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The Carib Language As Now Spoken in Dominica, West Indies The Carib Language as Now Spoken in Dominica, West Indies Author(s): Joseph Numa Rat Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 27 (1898), pp. 293-315 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2842969 . Accessed: 16/06/2014 07:00 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 185.44.77.40 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 07:00:31 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 293-) 1'he CARIB LANGUAGEas nov sppokenin DOMWNICA,WEST INDIES. By JOSEPHNUAA RAT, St. Kitts,West Inldies, February,1897. ORTHOGRAPHY. FIVE of the vowel soundsused in these illustrationsof the Carib language are those of the Italian, viz., a, e, i, o, ui. A sixth is that of a short Mb and correspondsto the vowel as it is pronouncedin the Frenchword vu; e.g.,S?St8 = a bird. A seventhis the short X pronouncedas in the Enalish sin and foundin such words as idtina I am, in wvhichthe second i is so lightlysounded that the thirdsyllable may be omittedin conversationand the verb becomeiatza. Whenever two or more vowels are in contact each is pronouncedseparately. The consonants have more or less the same sounds as in English. They are the same in number as in that language with the exception of the soft c, j, w, and z, wlhichare niot employedin Carib,and d, whichis probablyreplaced by t. The compoundconsonants are nh and ch. The formeroccurs in nha,which is the thirdperson plural of the personalpronoun. The n is pronounced,as far as it can be, beforethe ftwhich is aspirated. The latter, when at the begiinningof a word, is sounded as in the Ellish church; and, when filnal,as in the Scotch loch. The letterAt is always aspirated. The accent in the Carib words will be indicated by placing the Frenchacute accent overthe vowel on whiclhit falls; e.g.,in rn/ittu,the accenitshould be placed on the penultimilate,and, in htiruti,on the antepenultinmatesyllable. As a rule to which I remembernio exception,the accent in words of two syllables is placed on the penultimiate,and, in those of tllree or more syllables, on the antepenultimate syllable. THIEARTICLE. T-Beindefinite. The inidefinitearticle is expressed,as it is in many otlher languages,by the word meaningone, viz., tiba; (tba inift = a person; dba y4qnati= a basket. The word 4ba is sometimes omittedin phrasesin whichthe inidefiniitearticle is expectedin u 2 This content downloaded from 185.44.77.40 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 07:00:31 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 294 J. N. ltAT.-Tle CUaibLangua,qe Einglish; thus,apardnuba buitruAhu-,nap4raku wdtu nakQtahani = if I kill a wild pig, I light a fireto roast it; dtika kr-Jeti vtrQu dba btti = wlhen a person wants to build a house. Bit'rttuhU= wild pig; vdtut= fire; mgtu= person. Thtedefinite. Thereis no definitearticle in Carib. This is slhownby the followiinasentenices, barunzinuti 4rma ardbsen= I took the road throughthe forest(barunifntuti = I took, 'i-ma = road, erracbsen= through the forest); silfltna tVna akdirutkn= I reached the bank of the river (silutna = I reached, t'ina = river,akl6iruku = bank). The place of the definitearticle is supplied by the third personof the personalpronouni and by the demonstrativepro- nlouI, e.g., ldkusa sibiti= the gommiertree (sibti = gomnuier, ekusa = tree,1, short rorli,= the thirdperson singular of the personialpronoun); ldkusaliha sibui = the tree of the gominiier (liha = a demonstrativepronoun); dba uAkctri= a boy,dbcnaza liha wAqleri= onieof the boys; harluttiumnhilewe = the flowers are white (hartiu2m= white,ilewve = flowers,nh, short for vha, - the thirdperson plural of the personalpronoun). THE SUBSTANTIVE. The subject of a sentencemay eitherprecede or follow the verb; nibdya su ban awdita = all my childrenare grown up (nibdya= my children,sit = all); yanhi nhapukasa S1 nThaya - all my cliildrenwere bornthere. There is no declensionin the Carib lanauage. The possessive noun generallyprecedes the others; thus,tlna akairuknt= the baink of the river; kiere dkusa = pieces of manioc (tlna = river,7ciere = manioc). It may, however,follow; e.g.,Ibitbye Ulhmbarandkir-i = thlehouise of the wlhitemiian (lAbuye = the lhouise,lilha = the,bar-andkiri = white man); ltbuyeaba mAttu = the house of a person. The relationbetween the nouns in such instanicescanl only be gatheredfrom their meanilng. Dependence on a verb when direct is expressedby placing the dependentnoun immediatelyafter the verb; when indirect, Ibyinsertinlg the personal pronounof tlhetlhird person between the verb anidthe naoun. Wa suudhawdiiti uwJwe= we cutdown the large trees (w,va= we, sudha = cut down, wvdir-iti= large, w.vewetrees). Bubdi tihi lIA6niduili = give the meat to the dog (Rubdi = give, u.tihi meat, lAini= to him (tlhe), duli = dog). Inistrumentalityis indicated by the prepositiondo =with; Ido a tkArule= withcreepers; lao musi6rc= withleaves; niotion from,by o?r2a = fr(:m; lodria bdti= fromthe house. This content downloaded from 185.44.77.40 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 07:00:31 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions as nowspoken in Dominica, TWestIndies. 