Urarina language

Urarina is an isolated language spoken in Peru, specifically in the Loreto Region of Northwest Peru, by the Urarina people.[4] There are around 3,000 speakers in Urarinas District (along the Chambira River).[3] It uses a Latin script. It is also known as Itucali, Simacu or Shimacu.[3]

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

It has a canonical word order of object–verb–subject.[5][6]

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. [7]

Dialects

There are four dialect zones:[8]

  • Zone A (western area, including Tigrillo and Espejo)
  • Zone B (Lower Chambira dialects, including the Asna and Airico Rivers)
  • Zone C (Upper Chambira and all of its tributaries)
  • Zone D (Corrientes)

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Arawak, Leko, and Omurano language families due to contact.[9]

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. [10] 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. [7]

Phonology

The following is the phonology of Urarina as described by Olawsky.[7]

Consonants

Labial Dental Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
plain labial plain palatal
Nasal /m/ /n/ ng /ɲ/
Stop Voiceless /t/ ts /t͡ɕ/ /k/ kw //
Voiced /b/ /d/
Fricative fw // /s/ sh /ʃ/ /h/ hj //
Approximant /l/ r /ɽ/

Vowels

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

Orthography is only written where it differs from IPA

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.[7] 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. [7]

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.[7] 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[7]

Like many other Amazonian languages, Urarina follows a polysynthetic, agglutinative word morphology in relating to verbs.[7]

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Itucale.[2]

glossItucale
oneexlehé
twokuradzá
headkuxterí
eyeidichú
womanení
fireöxsí
sunenotú
maizekaxturí
houseluredí
whitedzumaré

Flora and fauna

List of selected plant and animal names in Urarina:[11]

