A Grammar of Alto Perené (Arawak)

69

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A G

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Elena Mihas

A GRAMMAR OF ALTO PERENÉ (ARAWAK)THE SERIES: MOUTON GRAMMAR LIBRARY

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MOUTON GRAMMAR LIBRARY

Alto Perené belongs to the Kampa group of the Arawak family, located in the central

Peruvian Amazon in the foothills of the Andes mountains. While limited grammatical

studies of Kampa languages exist, this grammar is by far the most comprehensive

study of any language of this sub-family.

Table of contents

Acknowledgements — v

Table of contents — vii

List of tables and figures — xix

Abbreviations — xxiii

Part I: Introduction

1 The language and its speakers — 1

1.1 Geographical location and speaker numbers — 1

1.2 Linguistic profile of Alto Perené — 2

1.3 Alto Perené within the Kampa subgroup and the Arawak language

family — 7

1.4 Prior research on the language — 8

1.5 Language ecologies — 9

1.5.1 Economy — 9

1.5.2 Kinship — 13

1.5.3 Socio-political structure — 14

1.5.4 Contact with other indigenous groups and non-indigenous

outsiders — 15

1.5.5 Beliefs — 19

1.6 Current socio-linguistic status of the language — 20

1.7 Research methods, fieldwork materials, and consultants — 22

1.8 Summary of chapter 1 — 32

Part II: The sound system

2 Phonology — 35

2.1 Vowels — 35

2.1.1 Short vowels — 36

2.1.2 Long vowels and diphthongs — 39

2.2 Consonants — 43

2.2.1 Phoneme inventory — 43

2.2.2 Stops /p/, /t/, /tʲ/, and /k/ — 44

2.2.2.1 The phoneme /p/— 44

2.2.2.2 The phonemes /t/ and /tʲ/ — 45

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2.2.2.3 The phoneme /k/ — 46

2.2.3 Affricates ts /tsʰ/, tz /ts/, and ch /ʧ/ — 47

2.2.4 Fricatives s/s/, sh /ʃ/, and j /h/ — 48

2.2.5 Nasals m /m/, n /n/, ñ /ɲ/, and the archiphoneme N — 49

2.2.6 Liquid r/ɾ/ — 50

2.2.7 Glides v /w/ and y /j/ — 50

2.3 Phonotactics — 53

2.3.1 Syllable structure — 54

2.3.2 The minimal phonological word — 55

2.3.3 Stress — 56

2.4 Intonation — 58

2.5 Sounds in Spanish loanwords — 61

2.6 Phonological differences among Alto Perené speech

communities — 63 2.7 Variation — 64

2.8 Orthography — 65


3 Morphophonemics — 69

3.1 Lenition — 69

3.2 Epenthesis — 72

3.3 Gliding in diphthongs — 73

3.4 Vowel deletion and vowel shortening — 74

3.5 Vowel lengthening — 77

3.6 Intervocalic gliding and glide insertion in irrealis marking — 78

3.7 Palatalization — 79

3.7.1 Place-changing palatalization — 80

3.7.2 Expressive palatalization — 83

3.8 Metathesis — 84

3.9 Syllable omission — 85

3.10 Reduplication — 86

3.11 Suppletion — 91


Part III: Word structure and word classes

4 Word structure — 94

4.1 Grammatical word vs. phonological word — 94

4.2 Morphological typology — 97

4.3 Formative classes — 98

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4.3.1 Types of morphemes — 98

4.3.2 Core formatives: affixes — 100

4.3.3 Peripheral formatives: clitics and particles — 108

4.4 Morphological operations — 111


5 Word classes — 116

5.1 Nouns — 116

5.2 Verbs — 117

5.3 Adjectives — 118

5.3.1 Underived and Derived adjectives — 118

5.3.2 Morphosyntactic properties of adjectives — 120

5.4 Adverbs — 122

5.4.1 Time adverbs — 123

5.4.2 Place adverbs — 124

5.4.3 Other types of adverbs — 127

5.5 Pronouns — 128

5.5.1 Personal pronouns — 128

5.5.1.1 Continuous topic pronouns — 129

5.5.1.2 Contrastive additive focus pronouns — 130

5.5.1.3 Contrastive exhaustive focus pronouns — 131

5.5.1.4 Contrastive topic pronouns — 134

5.5.2 Bound pronominal forms — 134

5.5.3 Possessive pronouns — 136

5.5.4 Demonstrative pronouns — 138

5.6 Interrogative and indefinite forms — 139

5.7 Numerals — 143

5.8 Ideophones — 145

5.9 Interjections — 147

5.10 Discourse particles — 148


Part IV: The verb

6 Verbal predicate structure — 154

6.1 Verb formation — 154

6.1.1 Denominal, deadjectival, and deadverbial verbs — 154

6.1.2 Compound verbs — 158

6.2 Simple verbal predicates — 160

6.3 Multi-verb predicates — 162

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6.3.1 Primary and Secondary verbs in serial verb constructions — 163

