
deity/powerful spirit/culture figure dios(es), deidad divinidade, figura mítica culture-mythology paapa paapa god semantic shift father' Probably from 'father' In RN region, frequently translates as 'Bone-Son', 'One on the bone', etc. See Language page
digging stick subsistence tool Missing See Language page
dream sueño, soñar sonho, sonhar culture-mythology eʔmoronoʔpe eʔmoronoʔpe inheritance Pemongan subgroup See Language page
drum tambor tambor culture-mythology missing See Language page
fan abanico abanador, abano subsistence tool wuríwóʔ wuríwóʔ inheritance Proto-Carib esp. for fanning a cooking fire See Language page
feather headdress plumaje, corona de plumas enfeite/capacete de penas culture-mythology missing See Language page
fetish, charm fetiche, encanto, filtro de amor, pusanga feitiço, puçanga culture-mythology missing See Language page
fireplace hogar lareira other missing See Language page
firewood leña lenha other apoʔ-keme (SIL) apoʔ-keme (SIL) inheritance Venezuelan (N. Amazonian) subgroup See Language page
fish (with fish-poison) pescar con barbasco, barbasquear pescar com timbó; tinguijar food missing See Language page
fish (with line) anzuelear, pescar con linea pescar (com linha) food euʔka (SM) euʔka (SM) unique See Language page
fish poison barbasco, matapez (Colombia) timbó subsistence tool aja Inheritance Venezuelan (N. Amazonian) subgroup See Language page
fishing line cordel/cuerda p/ pescar, sedal, tanze linha de pesca subsistence tool konoi jewa konoi jewa inheritance Pemongan subgroup Compound fishhook string' See Language page
fishtrap trampa de peces, trampa matapi, cacuri subsistence tool tarápa (fishing net), simú (fish trap); pentɨ (IDS) tarápa (fishing net), simú (fish trap); pentɨ (IDS) unknown Alternate: tarápa See Language page
flat bread, cassava bread pan de yuca, casabe/cazabe beiju food ikkéí ikkéí inheritance Pemongan subgroup usually manioc; agriculture, but also can be made from certain wild seeds/fruits See Language page
flour/meal from manioc fariña, mañoco (Venezuela); harina farinha food ùʔwí ùʔwí loan Tupi-Guarani? WW %uʔwi Yucuna uʔuwí, Macushi ùʔwí; Nheengatu uĩ: Mello: TG *uʔi agriculture See Language page
flute flauta, quena (Peru) flauta culture-mythology missing multiple types? japurutu, deer-bone, etc. See Language page
game animal caza, animal de caza caça, animal de caça food kamo (SM) kamo (SM) inheritance Interesting correlation to 'fish' in Tukanoan languages See Language page
genipap culture-mythology Missing See Language page
gourd (dipper/bowl) cucharón, pate (Peru), totomo, totuma, totumo cuia subsistence tool pisa (SM) pisa (SM) gourd inheritance Proto-Carib cf. Yukpa Attested Macushi, Yukpa, Eñepa See Language page
grater rallador, rallo ralador, ralo subsistence tool súmarí súmarí inheritance Proto-Carib Probably Carib loan in Paresi tʃimjare esp. for grating manioc, but can be used for other things as well See Language page
grave tumba, sepultura, sepulcro sepultura, sepulcro, cova culture-mythology uuruwai uuruwai unknown See Language page
grid of sticks for smoking meat or placing objects (shelf) barbacoa jirau subsistence tool missing See Language page
griddle for cooking flatbread tiesto (Colombia), budare (Venezuela), tortera (Peru) forno para beiju subsistence tool missing agriculture? See Language page
gun arma, escopeta espingarda, fusil acculturation arakkapusaʔ arakkapusaʔ loan Spanish 'escopeta' Attested Akawaio, Eñepa, Macushi See Language page
hammock hamaca, chinchorro rede culture-material áttá áttá inheritance Proto-Carib? Attested Venezuelan and Guianan branches See Language page
hat sombero chapéu dress aroʔ aroʔ semantic shift Venezuelan (N. Amazonian) subgroup from 'headdress' See Language page
shaman, healer chamán, brujo xaman, pajé, feiticeiro culture-mythology píásaŋ píásaŋ inheritance Proto-Carib? Attested Venezuelan + Guiana branches 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
hollow log/trough for beer-making canoa para chicha cocho de caxiri narcotics atapuwa (SM) atapuwa (SM) unknown See Language page
honey miel mel food wan (SM) wan (SM) inheritance Proto-Carib only gathered in wild throughout Amazonia? See Language page
hunt cazar caçar food woʔna (SM) woʔna (SM) inheritance Pemongan subgroup See Language page
knife cuchillo faca culture-material tawará tawará unique Pemongan subgroup shared Pemon See Language page
loincloth taparrabos, guayuco, pampanilla tanga, tapa-sexo dress jaʔsan Missing See Language page