UrarinaLocal SpanishEnglishScientific nameFamily
aʉenosacha culantro(coriander-like herb)Eryngium foetidumApiaceae
aaritopabalsa wood treeOchroma pyramidaleBombacaceae
aariarambaza(type of bee)
aaĩotorongojaguarPanthera onca
aeranapucalupunalighthouse tree (type)Ceiba pentandra (type)
ahai ɲepaichegiant arapaima (fish)Arapaima gigasArapaimidae
aharirigamitanatambaqui (fish)Colossoma macropomumCharacidae
ahjaʉiuvilla(type of tree)Pourouma cecropiifoliaMoraceae
ahjaaonesanta maria(type of pepper plant)Piper peltatumPiperaceae
ajtɕuhiriarmadillo grandegiant armadilloPriodontes maximus
akʉaraaponawhite nist palmDictyocaryum ptarianumArecaceae
akaatoéangel trumpet vine, daturaBrugmansia sp.Solanaceae
akiicamotemorning glory (vine)Ipomoea sp.Convolvulaceae
alaaaguajeswamp palmMauritia flexuosaPalmae
alaaericaimituyellow star apple (tree)Pouteria caimitoSapotaceae
alajtɕõojergónSouth American lancehead snakeBothrops atrox
alaumaquisapaspider monkeyAteles paniscus
alauihjapero caspi(type of tree)
alõoripanguanatinamou (partridge)Crypturellus undulatus
anaaheuvoshog plum, yellow mombin (tree)Spondias mombinAnacardiaceae
anajsihjemucuraanamu (herb)Petiveria alliaceaPhytolaccaceae
anauepichicotamarin (monkey)Saguinus spp.
arauatachorowoolly monkeyLagothrix lagothricha
aresi ɲemojaratype of tetra (fish)Acestrocephalus boehlkeiCharacidae
ataripaufilrazor-billed curassow (bird)Crax, Mitu
auripaucaroriole type (bird)Psarocolius sp.Icteridae
baka isitɕiteta de vaca(type of plant)Solanum mammosum
ʤarubavaca marinaAmazonian manateeTrichechus inunguis
daranemojara(type of fish)related to Acestrocephalus boehlkeiCharacidae
duhwacedro mashacancharana (tree)Cabralea sp.Meliaceae
ejtɕucashaponastilt palmSocratea exorrhizaPalmae
elelia, elelechevón(type of tree)
enʉasoonenobia(type of catfish)Ageneiosus atronasusAuchenipteridae
esʉshimbillo; guabaice-cream bean (tree)Inga edulisFabaceae
etoemusmuquiowl monkeyAotus nigriceps
fwafwafwa katʉsapucho; sapo platano(type of banana)Musa sp.
fwafwafwahuapapa birdboat-billed heronCochlearius cochlearius
fwanara lanahajguineo(type of banana)Musa sp.
hajamullaca caspi(type of tree)Physalis angulata
hi ɲori ?(type of tree)
hiriri ɲobagre(type of catfish)Pinirampus pirinampuPimelodidae
hjaaneachioteannatto (tree, herb)Bixa orellanaBixaceae
hjaranaisana, caña bravaarrow caneGynerium sagittatumGraminae
itɕaisaeha papa(type of tuber)Dioscorea trifidaDioscoreaceae
kahjaʉsicortadera(type of herb)ScleriaCyperaceae
kajahuricumala(type of tree)Myristicaceae - any type
kakʉritrompeterogrey-winged trumpeter (bird)Psophia crepitans
kameranatiguineo pindorito(type of banana)
katimono negrodark capuchin monkeyCebus apella
kirimataboquichicotilapia (fish)ProchilodusProchilodontidae
komokomocomocomo, garza blancagreat egretCasmerodius alba
kukuricarachupaSouthern naked-tailed armadilloCabassous unicinctus
kuraripalometa; macanesilver dollar (fish)Mylossoma/Metynnis/Myleus spp.Characidae
kurijagua, sacha huito(type of tree)Tocoyena williamsiiRubiaceae
kwairiayahuasca(type of liana)Banisteriopsis caapiMalpighiaceae
laanoyucacassava; maniocManihot esculentaEuphorbiaceae
leranomacana(type of knifefish)Adontosternarchus balaenops
mesericoconapeach tomato (bush)Solanum sessiliflorumSolanaceae
nekwʉripuma garzarufescent tiger-heronBotaurus pinnatus, Tigrisoma lineatum
nekwʉʉrigarabata(type of liana)similar to Uncaria spp.Rubiaceae
obanasajinocollared peccaryPecari tajacu
ohwahuicungo(type of tree)Astrocaryum murumuruPalmae
raanahuanganawhite-lipped peccaryTayassu pecari
rihjepijuayo, pifayopeach palmBactris gasipaesPalmae
risi ɲechambirachambira palmAstrocaryum chambiraArecaceae
rurucotored howler monkeyAlouatta seniculus
siriadorado(type of catfish)Brachyplatystoma filamentosumPimelodidae
suseriunchalagrey-necked wood-rail (bird)Aramides cajanea
tariatɕataricayayellow-spotted river turtlePodocnemis unifilis
tururillanchama(type of fig tree)Poulsenia armataMoraceae
urwarihuitinaarrowleaf (tuber)Xanthosoma sagittifoliumAraceae
ʃabẽetoguayaba(type of tree)Psidium guajavaMyrtaceae
ʃeremiapandisho, pan de árbolbreadfruit treeArtocarpus altilisMoraceae
ʉkʉarioso hormiguerogiant anteaterMyrmecophaga tridactyla
ʉkiasirenacofig treeFicus spp., Coussapoa spp.Moraceae
ʉneekinkajoukinkajouBassaricyon alleni
ʉrerejotorongojaguarPanthera onca

References

  1. W. Adelaar, 2004, p. 457.
  2. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  3. Urarina at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  4. "Urarina Indian Language". www.native-languages.org. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  5. "WALS Online - Language Urarina". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. "WALS Online - Chapter Order of Subject, Object and Verb". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  7. Olawsky, Kurt (2007). "1: Introduction". A Grammar of Urarina. Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-311-019020-5. ISSN 0933-7636.
  8. Epps, Patience; Michael, Lev, eds. (2023). Amazonian Languages: Language Isolates. Volume II: Kanoé to Yurakaré. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 1107–1109. ISBN 978-3-11-043273-2.
  9. Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
  10. Moseley, Christopher (March 10, 2008). Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9781135796402.
  11. 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.)
  • Elias-Ulloa, Jose and Aramburú, Rolando Muñoz (2021). "Upper-Chambira Urarina". Illustrations of the IPA. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 51 (1): 137–169. doi:10.1017/S0025100319000136{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link), with supplementary sound recordings.
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