Urarina language

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Urarina
Itucale
Native toPeru
RegionLoreto Region, Urarinas District along the Chambira River[1]
EthnicityUrarina people
Native speakers
3,000 (2002)[2]
Language family
Macro-Jibaro ?
  • Urarina
Writing system
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3ura
Glottologurar1246
ELPUrarina
Urarina language.png

Urarina is an isolated language spoken in Peru, specifically in the Loreto Region of Northwest Peru, by the Urarina people.[3] There are around 3,000 speakers in Urarinas District (along the Chambira River).[2] It uses a Latin script. It is also known as Itucali, Simacu or Shimacu.[2]

It has a canonical word order of object–verb–subject.[4][5]

Classification[]

The classification of Urarina remains contentious: academics have placed the language in at least four different language families including Panoan, Tupian, Macro-Tucanoan, and Amerind. However, the proposed language families share few similarities with Urarina, meaning it is likely best described as either “unclassified” or as a language isolate. It is usually assumed that it is a language isolate given Urarina’s complete lack of lexical overlap with any languages surrounding Urarina territory. [6]

Language contact[]

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Arawak, Leko, and Omurano language families due to contact.[7]

Status[]

Urarina is currently spoken by the 2,000-3,000 members of the Urarina tribe, the majority of whom have retained the ability to speak the language. However, bilingualism and use of Spanish in everyday life is on the rise, as more and more Spanish-speaking mestizos have immigrated to the valley where the Urarina live. While there is a bilingual education system, most bilingual schools almost exclusively use Spanish, as the majority of the teachers do not speak Urarina. [8] The version of Urarina that is spoken by younger generations has lost a substantial degree of grammatical complexity and vocabulary, as correlated to the loss of traditional cultural practices and beliefs. The language is considered potentially endangered. [6]

Phonology[]

The following is the phonology of Urarina as described by Olawsky.[6]

Consonants[]

    Bilabials Dentals Retroflexives Palatals Velars Glottals
Occlusives Voiceless t /t/ k /k/
Voiced b /b/ d /d/
Labials kw //
Fricatives Voiceless s /s/ sh /ʃ/ h /h/
Labials fw //
Palatalization hj //
Affricatives ts /t͡ɕ/
Nasals m /m/ n /n/ ng /ɲ/
Liquids l /l/ r /ɽ/

Vowels[]

Front Central Back
Close i /i/ ʉ /ʉ/ u /u/
Mid e /e/
Open a /a/

Grammar[]

Urarina has several rare grammatical characteristics. The language follows the OVS word order: of all the languages that use OVS word order, Urarina is among the strictest adherents to this word order in speech.[6] Another feature of Urarina is its complex system on all verbs (excluding borrowings). Every verb is marked according to one of three paradigms, as determined by a complicated set of pragmatic and syntactic conditions. [6]

Urarina follows a similarly unique word class system. Numerals and adjectives that are borrowed from Quechua and Spanish are placed in a completely separate class from indigenous Urarina words. Urarina also follows syntactic rules wherein the pitch-accent system changes the tone of a word, based on the preceding word class.[6] The language's set of unique features has recently garnered special attention from linguists. However, Urarina's distinctive grammatical features are gradually disappearing as younger generations speak a Urarina that is being influenced by a growing bilingualism in Spanish[6]

Like many other Amazonian languages, Urarina follows a polysynthetic, agglutinative word morphology in relating to verbs.[6]

Vocabulary[]

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Itucale.[1]

gloss Itucale
one exlehé
two kuradzá
head kuxterí
eye idichú
woman ení
fire öxsí
sun enotú
maize kaxturí
house luredí
white dzumaré

Flora and fauna[]

List of selected plant and animal names in Urarina:[9]