machete machete facão culture-material kusupará kusupará loan - WW %sipara/sapere WW %sapara Carib (e.g. Pemon kusupará); Urarina sa:beɽe; Iquito sáhuiri; Sikuani sipari (axe); Carib (spear) See Language page
mortar mortero pilão subsistence tool séni séni unique See Language page
fence, palisade cerco cerca other seereka (SM) seereka (SM) loan Spanish/Portuguese may be related to defense/warfare? See Language page
panpipe carrizo, zampoñas, flautas de pan, rondadora caniço, flauta de pã culture-mythology missing See Language page
paper papel papel acculturation kaareta kaareta loan Span/Port 'carta' From Port. 'carta (letter)' See Language page
pestle pilón, mano de mortero, mazo, moledor mão de pilão subsistence tool aʔyainon (SM) aʔyainon (SM) unknown See Language page
pipe for tobacco pipa cachimbo other paipa Loan Spanish See Language page
plate plato prato culture-material pɨratu (SM) pɨratu (SM) loan Spanish/Portuguese Nheengatu parátu (from POR); see also Arawak (e..g Yucuna paɾatú); Carib (e.g. Makushi pɨratu); Jivaro (e.g. Aguaruna parátu); Hup padatu=b'ɔk See Language page
policeman polícia policía acculturation missing See Language page
pot olla, pote panela, vasilha subsistence tool ɨiní ɨiní inheritance Proto-Carib? Attested Venezuelan + Guiana branches See Language page
rattle matraca, maraca marico, chocalho culture-mythology iwaiji iwaiji unknown See Language page
resin resina, brea, copal resina, brea, breu subsistence tool eʔku (SM), maitikin (Freitas 2003) eʔku (SM), maitikin (Freitas 2003) unknown; unknown See Language page
ritual song cycle (kapiwaya) kapiwaya capiwaya culture-mythology missing See Language page
salt sal sal food pan pan inheritance Proto-Carib? See Language page
school escuela escola acculturation missing See Language page
shoes zapatos sapatos dress pisaʔsaʔ pisaʔsaʔ unknown See Language page
skirt falda, saya, fustan, pollera saia culture-material u-saja-ri u-saja-ri loan Port/Span saia WW %saja Port > Nheengatu > others? Arawak (e.g. Baniwa tsʰaaja); Makushi u-saja-ri; Wanano saya si; Nheengatu saja; Ninam saja Phrase u=my; saya=skirt; ri= possession See Language page
soldier soldado soldado acculturation surara surara loan - WW %surara WW %surara Port via Nheengatu; also in Arawak, Carib, East Tukanoan, Yanomamo. Nheengatu surara; Makushi surara; Hup sudadu; East Tukanoan (e.g. Cubeo ʈʃulala); Ninam sotatu See Language page
song (generic) canción, canto canção culture-mythology missing See Language page
spear lanza lança subsistence tool missing See Language page
starch (tapioca, other) almidón goma de tapioca food ímú ímú inheritance Pemongan subgroup See Language page
stone for lighting fires piedra para hacer fuego pedra para acender fogo culture-material missing See Language page
sugarcane/sugar azúcar, caña de azúcar açucar (de cana) acculturation aʔkiʔku aʔkiʔku unknown See Language page
tapioca drink, mingau cahuana, caguana mingau food missing agriculture See Language page
thatch/roof crisneja palha, caraná culture-material kuwai jare kuwai jare unknown Other complex kuwai=??; yare= leaf See Language page
tipiti (manioc squeezer) tipiti, matafrio, sebucán, exprimador, prensa para yuca tipiti food tɨnkiʔ (SM) tɨnkiʔ (SM) inheritance Venezuelan (N. Amazonian) subgroup word of Tupi origin; agriculture: specifically for squeezing poison out of manioc See Language page
tobacco (native) narcotics kawáí Inheritance Venezuelan (N. Amazonian) subgroup Likely loan into Hodi ʰkawoi See Language page
tripod for washing manioc trípode tripé subsistence tool missing agriculture See Language page
venom for darts, poison veneno curare subsistence tool maiʔpa-i-ya maiʔ ke maiʔpa-i-ja maiʔ ke poison unknown hunting, currently is falling out of use in Vaupés region, associated primarily with h-g groups (but this may be recent?) See Language page
wax cera cera other moronpɨ moronpɨ beeswax inheritance Pemongan subgroup See Language page
woven strainer/sieve colador tejido, cedazo (Peru), cernedor (Peru) peneira, cumatá subsistence tool yainonka jainonka inheritance Pemongan subgroup agriculture? commonly used for sifting dry manioc flour See Language page
yurupari, jurupari (or any flutes forbidden to women) yurupari jurupari culture-mythology missing a ritual complex in various parts of Amazonia involving sacred flutes/trumpets, forbidden to women. See Language page
basket (general) canasta, canasto, cesta cesto culture-material wopá, wariʔsa wopá, wariʔsa unique; inheritance See Language page
drum (large signal) tambor, manguaré, maguaré (Colombia) tambor culture missing Used to be used by Tukanoan peoples (and others?), sound carried for long distances See Language page