295 When placed before a nioun,such prepositionsas do, odria, etc., have always prefixed to them the third person of the personal pronoun,viz., I or t, slhortfor 1i or ti, accordingas the noun is masculirneor feminine. NUMBER. The plural has generallythe same terminationas the singular. This is doubtlessdue to the wanitof educationas well as to the inidolenceof those by w-homthe Carib language is now spokell, the contextbeing leftto indicatethe numiberof the noun. When a Carib is sufficientlypressed to make a distinctiou between the two niumbers,it is founldthat this is effectedby addingemb or ien, to some,and nm or iunmto othernouns. GENDER. The letters I and t prefixedto substantivesindicate the masculine anidfemniniine genders respectively. It should,how- ever,be rememberedthat I anid t are slhortfor 1i anid ti, the mnasculineandl feminine of the thirdperson of the personalpro- noun which serve the purpoQesof the definiitearticle and the possessive pronoun. In suchiexpressions, therefore, as ldaki& Il?sibam= over his face, and tdaku ti'sibt= over her face, the literaltranslationi should be, over the face of hiimor over him, hiisface, and overthe face of lheror over lher,her face. Hence Carib suibstantivesmay be groupedin two classes,the I class and the t class; and, as the formerinclude all male, anid the latter,all femnalebeings, the substantives of these two groupsmay be describedas inasculineand femininierespectively withas imuclhpropriety in Carib as in any otlherlangtuage. A fewsubstantives, like duli = docr,being, conmmoni to both sexes, may also be correctlydescribed as being of a common g)ender. In such cases the sex is indicatedby placina the word WAkfiri= nmale,or wiiri = female,before the substantive. rihe majorityof the substantivesof tlle I or masculine class end in i or e; alnd the majorityof those of the t or feminine class in o or u. ADJECTIVES. Adjectives,when in directcontact with the substantiveswllicl they qualify,always precede the latter; watiritiwewe = large trees(OrJte = trees); k-beweyu = maniydays (weyn= days). Wlhenthe, modern Carib takes the trouble of expressing,the plulralof an adjective,he does so by adding to the singularthe same terminationias in the case of the substantive. This content downloaded from 185.44.77.40 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 07:00:31 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 296 J. N. RiAT.-TlTe Carib Language Degrees of comparisonare indicatedby meansof such suffixes as odria,lati, kasi.,sik4kua 1to,ldbu, etc. The firstof these is used in conjunctionwitlh personal pro- nounsin the followingway: lst. 2nd. 3rd. Sinaular .. Noaria .. .. BOodia .. Lodria. (More than I.) (More than thou.) (More than he.) Plural.. .. WVaoariaod.. .. Hoia .. .. Nhoa'ria. (More tlhtanwe.) (Mforethan ye.) (More than they.) The subjoined selntelncesillustrate the use of the above suffixes:- Wairitna lodria lITra = I am taller than he. Liha wdiritinodiria = He is taller than I. Maw-airiloitiwa ilatti = We are lnotas bigras you. Wairiti liha qnest, kasi lilca duli = The cat is as big as the dog. Hanuhuetetnahe'we sikuktta ido butrA,hiarcsc4ni = I feara t6tede chien (name of a snake) morethan a wild pig. Liha bib'metildbv, likttya = This one is less sweet than that one (dbu = underor belneath). The superlative,-lhen used absolutely,is expressedeither by repeating the adjective, e.g., wUhiiwbri = very black, 7harzthcarm - verywhite, or by lengtheniingthe vowel of the firstsyllable, tlhus wViiiiri, haaaaru. When employed relatively, it is formed as in Frenchl,by placingrlila = the,before the conmparative. PRONOUNS. Per'sonal. There are two forms of the personal pronoun, viz., the absoluteaind the conjunctive. Thleabsolute. 1st. 2nd. 3rd. ... f Singular { NQlya Bu.vuya Lz'kiya (masc.) or Ao or.. .. 0 Arnoro .. Tuikuya(femn.) Plural.. .. JVdkuya Hku... Hcuya .. .. hdkutyy, Kdta ??Vtu ydinhi= Who is there? Ao = It is I; inmoro= It is thou; Wdkcuya= It is we. This content downloaded from 185.44.77.40 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 07:00:31 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions as nowspo7ken in Dorninica,IWest Indies. 297 Though generallyreserved for the absolute formof the pro- noun,the above may be used in conjunctionwith verbs in cases in whichemphasis is required,e.g., A'o ba b?ima= I go with thee.
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