Hixkaryana language
| Hixkaryána | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Brazil |
| Region | Upper Nhamundá River, Amazonas |
| Ethnicity | 1,242 Hixkaryana (2012)[1] |
Native speakers | 600 (2012)[2] |
Carib
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | hix |
| Glottolog | hixk1239 |
| ELP | Hixkaryana |
Hixkaryana /ˌhɪʃkæriˈɑːnə/[3] is a Cariban language spoken by 600 people on the Nhamundá River, a tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil. It is one of 17 languages that have object–verb–subject word order (initially by linguist Desmond C. Derbyshire).[4]
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar/ palatal |
Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ ⟨ny⟩ | |||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | tʃ ⟨tx⟩ | k | |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ ⟨dy⟩ | |||
| Fricative | ɸ ⟨f⟩ | s | ʃ ⟨x⟩ | h | ||
| Tap | ɾ | ɽˡ ⟨ry⟩ | ||||
| Approximant | j ⟨y⟩ | w | ||||
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | ɯ ⟨ɨ⟩, u ⟨u⟩ | |
| Close-mid | e ⟨e⟩ | |
| Open-mid | ɔ ⟨o⟩ | |
| Open | æ ⟨a⟩ |
Grammar
In Hixkaryana, arguments are indexed on the verb by personal prefixes, which form an inverse-like pattern in which the argument highest in the hierarchy 2nd > 1st > 3rd is indexed on the verb. If the object of a transitive verb outranks the subject, the appropriate O-prefix is used; otherwise, an A-prefix is used.
| A-prefixes | O-prefixes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 0-/ɨ- | 1O | r(o) |
| 2A | m(ɨ)- | 2O | o(j)-/a(j)- |
| 1+2A | t(ɨ)- | 1+2O | k(ɨ)- |
| 3A | n(ɨ)-/j- | ||
Intransitive verbs take prefixes mostly similar to the transitive prefixes, with an active–stative. The arguments' grammatical number is indexed on the verb by portmanteau suffixes that combine tense, aspect, mood, and number.
Hixkaryana has an object–verb–subject word order. In most cases, the person prefixes clearly indicate which arguments are the subject and object. When both the subject and the object are third person, however, the person prefix is inadequate to fully determine the identity of the arguments, requiring word order. The example below, toto yonoye kamara, cannot be given the AVO reading 'the man ate the jaguar'; the OVA reading – 'the jaguar ate the man' – is the only possible one.[4]
toto
person
y-
3SG-
ono
eat
-ye
-DIST.PAST.COMPL
kamara
jaguar
'The jaguar ate the man.'
Indirect objects, however, follow the subject:
bɨryekomo
boy
y-
3SG-
otaha
hit
-ho
-CAUS
-no
-IMM.PAST
wosɨ
woman
tɨnyo
her-husband
wya
by
'The woman caused her husband to hit the boy.'
Moreover, the word order in non-finite embedded clauses is SOV.[5] Like most other languages with objects preceding the verb, it is postpositional.
References
- ^ "Hixkaryana - Indigenous Peoples in Brazil". pib.socioambiental.org. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
- ^ Crevels, Mily (2012-01-13), Campbell, Lyle; Grondona, Verónica (eds.), "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking", The Indigenous Languages of South America, DE GRUYTER, pp. 167–234, doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167, ISBN 978-3-11-025513-3, retrieved 2025-09-28
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ Bauer, Laurie (2010). The linguistics student's handbook (PDF) (Repr ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2758-5.
- ^ a b Kalin, Laura (November 2014). "The syntax of OVS word order in Hixkaryana". Natural Language & Linguistic Theory. 32 (4): 1089–1104. doi:10.1007/s11049-014-9244-x. ISSN 0167-806X.
- ^ "Word Order Variation: The head parameter" (PDF). ling.umd.edu. 2006-07-18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
Bibliography
- Aikhenvald, A. & Dixon, R. (Eds.) (1999). The Amazonian Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-521-57021-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Derbyshire, D. (1979). Hixkaryana. Lingua Descriptive Studies vol. 1. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing. ISBN 0-7099-0877-6.
- Derbyshire, D. (1985). Hixkaryana and Linguistic Typology. Dallas, TX: Summer Institute of Linguistics. ISBN 0-88312-082-8.