healer curandero benzador, curandeiro, kumu (Tukano) culture-mythology inheritance 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
clothing ropa roupa culture-mythology pon (SM) pon (SM) inheritance See Language page
ghost (of dead person)/evil spirit espíritu malo, espíritu maligno, fantasma, demonio espirito culture-mythology ekaton (SM) ekaton (SM) inheritance See Language page
paddle/oar remo remo transport naire naire inheritance See Language page
rope/string mecate, cuerda, soga corda culture eʔseusa (IDS) eʔseusa (IDS) inheritance See Language page
tattoo tatuaje, tatu tatuagem culture-mythology missing See Language page
paint body, body paint pintura corporal pintura corporal culture-mythology See Language page
pipe for tobacco pipa cachimbo other pipe loan Spanish See Language page
fermented drink masato, chicha caxiri, chicha culture kasiri kasiri inheritance prioritizes manioc beer where distinction is made See Language page
bottom grinding stone manufacture missing if different word from top grinding stone See Language page
digging stick subsistence tool missing See Language page
top grinding stone metate, mano; piedra de moler metate, mano manufacture missing use word for top grinding stone if different from bottom stone See Language page
boomerang/throwing stick (generic) subsistence tool missing See Language page
spearthrower subsistence tool missing See Language page
house other wɨttɨ (IDS), ewɨʔ (SM) wɨttɨ (IDS), ewɨʔ (SM) unknown 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 Abbott 1991
Phonology - Segmental Glottalized/ejective consonants Phonemic contrast [NOT counting glottal stop/fricative] no Abbott 1991: 140-148
Phonology - Segmental Palatalized stops Phonemic contrast no Abbott 1991: 140-148
Phonology - Segmental Phonemic vowel length Does the language have long and short vowels? yes Abbott 1991: 143
Phonology - Segmental Phonemic glottalization/laryngealization of vowels no Abbott 1991: 140-148
Phonology - Segmental Complex onsets Onset consists of more than one consonant phoneme no Abbott 1991: 145-147 Note from phonology sheet says CCV occurs in only one grammatical morpheme, however I was not able to locate it in the source cited. Relevant information: "Occasionally long consonants occur. These are indicated by writing two consonants together and they
Phonology - Segmental No codas *(C)VC [no also equals highly constrained] no Abbott 1991: 140-148
Phonology - Segmental Word-final coda required Do all syllables end in a consonant? no Abbott 1991: 140-148
Phonology - Suprasegmental Contrastive tones Note how many contrastive tones no Abbott 1991: 140-148
Phonology - Suprasegmental Contrastive stress Does stress occur on different syllables with meaning difference? no Abbott 1991: 140-148
Phonology - Suprasegmental Nasalization property of morpheme or syllable In contrast to nasalization as a property of segments no Abbott 1991: 140-148
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? no Abbott 1991: 140-148
Phonology - Suprasegmental Vowel harmony no Abbott 1991: 140-148
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 person-markers, aspect, tense and number Abbott 1991: 113
Morphology - General Inflection manifested by replacement of segmental or suprasegmental phonemes Stem change, tone no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Morphology - General Verbal synthesis (1+ inflectional categories marked by verbal affixes) Morphological complexity in verbs - multiple inflectional affixes in a single verb word yes Abbott 1991: 113
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: strongly prefixing There are many more prefixes than suffixes no Abbott 1991: 113-115
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: strongly suffixing There are many more suffixes than prefixes yes Abbott 1991: 113-115
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: roughly equal or one weakly preferred The numbers of suffixes and prefixes are not notably different no Abbott 1991: 113-115
Morphology - General Reduplication: full The full morpheme is reduplicated yes Seen when conveying a large (numeral) number. Carson 1982:73
Morphology - General Reduplication: partial Only part of the morpheme is reduplicated yes Seen when indicating second person singular. Carson 1982:97
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Productive NN compounding Noun compounds created from two noun phrases are common and systematically produced yes Carson 1982: 60
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 Carson 1982; Abbott 1991 No evidence of this; examples support an answer of "no."