6.3.1.1 Motion verbs — 164

6.3.1.2 Verbs of speaking — 165

6.3.1.3 Posture verbs — 166

6.3.1.4 Phasal verbs — 167

6.3.1.5 Other verbs — 167

6.3.2 Auxiliary verbs — 170

6.4 Other types of verbal predicates — 172

6.4.1 Stative and non-stative predicates — 172

6.4.2 Existential-locational predicate saik ‘be at’ — 175

6.4.3 Existential-possessive predicates — 176

6.4.4 Possessive predicates — 178

6.4.4.1 Predicates headed by the verb v ‘have’ — 178

6.4.4.2 Predicates formed with the Possessive Relation suffix –nta — 179

6.4.4.3 Constructions formed with free possessive pronouns — 181

6.4.5 Constructions with the unfilled verbal predicate slot — 183

6.4.6 Ideophone predicates — 185


7 Verb classes — 189

7.1 A-Conjugation and I-Conjugation verbs — 189

7.2 Transitivity — 193

7.2.1 Intransitive verbs — 195

7.2.2 Transitive verbs — 197

7.2.3 Ditransitive verbs — 200

7.3 Modal verbs — 205

7.4 Copula verbs — 206

7.4.1 Expression of inclusion and attribution via the existential

copula na ‘be’ — 207

7.4.2 Expression of equation and attribution via the existential

copula kant ‘be this way’ — 208

7.4.3 Negative existential copula kaari — 209

7.4.4 Expression of equation, attribution, and possession

by juxtaposition — 210


8 Verbal categories — 214

8.1 Aspect — 214

8.1.1 Perfective -ak and Terminative -aj — 214

8.1.2 Completive -ite — 216

8.1.3 Habitual -apint and Customary -ant — 218

8.1.4 Progressive -aty~-atz and Prospective -aty — 218

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8.1.5 Durative -vai and Delimitative -vintsa~-mintsa — 219

8.1.6 Repetitive -a, Punctual -apaint ‘once’, and Iterative -apanant

‘one more time’ — 220

8.1.7 Inchoative -imai — 221

8.1.8 Stative Imperfective -atsi~-acha and Stative Perfective -aintsi~

-aincha — 222

8.2 Directionals — 224

8.2.1 Directional Source -an and Directional Goal -ap — 224

8.2.2 Directional O-oriented Goal -av — 226

8.3 Mood — 227

8.4 Modality — 228

8.4.1 Optative =ta — 228

8.4.2 Dubitative =ma — 232

8.4.3 Possible Condition =rika — 235

8.4.4 Counterfactual Condition =mi — 238

8.4.5 Assumptive =ratya — 239

8.4.6 Expectational =tyami — 240

8.4.7 Apprehensive =kari — 241

8.4.8 Compassion -matsi — 242

8.4.9 Premonition -amampi — 244

8.4.10 Involuntary -mache — 246

8.4.11 New Discovery -atai — 247

8.4.12 Frustrative -ve~-vi — 249

8.4.13 Incompletive -i — 250

8.4.14 Other modal operators — 252

8.4.14.1 Multifunctional =ra — 252

8.4.14.2 Affect =tya — 254

8.4.14.3 Fury =po — 255

8.4.14.4 Assertive =kia — 255

8.4.14.5 Exclamative =ve — 257

8.5 Reality status — 258

8.6 Tense — 260

8.6.1 Remote Past tense -ni — 261

8.6.2 Anterior -it — 263

8.6.3 Generic Anterior =ranki — 264

8.7 Plural number — 266

8.7.1 Group Plural -aiy (…-ni) — 266

8.7.2 Generic Plural -jee (…-ni) — 268

8.7.3 Distributive -ye — 270


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9 Valence-adjusting mechanisms — 274

