Emerillon language

Emerillon (French pronunciation: [emeʁijõ]) (alternate names Émérillon, Emerilon, Emerion, Mereo, Melejo, Mereyo, Teco) is a Tupi–Guarani language spoken in French Guiana on the rivers Camopi and Tampok. The speakers of Emerillon, also known as Teko people, refer to their language as Teke.

Emerillon is mutually intelligible to Wayãpi, a language indigenous to French Guiana and Brazil.^[2]

History of the population[]

The remaining Emerillon live in settlements in French Guiana on the Camopi, a tributary of the Oiapoque River, and on the Tampok, a tributary of the Maroni River (near Brazil and Suriname, respectively). The first reports of contact between the Emerillon and Europeans date from the early eighteenth century, when the Emerillon lived in an area similar to that which they now call home. Before migrating to French Guiana, it is unknown where they might have lived. They were estimated to have a population of 350 to 400 people in 1767, and they lived in villages on the Maroni's left bank.

The Emerillon-speaking areas within French Guiana (based on Goury 2002^{[citation needed]})

The Emerillon were more nomadic than other Indians in the region, according to early observers: mainly hunters, the Emerillon grew only enough manioc to meet their basic needs. They used bark to make their primitive hammocks because they couldn't cultivate cotton. They did, however, make manioc graters for exchange. They were devastated by warfare in the nineteenth century, to the point that they were forced to serve as slaves the Oyampik, their former enemies. By the late 1800s, the Emerillon had formed a strong bond with Creole gold prospectors, their numbers had been decimated by epidemic diseases, and they had become highly acculturated, speaking Creole and dressing in Western garb. Dogs were historically kept by the Emerillon, who now breed them specifically for trade with the Wayana in exchange for beads. Wild fruits, honey, butterflies, reptiles, hog plums, palm cabbages, guavas, mushrooms, Brazil nuts, and sweet tree beans were also collected by the Emerillon.

Even when their numbers were higher, the Emerillon lived in small villages of 30 to 40 people, with only a few reaching 200. Villages were often relocated due to a variety of factors, including soil depletion, wars, trade needs, and a variety of customary reasons for abandoning the settlement (such as the death of an inhabitant). For defense against raids, villages were set back from rivers. A village, which was politically autonomous, was led by a headman and, on rare occasions, a council. Intertribal conflict was very common. Bows and arrows (which were rarely poisoned), axes, shields, and clubs were used by warriors, but blowguns were almost never used. The Emerillon went to war to exact vengeance for previous attacks as well as to acquire captives and slaves; captured men often married the daughters of their captors. As a form of vengeance, the Emerillon committed cannibalism. Puberty rituals served as a forewarning of imminent marriage. Boys were forced to endure labor ordeals, while girls were isolated and forced to follow food taboos. The deceased are buried with their personal belongings, covered in hammocks and sometimes in wooden coffins.

The language[]

Emerillon is only used along the French Guiana borders with Surinam and Brazil. There are only four hundred Emerillon speakers in the world. Although there are a limited number of speakers, Emerillon is still taught as a first language to children.^[2] Its name derives from mereñõ, a name given to members of the Emerillon tribe. They often refer to themselves as the Teko people – which translates to "human being" in Wayãpi.^[3]

Orthography[]

Emerillon is spelt phonetically based on the International Phonetic Alphabet, independent of French orthography.^[4] The system uses the letter ɨ for the close central unrounded vowel between i and u;^[5] e is pronounced é [e]; ö is a front rounded vowel (like German ö); vowels with a tilde are always nasal (ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ); b is prenasalized as [ᵐb].^[5]

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Gordon, Matthew; Rose, Françoise (2006). "Émérillon stress: A phonetic and phonological study". Anthropological Linguistics: 132–168. JSTOR 25132376.
• Grenand, Pierre; Grenand, Françoise (2017). "Pour une histoire de la cartographie des territoires teko et wayãpi (Commune de Camopi, Guyane française)". Open Edition. Revue d’ethnoécologie (in French).
• Rose, Françoise (2008). "A typological overview of Emerillon, a Tupí-Guaraní language from French Guiana". Linguistic Typology. 12 (3): 431–460. doi:10.1515/lity.2008.044.