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Productive VV compounding Serial verb constructions involve chaining of roots together in one morphophonological word no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991 No evidence of this; examples support an answer of "no."
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 info Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
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 ená 'become', wanɨ 'be', komámɨ 'stay, remain', mápɨɨtɨɨ 'cause' and kúpɨ 'force' Carson 1982: 136
Morphology - Incorporation Incorporation of nouns into verbs is a productive intransitivizing process Verb contains nominal segment yes Carson 1982:105
Morphology - Incorporation Productive incorporation of other elements (adjectives, locatives, etc.) into verbs Like noun incorporation, but incorporated elements are not nouns no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
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 Carson 1982: 56
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Number of noun classes/genders Note the (approximate) total number of noun classes/genders 3 Class A, B and C. Class A is 'animate related'. Class B refers to all domestic animals. Class C includes kinship and body part nouns. Carson 1982: 56-57
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 nominalizers: '-toʔ' (gerundive), '-kói', plural '-kon' (perfermer of the verb), '-eŋ' (actor/one who), 'n-eŋ' (agentive), 'tɨ-…-s-eŋ' (patient, reflexive patient) Carson 1982: 61-4
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Sex is a relevant category in noun class(ification) system for animates Masculine, feminine, neuter no "Macuxi does not make productive use of grammatical gender." Carson 1992: 77
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Sex is a relevant category in noun class(ification) system for inanimates no Carson 1992: 77
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 Class A, B and C. Class A is 'animate related'. Class B refers to all domestic animals. Class C includes kinship and body part nouns. Carson 1982: 56-57
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 no Carson 1992: 77
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Shape is a relevant category in the noun class(ification) system for animates no Carson 1992: 55-86
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Shape is a relevant category in the noun class(ification) system for inanimates no Carson 1992: 55-86
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 Carson 1992: 55-86
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Numeral classifiers (specific to numerals) Special classifier forms that occur only with numerals no Carson 1982: 56-58
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 nominalizers: '-toʔ' (gerundive), '-kói', plural '-kon' (perfermer of the verb), '-eŋ' (actor/one who), 'n-eŋ' (agentive), 'tɨ-…-s-eŋ' (patient, reflexive patient) Carson 1982: 61-4
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 no Carson 1982:73-77
Nominal Categories - Number Plural affix on noun yes Carson 1982:73-77
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked by stem change or tone on noun no Carson 1982:73-77
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked by reduplication of noun no Carson 1982:73-77
Nominal Categories - Number Plural word/clitic no Carson 1982:73-77
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked on human or animate nouns only no Carson 1982: 73-75
Nominal Categories - Number Pronominal plural: stem + nominal plural affix Pronouns use a nominal plural affix not specific to pronouns yes Carson 1982: 89 *This seems a bit odd to me- pronouns using the inanimate plural marker rather than the animate one- re-read section and still got same conclusion
Nominal Categories - Number Unique associative plural marker e.g. 'John and his associates', 'John and them' no Carson 1982: 89
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 Carson 1982; Abbott 1991 No reference to articles given in source- consistent w/ other Carib lgs; I know there are no articles in Macushi, but can't find a place where this is explicitely stated.