9.1 Valence-increasing derivation — 274

9.1.1 Overview of applicatives — 274

9.1.1.1 Generalized -ako — 278

9.1.1.2 Sociative-Causative -aka — 284

9.1.1.3 Beneficiary -vent~-vint — 287

9.1.1.4 Beneficiary-Recipient -ront~-nont — 292

9.1.1.5 Intent -ashi — 293

9.1.1.6 Instrument/Reason -ant — 295

9.1.1.7 Presential -imo — 298

9.1.1.8 Separative -apitsa — 300

9.1.2 Causatives — 302

9.2 Valence-preserving derivation — 306

9.2.1 Impersonal/Generalized subject -ai — 306

9.2.2 Reversative -ri — 308

9.3 Valence-reducing derivation — 309

9.3.1 Customary -ant — 309

9.3.2 Noun incorporation — 310

9.3.2.1 Functions of noun incorporation — 310

9.3.2.2 External possession construction — 311

9.3.2.3 Characteristics of incorporated nouns — 312

9.3.3 Reflexive and reciprocal marking — 315


Part V: The noun

10 Noun classes and nominal categories — 321

10.1 Types of nouns — 321

10.1.1 Simple and complex nouns — 321

10.1.2 Possessable and non-possessable nouns — 324

10.1.3 Count and mass nouns — 326

10.2 Gender — 328

10.3 Possession — 334

10.4 Plural number — 339

10.4.1 Plural marking of personal pronouns and person indexes — 340

10.4.2 Plural marking of human nouns — 342

10.4.3 Plural marking of inanimate nouns — 344

10.4.4 Plural marking of discrete animates and inanimates — 345

10.4.5 Associatives and collectives — 346

10.4.6 Distributive -ye — 349

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10.5 Definiteness — 350

10.6 Spatial case -ki — 352

10.7 Tense — 355

10.7.1 Nominal Ceased Existence -ni — 356

10.7.2 Nominal Temporal enclitic =ranki — 359


11 Noun phrase syntax — 368

11.1 The structure of the noun phrase — 368

11.2 Modifying adjectives, nominal demonstratives, and deverbal

gender-specific nouns — 371

11.3 Possessive modifiers — 375

11.4 Numerals, ordinals, and quantifiers — 376

11.5 Relative clauses and nominalized stative verbs — 377

11.6 Appositional nominals — 379

11.7 Coordination of NPs — 381


Part VI: Word formation

12 Word formation — 385

12.1 Derivation of degree, time, and distance — 385

12.1.1 Intensifier -pero~-piro — 385

12.1.2 Intensifier -ni — 387

12.1.3 Intensifier -a — 387

12.1.4 Excessive degree -ki and -tzii — 388

12.1.5 Augmentative -ite — 390

12.1.6 Superlative -taki and Simulative -tanaki — 391

12.1.7 Diminutive -nint — 393

12.1.8 Diminutives -patsaini, -aniki, -ini — 394

12.1.9 -aman ‘early morning’ — 396

12.1.10 Distance -ai — 397

12.2 Compounding — 398

12.2.1 Properties of a compound — 398

12.2.2 Types and internal structure of compounds — 398

12.2.3 Nominal compounds — 401

12.2.4 Evaluative morphology of compounds — 403

12.3 Classifying forms — 404

12.3.1 Overview — 404

12.3.2 Class terms — 409

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12.3.3 Classifiers — 414

12.3.3.1 Multiple classifiers — 415

12.3.3.2 Noun classifiers — 421

12.3.3.3 Verbal classifiers? — 423

12.4 Nominalization — 425

12.4.1 Realis nominalizations — 425

12.4.1.1 Agent nominalizations — 426

12.4.1.2 Non-Agent nominalizations — 429

12.4.1.3 Morphosyntactic properties of realis nominalizations — 431

12.4.2 Irrealis nominalizations — 433

12.5 Reduplication — 434

12.6 Expressive palatalization — 436


Part VII: Main clause structure

13 Syntactic functions and word order — 440

13.1 Expression of arguments in A, S, and O functions — 440

13.1.1 Subjects — 441

13.1.2 Objects — 449

13.2 Patterns of indexation of arguments in S function — 454

13.2.1 Restrictions on the fluid intransitive marking — 455

13.2.2 Motivating factors of the fluid intransitive marking — 459

13.3 Expression of peripheral arguments — 463

13.4 Constituent order — 470


Part VIII: Special sentence types

14 Speech act distinctions — 478

14.1 Declarative clauses — 478

14.2 Interrogatives — 480

14.2.1 Content questions — 480

14.2.1.1 Questions about participants — 481

14.2.1.2 Questions about activities — 484

14.2.1.3 Questions about locations — 485

14.2.1.4 Questions about causes — 486

14.2.1.5 Questions about quantities — 487

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14.2.1.6 Questions about time — 488

