Exploring the Arawakan Language Family: History and Features
School
Chicago State University**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
LING 230
Subject
Linguistics
Date
Dec 11, 2024
Pages
3
Uploaded by MagistrateWillpower19544
Individual Assignment 2September 20, 2023Sabrina RuizArawakan Language Family SynopsisThe Arawakan Language family is a language family that has proven to be difficult toresearch due to the conflicting classification of language family distinctions regarding whether thislanguage family is, in fact, called Arawakan, as per the Glottolog, or whether it is calledMaipurean, as per the Ethnologue. This writer supposes this is due to the growing inclusiveness andresearch being done and debated upon by linguists still today and the amount of information lostfrom now extinct languages. According to the Ethnologue, the Maipurean Language familyincludes fifty-seven languages.(Maipurean, 2023)According to the Glottolog, the ArawakanLanguage family includes seventy-seven languages. (Family: Arawakan, 2023)This paper will focuson the distinction proposed by the Glottolog. Given Figure 1 below from the Glottolog, one can see the spread of Arawakan languagesthroughout the North portion of South America which reaches up to Central America and someCaribbean islands. The Glottolog divides the languages into seven branches: Alto Orinoco,Caribbean Arawakan, Central-Eastern Maipuran, Japura-Colombia, Medio Rio Negro, Negro-Roraima, and Southern Maipuran. (Family: Arawakan, 2023)Two notable languages are Taíno,which is extinct, and Wapishana, which is endangered. This writer was unable to find any languagesthat are related to the Arawakan Language family that were more than speculatory in nature. Intheir book, Ramirez defines the word order of the Arawakan Language family to be SVO, withsome variations and exceptions to the rule depending on the language. (Ramirez, 2001)TheArawakan Language family marks for person. As stated by Aikenvald, “Most person-markingprefixes are uniform and relatively stable across the family. Two exceptions are the impersonal pre-fix *pa- and the indefinite prefix.” (Aikhenvald, 2021)They also state that it is a gendered languageand that “Gender distinctions are neutralized in plural number.” (Aikhenvald, 2021)In Figure 2, onecan see examples of two sentences in two languages of the Arawakan Language family that displaygender, person marking, and word order. Wapishana is still spoken today. According to the Ethnologue, “Wapishana is anendangered indigenous language of Guyana and Brazil. It belongs to the [Arawakan] languagefamily. … It is not known to be taught in schools.” (Wapishana, 2023)It is coded as “wap” on theISO 639-3 registry. Wapishana is endangered and “… spoken in Guyana and Brazil by about12,500 people.” (Wapishana (Wapixana), 2023)In Figure 3, one can see the alphabet of Wapishanawhich includes vowels, consonants, and pronunciations. One may notice that this alphabet looksmuch like English and Portuguese. As stated by a section of a book on Wapishana Phonology,“Since most Wapishanas live in English speaking Guyana, the letters for writing Wapishana havebeen chosen to conform to English as closely as possible while still maintaining the integrity of thelinguistic analysis, along with some consideration for Portuguese speakers.”(Tracy, 1972)One hopesthat a writing system, however it was created, will help revitalize the language out ofendangerment.Figure 1 (Family: Arawakan, 2023)
Individual Assignment 2September 20, 2023Sabrina RuizFigure 2 (Aikhenvald, 2021)Figure 3 (Wapishana (Wapixana), 2023)Works Cited
Individual Assignment 2September 20, 2023Sabrina RuizAikhenvald, A. (2021). The indefinite person: a journey across Arawak languages. Retrieved from academia.edu.Family: Arawakan. (2023). Retrieved from Glottolog: https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/araw1281Maipurean. (2023). Retrieved from Ethnologue: Languages of the World: https://www.ethnologue.com/subgroup/3585/Ramirez, H. (2001). Línguas Arawak da Amazónia Setentrional.Universidade do Amazonas.Tracy, F. V. (1972). Wapishana Phonology. In J. E. Grimes, Languages of the Guianas(p. 84). Summer Institute of Linguistics.Wapishana (Wapixana). (2023). Retrieved from https://www.omniglot.com/writing/wapishana.htmWapishana. (2023). Retrieved from Ethnologue: https://www.ethnologue.com/language/wap/