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Marker of definiteness distinct from demonstratives Focus on articles/markers whose primary function is to mark definiteness no Carson 1982: 64-68
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Indefinite or non-specific article or marker no Carson 1982: 64-68
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Inclusive/exclusive: in free pronominals Inclusive =us + you, exclusive = us but not you yes Carson 1982: 89
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Inclusive/exclusive: in verbal inflection (bound) no Carson 1982:
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Distance contrasts in demonstratives (number) Note the number of distances in the demonstrative system 2 near' and 'at a distance' Carson 1982: 92-93
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Other contrasts in demonstratives (visibility, elevation, etc.) yes time, location Carson 1982:113
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 3sg pronouns no Abbott 1991: 99
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 3pl pronouns no Abbott 1991: 99
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 1st and/or 2nd person pronouns no Abbott 1991: 99
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Formal/informal distinction in pronouns Polite pronominal variants or differential avoidance of pronouns no Abbott 1991: 99
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 Abbott 1991: 37, 85 "expressed by means of the detransitivizer verb prefix"- Ex S on 85 shows a pre-position refl marker
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Adpositions mark core NPs Prepositions or postpositions mark subjects, objects, beneficiaries/recipients yes location, time, manner, instrument, comparison, comitative, benefactive and source (p. 111) Abbott 1991: 110-112
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: number of cases Note the number of grammatical relations that may be morphologically marked on the noun 6 Agentive: -ya, dative: -piá, benefactive: -tompé, locative: -po, instrument: -ke Carson 1982: 78-79
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: only non-core arguments morphologically marked Subjects, objects, beneficiaries/recipients NOT marked, but other grammatical relations are no Carson 1982: 78-79
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 "[the agent marker] is not used with subjects of intransitive verbs"; only subjects of transitive verbs are marked (unmarked absolutive). Carson 1982: 79
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: asymmetrical Semantically defined subset of NPs marked for case, e.g. animates no Carson 1982: 79
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: suffix or postpositional clitic yes Carson 1982: 78
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: prefix or prepositional clitic no Carson 1982: 78
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: infix or inpositional clitic no Carson 1982: 78
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: stem change no Carson 1982: 78-86
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: tone no Carson 1982: 78-86
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: comitative = instrumental Same marking for 'with a person' and 'with an instrument' no Carson 1982: 78-86
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-2 At least some part of the system involves base-2 no Carson 1982: 70
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-5 At least some part of the system involves base-5 no Carson 1982: 70
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-10 At least some part of the system involves base-10 no Carson 1982: 70
Nominal Categories - Numerals Other base (specify) 4, 20, etc. 3 The numerals to number three are primitive roots. All of the other numbers are derived in combination with words for hand 'miá', foot '-púu' and person 'pemoŋkoŋ' Carson 1982: 68-70
Nominal Categories - Numerals Etymological transparency in any numerals under 5 e.g. two = 'eye-quantity' no Carson 1982: 68-73
Nominal Categories - Numerals Numerals do not go above 5 'Many' or some other non-exact term used no Carson 1982: 68-73
Nominal Categories - Numerals Numerals do not go above 10 'Many' or some other non-exact term used no Carson 1982: 68-73
Nominal Categories - Other nominal Tense or aspect inflection on non-verbal predicates i.e. nominal or adjectival yes Aspect (on nouns). Carson 1982:112
Nominal Categories - Other nominal Person inflection on non-verbal predicates i.e. nominal or adjectival yes Nominal. Carson 1982:105
Nominal Syntax - Possession Pronominal possessive affixes: prefix on N alienable/inalienable? yes Abbott 1991: 101
Nominal Syntax - Possession Pronominal possessive affixes: suffix on N alienable/inalienable? no Carson 1982: 57
Nominal Syntax - Possession Head/dependent marking in possessive NP: dependent e.g. 'the boy-'s dog' no Carson 1982:104-112
Nominal Syntax - Possession Head/dependent marking in possessive NP: head e.g. 'the boy his-dog' yes Carson 1982:104-112
Nominal Syntax - Possession Possessive classifiers There are special classifiers that occur with possessed entities no Carson 1982: 56-58
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 "The possession suffix must occur on alienably posessed items…. The inalienably possessed item never, except in past possession, occurs with the posession suffix, but only with the possessor prefix." The possessor prefix is a pronominal form. Abbott 1991: 85
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) yes "The possession suffix must occur on alienably posessed items…. The inalienably possessed item never, except in past possession, occurs with the posession suffix, but only with the possessor prefix" Abbott 1991: 85
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 Abbott 1991: 85
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Inalienable possession of kin terms 'my-father' but *father yes Carson 1982: 58
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Inalienable possession of body parts (human/animal) 'my-leg' but *leg yes Carson 1982: 58
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 This does not appear to be the case from the Macushi texts in Abbott Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Nominal Syntax - Adjectives Underived adjectives There are underived adjectives which do not have counterparts in other word classes no "There are no adjectives. Only nouns occur to modify nouns in noun phrases" Abbott 1991: 128