Urarina Local Spanish English Scientific name Family
aʉeno sacha culantro (coriander-like herb) Eryngium foetidum Apiaceae
aari topa balsa wood tree Ochroma pyramidale Bombacaceae
aari arambaza (type of bee)
aaĩ otorongo jaguar Felis yagouaroundi
aerana pucalupuna (type) Ceiba pentandra (type)
ahai ɲe paiche (fish) Arapaima gigas Arapaimidae
ahariri gamitana tambaqui (fish) Colossoma macropomum Characidae
ahjaʉi uvilla (type of tree) Pourouma cecropiifolia Moraceae
ahjaaone santa maria (type of pepper plant) Piperaceae
ajtɕuhiri armadillo grande giant armadillo Priodontes maximus
akʉaraa pona Arecaceae
akaa toé , datura Brugmansia sp. Solanaceae
akii camote morning glory (vine) Ipomoea sp. Convolvulaceae
alaa aguaje Mauritia flexuosa Palmae
alaaeri caimitu (tree) Pouteria caimito Sapotaceae
alajtɕõo jergón Bothrops atrox
alau maquisapa spider monkey Ateles paniscus
alauihja pero caspi (type of tree)
alõori panguana tinamou (partridge) Crypturellus undulatus
anaahe uvos hog plum, yellow mombin (tree) Spondias mombin Anacardiaceae
anajsihje mucura (herb) Petiveria alliacea Phytolaccaceae
anaue pichico tamarin (monkey) Saguinus spp.
arauata choro woolly monkey Lagothrix lagothricha
aresi ɲe mojara type of tetra (fish) Characidae
atari paufil razor-billed curassow (bird) Crax, Mitu
auri paucar oriole type (bird) Psarocolius sp. Icteridae
baka isitɕi teta de vaca (type of plant) Solanum mammosum
ʤaruba vaca marina Amazonian manatee Trichechus inunguis
darane mojara (type of fish) related to Characidae
duhwa cedro masha (tree) Cabralea sp. Meliaceae
ejtɕu cashapona stilt palm Socratea exorrhiza Palmae
elelia, elele chevón (type of tree)
enʉasoone nobia (type of catfish) Ageneiosus atronasus Auchenipteridae
esʉ shimbillo; guaba ice-cream bean (tree) Inga edulis Fabaceae
etoe musmuqui owl monkey Aotus nigriceps
fwafwafwa katʉ sapucho; sapo platano (type of banana) Musa sp.
fwafwafwa huapapa bird boat-billed heron Cochlearius cochlearius
fwanara lanahaj guineo (type of banana) Musa sp.
haja mullaca caspi (type of tree) Physalis angulata
hi ɲori ? (type of tree)
hiriri ɲo bagre (type of catfish) Pinirampus pirinampu Pimelodidae
hjaane achiote annatto (tree, herb) Bixa orellana Bixaceae
hjarana isana, caña brava Gynerium sagittatum Graminae
itɕai saeha papa (type of tuber) Dioscorea trifida Dioscoreaceae
kahjaʉsi cortadera (type of herb) Scleria Cyperaceae
kajahuri cumala (type of tree) Myristicaceae - any type
kakʉri trompetero grey-winged trumpeter (bird) Psophia crepitans
kameranati guineo pindorito (type of banana)
kati mono negro Cebus apella
kirimata boquichico tilapia (fish) Prochilodus Prochilodontidae
komokomo comocomo, garza blanca great egret Casmerodius alba
kukuri carachupa Southern naked-tailed armadillo Cabassous unicinctus
kurari palometa; macane silver dollar (fish) Mylossoma/Metynnis/Myleus spp. Characidae
kuri jagua, sacha huito (type of tree) Rubiaceae
kwairi ayahuasca (type of liana) Banisteriopsis caapi Malpighiaceae
laano yuca cassava; manioc Manihot esculenta Euphorbiaceae
lerano macana (type of knifefish)
meseri cocona (bush) Solanum sessiliflorum Solanaceae
nekwʉri puma garza rufescent tiger-heron Botaurus pinnatus, Tigrisoma lineatum
nekwʉʉri garabata (type of liana) similar to Uncaria spp. Rubiaceae
obana sajino collared peccary Pecari tajacu
ohwa huicungo (type of tree) Astrocaryum murumuru Palmae
raana huangana white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari
rihje pijuayo, pifayo peach palm Bactris gasipaes Palmae
risi ɲe chambira chambira palm Astrocaryum chambira Arecaceae
ruru coto red howler monkey Alouatta seniculus
siria dorado (type of catfish) Brachyplatystoma filamentosum Pimelodidae
suseri unchala grey-necked wood-rail (bird) Aramides cajanea
tariatɕa taricaya yellow-spotted river turtle Podocnemis unifilis
tururi llanchama (type of fig tree) Poulsenia armata Moraceae
urwari huitina (tuber) Xanthosoma sagittifolium Araceae
ʃabẽeto guayaba (type of tree) Psidium guajava Myrtaceae
ʃeremia pandisho, pan de árbol breadfruit tree Artocarpus altilis Moraceae
ʉkʉari oso hormiguero giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla
ʉkiasi renaco fig tree Ficus spp., Coussapoa spp. Moraceae
ʉnee kinkajou kinkajou Bassaricyon alleni
ʉrerej otorongo jaguar Panthera onca

References[]

  1. ^ a b Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  2. ^ a b c Urarina at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  3. ^ "Urarina Indian Language". www.native-languages.org. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  4. ^ "WALS Online - Language Urarina". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  5. ^ "WALS Online - Chapter Order of Subject, Object and Verb". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Olawsky, Kurt (2007). "1: Introduction". A Grammar of Urarina. Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-311-019020-5. ISSN 0933-7636.
  7. ^ Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
  8. ^ Moseley, Christopher (March 10, 2008). Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9781135796402.
  9. ^ Olawsky, Kurt (2007). A Grammar of Urarina. Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-311-019020-5. ISSN 0933-7636.

Further reading[]

  • Olawsky, K. (2006). A Grammar of Urarina. (Mouton Grammar Library, 37). Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
  • Wise, Mary Ruth. (1999). "Small Language Families and Isolates in Peru" in The Amazonian Languages. Dixon, R. M. W. and Aikhenvald, Alexandra (ed.)
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