Contents

Karu language

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Karu
Baniwa of Içana
Tapuya
Native to	Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil
Ethnicity	Baniwa people
Native speakers	12,000 (2001–2007)[1]
Language family	Arawakan Northern Upper Amazon Eastern Nawiki Karu
Dialects	Carútana-Baniwa Hohôdene (Katapolitana) Siusy-Tapuya (Seuci) Ipeka-Tapuia Curripaco (Wakuénai) Unhun (Katapolitana, Enhen) Waliperi Mapanai Moriwene
Official status
Official language in	Brazil (São Gabriel da Cachoeira)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: bwi – Baniwa kpc – Curripako
Glottolog	bani1259  Baniwa-Curripaco
ELP	Baniwa Curripaco

Karu, one of several languages called Baniwa (Baniva), or in older sources Itayaine (Iyaine), is an Arawakan language spoken in Guainía, Colombia, Venezuela, and Amazonas, Brazil. It forms a subgroup with the Tariana, Piapoco, Resígaro and Guarequena languages.^[2] There are 10,000 speakers.^[3]

Varieties[edit]

Aikhenvald (1999) considers the three main varieties to be dialects; Kaufman (1994) considers them to be distinct languages, in a group he calls "Karu". They are:

• Baniwa of Içana (Baniua do Içana)
• Curripaco (Kurripako, Ipeka-Tapuia-Curripako)
• Katapolítani-Moriwene-Mapanai (Catapolitani, Kadaupuritana)

Various (sub)dialects of all three are called tapuya, a Brazilian Portuguese and Nheengatu word for non-Tupi/non-Guarani Indigenous peoples of Brazil (from a Tupi word meaning "enemy, barbarian"). All are spoken by the Baniwa people. Ruhlen lists all as "Izaneni"; Greenberg's Adzánani (= Izaneni) presumably belongs here.

Ramirez (2020) gives the following classification for three separate dialect chains:^[4]: 44

• Southern (Karotana): lower Içana River, also a group living in Victorino on the Guainia River (Colombia-Venezuela border)
  • Mapatsi-Dákeenai (Yurupari-Tapuya)
  • Wadzoli-Dákeenai (Urubu-Tapuya)
  • Dzawi-Mínanai (Yauareté-Tapuya)
  • Adaro-Mínanai (Arara-Tapuya)
• Central (Baniwa): middle Içana River (from Assunção Mission to Siuci-Cachoeira) and its tributaries (Aiari River and lower Cuiari River); also around Tunuí
  • Hohódeeni
  • Walipere-Dákeenai (Siucí-Tapuya)
  • Máolieni (Cáuatapuya)
  • Mápanai (Ira-Tapuya)
  • Awádzoronai
  • Molíweni (Sucuriyú-Tapuya)
  • Kadáopoliri
  • etc.
• Northern (called "Koripako" in Brazil): upper Içana River (from Matapi upwards), Guainia River, headwaters of the Cuiari River
  • Ayáneeni (Tatú-Tapuya)
  • Payoálieni (Pacútapuya)
  • Komada-Mínanai (Ipéca-Tapuya)
  • Kapitti-Mínanai (Coatí-Tapuya)
  • etc.

Phonology[edit]

• When occurring as short, the vowels /i e a o/ are realized as [ɪ ɛ ə ʊ]. They are also realized as both short and long nasals /ĩ ẽ ɐ̃ õ/, [ɪ̃ ɛ̃ ə̃ ʊ̃].

• Voiced approximant sounds can fluctuate to voiceless sounds among dialects.
• /ŋ/ only occurs when preceding a velar consonant.
• /ɺ̥, ɺ/ is in free variation with [ɾ̥, ɾ].^[7]

Grammar[edit]

Alignment System[edit]

Baniwa has active–stative alignment.^[8] This means that the subject of an intransitive clause is sometimes marked in the same way as the agent of a transitive clause, and sometimes marked in the same way as the patient of a transitive clause. In Baniwa alignment is realized through verbal agreement, namely prefixes and enclitics.

Prefixes are used to mark:

• Active intransitive subjects (S_a)
• Agents of transitive clauses (A)
• Possessors
• Arguments of adpositions

Enclitics are used to mark:

• Stative intransitive subjects (S_o)
• Patients of transitive clauses (O)

The differences between active and stative intransitive clauses can be illustrated below:

• Transitive: ri-kapa-ni 'He sees him/it'
• Active Intransitive: ri-emhani 'He walks'
• Stative Intransitive: hape-ka-ni 'He is cold'

Noun Classification System[edit]

Baniwa has an interesting system of noun classification that combines a gender system with a noun classifier system.^[9] Baniwa has two genders: feminine and nonfeminine. Feminine gender agreement is used to refer to female referents, whilst nonfeminine gender agreement is used for all other referents. The two genders are only distinguished in third person singular. Aihkenvald (2007) considers the bipartite gender system to be inherited from Proto-Arawak.^[9]

In addition to gender, Baniwa also has 46 classifiers. Classifiers are used in three main contexts:^[9]

• As a derivational suffix on nouns, e.g.

metal.object-CL.hollow

tʃipaɾa-api

metal.object-CL.hollow

'pan'

• With numerals, e.g.

one-CL.hollow

mawapi

blowgun+CL.long.thin

apa-api mawapi

one-CL.hollow blowgun+CL.long.thin

'one blow gun'

• With adjectives, e.g.

metal.object-CL.hollow

maka-api

big-CL.hollow

tʃipaɾa-api maka-api

metal.object-CL.hollow big-CL.hollow

'big pan'

Aihkenvald (2007) divides Baniwa classifiers into four different classes. One set of classifiers is used for humans, animate beings and body parts. Another set of classifiers specify the shape, consistency, quantification or specificity of the noun. Two more classes can be distinguished. One is only used with numerals and the other is only used with adjectives.^[9]

Classifiers for Humans and animate beings:^[9]

Classifiers according to shape, consistency, quantification and specificity:^[9]

Negation[edit]

There are two main strategies for negation in the Kurripako-Baniwa varieties:^[3]

• Independent negative markers
• The privative derivational prefix ma-

Different varieties have different negative markers. This is so prominent that speakers identify Kurripako dialects according to the words for 'yes' and 'no'.^[3]

The independent negative markers come before the verb. They are used as clausal negators in declarative and interrogative sentences. They are also used to link clauses.^[3]

The privative suffix is attached to nouns to derive a verb which means 'lacking' the noun from which it was derived. The opposite of the privative prefix is the attributive prefix ka-. This derives a verb which means 'having' the noun from which it was derived.^[3] The difference can be illustrated below:

• Noun: iipe 'meat'
• Privative: ma-iipe > meepe 'be thin' (lit. lack meat)
• Attributive: ka-iipe > keepe 'be fat' (lit. have meat)

The prefix is used in combination with the restrictive suffix -tsa to form negative imperatives, e.g. ma-ihnia-tsa 'don't eat!'. A privative prefix is also reconstructed in Proto-Arawak privative as *ma-.^[10]

Word Order[edit]

Granadillo (2014) considers Kurripako a VOS language.^[3]

Vocabulary[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Gonçalves, Artur Garcia. 2018. Para uma dialetologia baniwa-koripako do rio Içana. M.A. dissertation, Universidade de Brasília.

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

Karu language testofWikipediaatWikimedia Incubator

• Baniva del Guainia Language
• Baniwa of the Aiary and Içana Collection of Robin M. Wright at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America.
• Curripaco Collection of Jonathan Hill at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America.