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 no "There are no adjectives. Only nouns occur to modify nouns in noun phrases" Abbott 1991: 129
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: action/state (arrive/arrival) There is a morpheme which derives an event from a verb yes Abbott 1991: 95
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: agentive (sing/singer) There is a morpheme which derives an agent or subject from a verb yes Abbott 1991: 93
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: object (sing/song) There is a morpheme which derives a patient or object from a verb yes Abbott 1991: 96
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive verbalizing morphology There is a morpheme which derives a verb from a noun or adjective yes Carson 1982:134
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' yes Comitative phrases receive a marker of subordination, while NP coordination utilizes conjunctions. Carson 1982:164-167
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Dedicated past marker(s) Past tense is regularly morphologically marked on the verb or elsewhere yes Abbott 1991: 116
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Multiple past tenses, distinguishing distance from time of reference e.g. distant vs. recent past no Past and proximate Abbott 1991: 116
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Multiple future tenses, distinguishing distance from time of reference e.g. imminent vs. distant future no Abbott 1991: 116
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Dedicated future or non-past marker(s) no Abbott 1991: 113
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: prefix no Abbott 1991: 113
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: suffix yes Abbott 1991: 113
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: tone or ablaut no Abbott 1991: 113
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect suppletion no Abbott 1991: 113
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 Lots of forms: 2nd person static: -kî/-tî, motion away from: -ta/-tantî, motion towards: -tane'kî/-tane'tî, future: m-…-I, future polite: mî-…-I, negative: k(î/î'/îs)-…-I; 1+2person hortative: -pai/-pai'nîkon; 3rd person: n(î)-/i-…-i Abbott 1991: 49
Verbal Categories - Mood Polite imperative morpheme There is a distinct morpheme for polite imperative constructions (specify if it has other functions in the language) yes Abbott 1991: 49
Verbal Categories - Mood Difference between negation in imperative (prohibitive) and declarative clauses There are different strategies for marking negation in imperative and declarative clauses yes In imperatives the verb is marked with the negative imperative affixation (see above), in demonstratives, a clause level negativizer, 'pra' occurs occurs following the clause. Abbott 1991: 52, 55
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 Abbott 1991: 49
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: affix on verb Inflectional marking of capacity to do something no Abbott: 1991: 122
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: verbal construction yes expressed by the adverb 'eserike' plus an inflected form of the copula, both of which follow the uninflected main verb Abbott: 1991: 122
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: other marking no Abbott: 1991: 122
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: affix on verb Modal expressing hypothesis no info Abbott 1991: 117-122
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: verbal construction no info Abbott 1991: 117-122
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: other marking no info Abbott 1991: 117-122
Verbal Categories - Mood Marking of expected/unexpected action or result There is inflectional marking of expected/unexpected no info Abbott 1991: 117-122
Verbal Categories - Mood Verbal frustrative Modal expressing frustration ("in vain") no Abbott 1991: 117-122
Verbal Categories - Mood Verbal habitual Modal expressing habituality yes Abbott 1991: 118
Verbal Categories - Mood Apprehensive construction There is a single morpheme or verb form to mean '(be careful lest) X happens' no Abbott 1991: 117-122
Verbal Categories - Mood Reality status marking on verbs There are dedicated morpheme(s) for realis/irrealis 'actualized/unactualized events' no Abbott 1991: 117-122
Verbal Categories - Mood Affect markers (positive/negative) Note whether these inflectional markers are positive or negative no Abbott 1991: 117-122
Verbal Categories - Directionals Directional elements affixed to the verb There are grammaticalized elements indicating movement away, toward, there and back, etc. yes Carson 1982: 82
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized visual Indicates information has been witnessed visually - indicate only if an overt marker no Use of various verbs convey this. Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized nonvisual Indicates information has been sensed firsthand but not visually (usually heard; also smelled, tasted, felt) no Use of various verbs convey this. Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
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. no Use of various verbs convey this. Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized reportive Indicates speaker is not responsible for veracity of statement, merely reporting; 'allegedly' no Use of various verbs convey this. Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized quotative Indicate presence of adjacent representation of repeated discourse no Use verbs "say, tell, ask" to convey quotative. Carson 1982:170
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Other evidential Any other evidential values not represented above no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: verb affix or clitic no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: part of tense system Includes portmanteau morphs no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: separate particle no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: modal morpheme no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Verbal Categories - Verbal number Verbal number suppletion yes "Collective number is encoded by a verb suffix and refers to the person of the subject or object or both, but it never occurs with the person category of 1 or 1+3 or 3:PL" Abbott 1991: 123
Verbal Categories - Other Social interaction markers Note the type of interaction no