14.2.1.7 Questions about manner — 490

14.2.2 Polar questions — 491

14.2.3 Question tag tema ari — 492

14.2.4 Alternative questions — 493

14.2.5 Prosody of questions — 493

14.2.6 Negated questions — 495

14.2.7 Functions of questions — 496

14.2.8 Response types — 497

14.3 Imperatives — 499

14.3.1 Second person-directed imperative construction — 499

14.3.2 Other person-directed imperative constructions — 504

14.3.3 Negative imperatives — 506

14.3.4 Related constructions — 508

14.3.4.1 Warnings — 508

14.3.4.2 Advice and obligatives — 509

14.4 Exclamatives — 511


15 Negation — 516

15.1 Overview of clausal and constituent negation — 516

15.2 Standard negation strategy — 517

15.2.1 Realis negator te — 517

15.2.2 Irrealis negator airo — 520

15.3 Other negation strategies — 523

15.3.1 Negative polarity verb tekatsi — 523

15.3.2 Negative polarity verb kaari — 526

15.3.3 Aspectual adverb tekira ‘not yet’ — 529

15.3.4 Lexical verb kov(ity) ‘lack’, ‘be needed’ — 530

15.3.5 Verb of vision ñ ‘see’ — 531

15.4 Morphological negation — 533


Part IX: Complex constructions

16 Clause linking — 536

16.1 Overview of subordination — 536

16.2 Relative clause — 539

16.2.1 Headed relative clause — 540

16.2.1.1 Canonical relative clause — 540

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16.2.1.2 Intermediate heads — 543

16.2.2 Headless relative clause — 545

16.2.3 Other relative constructions — 546

16.2.3.1 Impersonal construction — 546

16.2.3.2 Construction with tsika ‘where’ — 547

16.2.3.3 Te-negated clause — 548

16.3 Complementation — 549

16.3.1 Juxtaposition strategy — 549

16.3.2 Nominalization strategy — 550

16.3.3 Grammatical profile of the juxtaposed complement clause — 551

16.3.4 Semantic types of complement-taking verbs — 555

16.3.4.1 Primary verbs — 557

16.3.4.2 Secondary verbs — 561

16.4 Adverbial clauses — 568

16.4.1 Adverbial linking strategies — 569

16.4.1.1 Paratactic linking strategy — 569

16.4.1.2 Linking by a free conjunction — 569

16.4.1.3 Linking by a bound subordinator — 570

16.4.2 Temporal clause linking — 571

16.4.2.1 Temporal succession — 571

16.4.2.2 Temporal overlap — 573

16.4.2.3 Temporal anteriority — 576

16.4.3 Conditional clause linking — 579

16.4.3.1 Possible conditional linking — 580

16.4.3.2 Counterfactual conditional linking — 583

16.4.4 Consequence clause linking — 585

16.4.4.1 Causal linking — 586

16.4.4.2 Purposive linking — 587

16.4.4.3 Resultative linking — 592

16.4.4.4 Undesirable possible consequence linking — 593

16.4.5 Converbial clauses — 593

16.5 Other types of clause linking — 595

16.5.1 Contrast — 595

16.5.2 Disjunction — 597

16.5.3 Manner — 597


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Part X: Information structure

17 Topic, focus, and emphasis — 603

17.1 Overview of information structure — 603

17.2 Topic — 608

17.2.1 Topic in syntax — 608

17.2.1.1 Topic pronouns and lexical NPs — 608

17.2.1.2 Contrastive topic pronouns — 610

17.2.1.3 Topic marker irijatzi~irojatzi — 611

17.2.1.4 Presentational construction as a topic promotion strategy — 613

17.2.1.5 Dislocated topic NPs — 615

17.2.1.6 Noun incorporation as a topic demotion strategy — 616

17.2.2 Topic in morphosyntax — 618

17.2.2.1 Person indexes — 618

17.2.2.2 Impersonal/Generalized subject -ai — 619

17.2.2.3 Undergoer -av — 620

17.3 Focus — 622

17.3.1 Focus in syntax — 622

17.3.1.1 Pre-verbal placement of lexical NPs in declarative clauses — 622

17.3.1.2 Focus in content and polar questions and answers — 623

17.3.1.3 Sentence focus and predicate focus — 626

17.3.1.4 Contrastive additive focus — 627

17.3.1.5 Contrastive exhaustive focus — 629

17.3.1.6 Contrastive corrective focus function of the negative

copula kaari — 630

17.3.1.7 Polar focus — 631

17.3.2 Parallel focus in morphology — 632

17.4 Emphasis — 635


References — 640

Appendix A. Grammatical morphemes — 657

Appendix B. Noun categorization devices — 660

Appendix C. Ideophones — 663

Appendix D. Text samples — 668

Index — 677

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A Grammar of Alto Perené (Arawak)

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