A Reference Grammar of Paresi-Haliti (Arawak)
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Copyright by Ana Paula Barros Brandão 2014 The Dissertation Committee for Ana Paula Barros Brandão Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: A REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF PARESI-HALITI (ARAWAK) Committee: Patience Epps, Supervisor Nora England Anthony Woodbury Lev Michael Sidi Facundes A REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF PARESI-HALITI (ARAWAK) by Ana Paula Barros Brandão, B.A; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2014 Acknowledgements This dissertation would have not been possible without the guidance and help of several people. My first thanks go to the Paresi people, especially those who worked with me during these seven years of field work (most of them in Formoso and in Rio Verde communities): caciques Nelsinho Zoizomae, Justino Zomozokae, João Titi, Fernando Omoizokie, Nair Zonizokaero, João Arrezomae, and Carlito Okenazokie; Agostinha Zoloizokaero, Zilda Kezokaero, Geovani Kezokenaece, Genivaldo Zezokaece, Jurandir Zezokiware, Wagner Noezonazokemae, Edivaldo Nezokemaece, Elizabeth Akezomaialo, Jocelio Onizokaece, Joãozinho Akanoizokae, Nilce Zonizokemairo, Rony Paresi, Angelo Kezomae, and Tarsila Konizokero. I also would like to thank my committee members, Nora England, Anthony Woodbury, Lev Michael, and Sidi Facundes. Special thanks goes to my supervisor Patience Epps, who read many versions of this work, giving insights and helpful comments. Her encouragement and support were very important to me during the writing process. Thanks also to Françoise Rose and Scott Myers who gave comments on parts of this grammar. Ryan Sullivant, Leah Geer, Kyle Jerro, and Adam Tallman also helped me with proofreading. I also acknowledge the assistance of the staff of the Department of Linguistics, especially Benjamin Rapstine, and Leslie Crooks. In Belém, I am grateful to have had the support of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, with special thanks to Denny Moore, Vilacy Galucio, Hein van der Voot, Geiva Picanço, Rose Costa, and Ellison Cleyton. Many thanks to the organizations that funded this research: the Department of Linguistics, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas; the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi; the Endangered Language Documentation Programme (IGS0160); the National Science Foundation (Grant BCS 1123943); the American Philosophical Society; and the iv Foundation of Endangered Languages. Thanks also to the Fundação Nacional do Indio for their permission to undertake research in the Paresi territories. Finally, my family and friends. Special thanks to my mom Francisca Brandão, who is always giving me support; to my aunts Joana Brito and Socorro Ferreira, who were in Barcarena with my mom when I was absent; to Victor Azurin, who gave me all the support I needed by the end of this work, when I thought I would not finish it; to Thiago Castro 'my brother', who I know since our undergraduate school and whose friendship I hope will be eternal; and to Ann Cabot 'my mom in Austin', who was always cheering me on and proud of my accomplishments. Many thanks go to my dear colleagues and friends in the Linguistics Department for the emotional support, especially Telma Can, Katherine Bolaños, Natalia Bermudez, Mar Bassa and Daniel Valle, and to my Brazilian friends Carolina Alves, Fernando Portelinha and Natalia Correia. v A reference grammar of Paresi-Haliti (Arawak) Ana Paula Barros Brandão, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2014 Supervisor: Patience Epps This dissertation is a description of the grammar of Paresi. The Paresi people live in the State of Mato Grosso, near the city of Cuiabá. Paresi belongs to the Arawak family, and it is classified in a branch called Paresi-Xingu (Aikhenvald, 1999; Ramirez, 2001). This language is spoken by approximately 2000 speakers. The data for this thesis were collected mostly in the Formoso area. In this dissertation, I expand on the work of Rowan (1969, 1978, among other works), Silva (2009), and on my own work conducted in my Master's report (Brandão, 2010) in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of aspects of phonology, morphology, and syntax. The grammar is presented in eight chapters and an appendix with text samples. The first chapter includes general information about the speakers and the language. The second chapter describes the sound system. The segmental phonology is simple, with morphophonemic alternations on some roots and morphemes. The third chapter describes the closed words classes (pronouns, demonstratives, indefinites, numerals, quantifiers, postpositions, adverbs, interjections and ideophones). The fourth chapter examines nouns and the structure of noun phrases. The fifth and sixth chapters are descriptions of verb classes, valency, tense, aspect and modality. Verb roots can be intransitive, transitive, or ditransitive. There are three mechanisms to decrease valency and six mechanisms to increase valency. Paresi expresses time through tense, aspect, and temporal adverbs. It also distinguishes three modalities. The seventh chapter is about simple clauses and negation. In this chapter, evidence is presented for describing Paresi as an OV language. vi Finally, the eighth chapter, on clause combining, describes coordination and the three types of subordination: relative clauses, complementation and adverbial clauses. Grounded primarily in “basic linguistic theory”, this dissertation uses a Functional- Typological linguistic framework, informed by discussions about particular phenomena in the general linguistics literature. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgements.............................................................................................. iv Table of Contents............................................................................................... viii List of Tables.....................................................................................................xvii List of Figures.................................................................................................... xxi Abbreviations.................................................................................................... xxii Chapter 1 - Introduction........................................................................................ 1 1.0 Introduction..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Linguistic profile of Paresi.............................................................................4 1.2 Genetic affiliation.......................................................................................... 5 1.3 Previous linguistic studies of Paresi.............................................................. 9 1.4 Language variation.......................................................................................10 1.5 Cultural context............................................................................................11 1.6 Language contact......................................................................................... 13 1.7 Statement of endangerment .........................................................................14 1.8 Methods and data collection........................................................................ 15 Chapter 2 - Phonology........................................................................................ 22 2.0 Introduction..................................................................................................22 2.1 Phonemes..................................................................................................... 22 2.1.1 Vowels.......................................................................................................22 2.1.2 Vowel allophones and vowel processes.................................................... 23 2.1.2.1 Vowel /a/ and its allophones....................................................................23 2.1.2.2 Vowel /o/ and its allophones................................................................... 24 2.1.2.3 Vowel nasality, rhinoglottophilia, and vowel lengthening......................25 viii 2.1.3 Consonants...............................................................................................29 2.1.3.1 Stops........................................................................................................29 2.1.3.2 Nasals......................................................................................................32 2.1.3.3 Liquids.................................................................................................... 33 2.1.3.4 Fricatives.................................................................................................35 2.1.3.5 Affricates.................................................................................................38 2.1.3.6 Approximant........................................................................................... 39 2.1.4 Distribution of Consonants ...................................................................... 40 2.2 Palatalization and neutralization..................................................................42 2.2.1 Allophonic palatalization.......................................................................... 42 2.2.2 Neutralization............................................................................................49