Word Order No fixed basic constituent order no "The normal order of nuclear constituents is subject-verb, with the exception of the transitive and quotative in which the order is object-verb-subject." Abbott 1991: 24
Word Order VS in intransitive clauses Verb precedes subject no Abbott 1991: 24
Word Order VS in transitive clauses yes Abbott 1991: 24
Word Order VO in transitive clauses Verb precedes object no Abbott 1991: 24
Word Order OS in transitive clauses Object precedes subject yes Abbott 1991: 24
Word Order Preposition-Noun no Carson 1982:79-85
Word Order Noun-Postposition or case suffix yes Carson 1982:79-85
Word Order Gen-Noun Possessive phrase composed of a free possessor and its possessum has possessor first (e.g. John's book) yes Carson 1982: 56
Word Order Noun-Gen Possessive phrase composed of a free possessor and its possessum has possessum first (e.g. 'book of John') no Carson 1982: 56
Word Order Adj-Noun Adjective precedes the noun no "There are no adjectives. Only nouns occur to modify nouns in noun phrases" Abbott 1991: 129
Word Order Noun-Adj Adjective follows the noun no "There are no adjectives. Only nouns occur to modify nouns in noun phrases" Abbott 1991: 129
Word Order Dem-Noun yes Carson 1982: 113
Word Order Noun-Dem no Carson 1982: 113
Word Order Num-Noun no Carson 1982:73
Word Order Noun-Num yes Carson 1982:73
Word Order Noun-Rel Relative clause follows noun that it modifies yes Carson 1982: 168
Word Order Rel-Noun Relative clause precedes noun that it modifies no Carson 1982: 168
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 Carson 1982: 168
Word Order Relative clause is correlative or adjoined e.g. 'what is running, the dog chased that cat' no Carson 1982: 168
Word Order Question word is clause initial 'what', 'who', etc. come first in interrogative clause yes Carson 1982: 123
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 no Carson 1982: 79
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 Carson 1982: 79
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 yes Carson 1982: 79
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: tripartite Intransitive subjects, transitive subjects, and transitive objects all receive distinct case markers no Carson 1982: 79
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 Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: marked accusative no The subject of transitive clauses is marked by the suffix -ya, both when it is a free form nominal or pronominal, and when it is a verbal suffix. Intransitive subject and transitive object are not marked. Abbott 1991: 83
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: marked nominative no Abbott 1991: 83
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: ergative-absolutive yes, no, mixed, other yes Abbott 1991: 83
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: tripartite no Abbott 1991: 83
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: active-inactive no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: nominative-accusative Same as above, for pronominal affixes/clitics on verbs no The subject of transitive clauses is marked by the suffix -ya, both when it is a free form nominal or pronominal, and when it is a verbal suffix. Intransitive subject and transitive object are not marked. Abbott 1991: 83
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: ergative-absolutive yes, no, mixed, other yes Abbott 1991: 83
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: active-inactive no Abbott 1991: 83
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 Abbott 1991: 83
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 "Macushi has an ergative case-marking system that operates in both main clauses and subordinate clauses." Abbott 1991: 83
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 Abbott 1991: 99-100
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 Abbott 1991: 99
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 free pronouns only occur in the 1+3 and 3:COLL person, otherwise are suffixed Abbott 1991: 101 See chart
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 Abbott 1991: 99
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 Abbott 1991: 99
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person marking on intransitive verbs Intransitive verbs take person-marking clitics/affixes yes Abbott 1991: 101 See chart
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person marking (of agents) on transitive verbs Transitive verbs take subject (A) markers yes Abbott 1991: 101 See chart
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person-marking (of objects) on transitive verbs Transitive verbs take object (P) markers yes Abbott 1991: 101 See chart
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 Abbott 1991: 101 See chart
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 Abbott 1991: 101 See chart
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 Carson 1982:68
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 There are two other third person pronouns that occur only as free forms and their only syntactic function is to show possession. Abbott 1991: 100
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 no Abbott 1991: 101 See chart
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 no Carson 1982:166-169 Can't find any examples of or writing about ditransitive clauses
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 yes Carson 1982:166-169 Can't find any examples of or writing about ditransitive clauses
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 Carson 1982:166-169 Can't find any examples of or writing about ditransitive clauses
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 Abbott 1991: 37-38
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 Abbott 1991: 37-38
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 yes Reflexives, reciprocals, and unspecified arguments are all expressed by means of the detransitivizer verb prefix at-/es-/e'- Abbott 1991: 37-38
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 yes Reflexives, reciprocals, and unspecified arguments are all expressed by means of the detransitivizer verb prefix at-/es-/e'- […] The only type of passive constructions in Macushi is the medial-passive described in section 4.1 [above]. Abbott 1991: 37-40
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 info Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Other intransitivizing morphology There is/are some other mechanism(s) for reducing valency yes Reflexives, reciprocals, and unspecified arguments are all expressed by means of the detransitivizer verb prefix at-/es-/e'- Abbott 1991: 37
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Applicative: benefactive Applicative adds a beneficiary/maleficiary object argument to the verb yes Carson 1982:81
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Applicative: other Applicative adds some other object argument to the verb no Carson 1982:81
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: prefix Causative is morphological and is attached before the root of the verb no Abbott 1991: 40-41
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: suffix Causative is morphological and is attached after the root of the verb yes "Some intransitive verbs occur with transitivizing suffixes that may have a causativizing function: -pa". Another type of causative is expressed by the verbal suffix -me'po 'to order'. Abbott 1991: 40-41
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative marked by circumfix, stem change, or tone Morphological causative other than simple prefix/suffix no Abbott 1991: 40-41
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: serial verb or analytical construction Causative construction that involves periphrasis or serialization yes A causative is expressed by the transitive verb emapu'ti 'cause' occuring with a subordinate clause. Abbott 1991: 40-41
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 Abbott 1991: 40-41
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: dedicated sociative Indicates that causer participates in event yes "A causative is expressed by the transitive verb emapu'ti 'cause' occuring with a subordinate clause. When this occurs the causing agent is the subject of the main clause and the causee is the subject of the subordinate clause. (The verb of the main claus Abbott 1991: 40-41
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Other transitivizing morphology (adds valence) There is/are some other mechanism(s) for increasing valency no Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Simple Clauses - Negation Clausal negator is a preposed element Clausal negator is a preposed element yes Abbott 1991: 55
Simple Clauses - Negation Clausal negator is a postposed element Clausal negator is a postposed element no Abbott 1991: 55
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: affix Negatives: affix no Abbott 1991: 55
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: particle Negatives: particle yes Abbott 1991: 55
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: auxiliary verb Negatives: auxiliary verb no Abbott 1991: 55
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: double Standard (non-emphatic) negation typically requires two morphemes, e.g. French 'ne V pas' no Negation is generally a sentence or clause-level morpheme, on nominals it is a suffix. There are examples of these being used together (p. 61, s. 192-3), but a double negative produces a positive result. Abbott 1991: 55-61 No evidence shown in example sentences.
Simple Clauses - Negation Distinct negative form for 'NP does not exist' no info Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Simple Clauses - Negation Distinct negative expression 'I don't know' Lexical expression or highly idiomatic phrase no info Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: interrogative particle Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by interrogative particle no Polar questions do not have any overt marking other than the intonation. The word order remains the same for declarative clauses. Abbott 1991: 46
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: verb morphology Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by interrogative verb morphology no Polar questions do not have any overt marking other than the intonation. The word order remains the same for declarative clauses. Abbott 1991: 46
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: word order Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by word order (esp. subject-verb inversion) no Polar questions do not have any overt marking other than the intonation. The word order remains the same for declarative clauses. Abbott 1991: 46
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: intonation only Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by intonation only yes Polar questions do not have any overt marking other than the intonation. The word order remains the same for declarative clauses. Abbott 1991: 46
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 Abbott 1991: 46-48
Simple Clauses - Predication Predicate adjectives: verbal Adjectives act like verbs in predicative position no "There are no adjectives. Only nouns occur to modify nouns in noun phrases" Abbott 1991: 129
Simple Clauses - Predication Predicate adjectives: nominal Adjectives act like nouns in predicative position no "There are no adjectives. Only nouns occur to modify nouns in noun phrases" Abbott 1991: 129
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) yes Carson 1982:87-124
Simple Clauses - Predication Headless relative clauses Compare Eng 'the one that fell' (but in Eng 'one' could be considered a head) yes "Simple nominalization often results in an appositive relationship with another noun phrase, usually with an intonational break. The nominalized construction can also occur alone without a head noun." Abbott 1991: 70
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 Abbott 1991: 71
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 Carson 1982:164-169
Simple Clauses - Predication Relativizer is a verbal affix no A relative pronoun or a demonstrative. Carson 1982:164-169
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 Carson 1982:164-169
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 Carson 1982:157
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 Clausal serialization occurs, but there is no evidence of shared subject marking. Carson 1982; Abbott 1991
Simple Clauses - Other Morphologically marked switch-reference system There are special markers to indicate same vs. different subject when two clauses are combined no Abbott 1991: 72
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 yes Carson 1982:167


Ethnographic Information
Current Population (speakers) Former Population Estimate Subsistence Preference Density Sedentism Ecotome Marriage Pattern Notes Source
25000 large AG dense sedentary