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Handout - Number Systems in Karijona PDF
Handout - Number Systems in Karijona PDF
9 May 2018
There are approximately 120 Carijona people living in two communities in the departments
of Guaviare and Amazonas (Puero Nare and La Pedrera); some Carijona also reside in the
urban areas of Villavicencio (department of Meta) and San José (department of Guaviare).
Some Carijona are also believed to be located in the Chiribiquete National Park (department
of Caquetá, Colombia) (Franco, 2002) (see the Appendix 1).
Today, there are only five speakers that actively use Karijona in one family. In addition,
about ten speakers use the language occasionally, and are able to hold conversations and tell
traditional stories. Sixteen speakers understand Karijona and have some proficiency in the
language.
The data for this study was collected on several fieldtrips in the Carijona community of
Puerto Nare between 2014 and 2017.
The corpus consists of about 30 hours of transcribed recordings of first- and second-hand
data, including traditional stories, historical accounts, everyday conversations, and
interviews.
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Table 1. Karijona vowels
Front Central Back
Closed i ɨ u
Mid e ə o
Open a
Karijona is a language with a highly synthetic and agglutinative morphology. It also shows
some features of morphological fusion.
The syntactic functions are expressed through constituent order, predicate marking
(cross-reference markers on verbs), and postpositions.
There is a tendency for the constituent order to be SV and AOV in intransitive and
transitive clauses, with the predicate occurring in the clause final position. Depending on a
number of pragmatic factors, the language allows VS, OVA, and AVO constituent orders.
Verbs, nouns, and adverbs belong to open word classes, while quantifiers, pronouns,
particles, and postpositions constitute closed classes of words.
Karijona word classes can also be divided into two distinct types:
TYPE I. VERBS, NOUNS, AND POSTPOSITIONS – these are word classes that can be cross-
referenced for person and number (see §2).
TYPE II. ADVERBS, QUANTIFIERS, PRONOUNS, AND PARTICLES – these word classes cannot be
inflected by cross-reference markers for person or number.
TENSE PARADIGM – contains two tense markers for non-future -∅ and future -ta. The non-
future marker -∅ has a syllabic allomorph /-ʤa/, which occurs with reduced forms of verbal
stems that end with a consonantal segment (Meira, 2000).
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ASPECT-MOOD PARADIGM – contains five aspect markers and one mood marker whose
meanings depend on their combination with tense markers, particles, and adverbs. They
have recognizable prototypical meanings: imperfective, durative, habitual, perfective,
remote, and imperative.
In terms of the predicate marking, Karijona has cross-reference markers (person prefixes
and number suffixes) (see §4).
The number and person of predicate’s arguments can also be expressed by free pronouns
(see §3 and §4).
In transitive clauses, person prefixes distinguish two subsets according to the grammatical
relations they express – A markers for the subject and O markers for the object.
Both of them occupy the same slot on the verb; the selection of the marker depends on the
reference of the predicate arguments, following this referential hierarchy (Meira, 2000):
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(1) Speech Act Participants (1+2, 1, and 2) > (3 and nouns)
Verbs of transitive clauses agree with the argument which is higher in the hierarchy.
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2 The expression of number in Karijona
In pronouns, both person and number are expressed within free forms (§3), while in verbs
(§4), nouns (§5), and postpositions (§6), person and number are expressed separately by
cross-reference markers (person is marked by prefixes and number is marked by suffixes).
In (2), the pronoun aɲamoro (2 person augmented) makes reference to the person and
number of the A argument. In addition, person and number are expressed separately by the
person prefix (mɨ- 2.A ‘you’) and the number suffix (-tə AUG ‘more than one’):
The expression of number is one of the criteria to distinguish verbs, nouns, and
postpositions. They make use of different sets of cross-reference suffixes to express number.
In (2) above and (3) below, the suffix -tə expresses augmented number on the verbs hɨnəh
‘kill’ and eh ‘come’ (see Table 7 in §4):
(3) m-e-ʤa-tə-iPRED
mɨ-eh-Ø-tə-e
2.SA-come-NFUT-AUG-IPFV
‘Y’all are coming.’
In (4), the noun kaikuʧi ‘dog’ takes the augmented possessor suffix –ko (see Table 8 in §5):
In postpositions, the suffix -ne expresses augmented number (Table 10 in §6), as in (5):
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(5) əʤi-marə-nePP:CC w-a-eCOP
əʤi-marə-ne wɨ-a-e
2-COMIT-AUG 1.MIN.IRR-COP-IPFV
‘I am with y’all.’
Pronouns are the only members of the TYPE II word classes (adverbs, quantifiers, pronouns,
and particles) that have a grammatical system of number.
There is a set of six personal pronouns referring to the speaker (1 person), the addressee (2
person), and both the speaker and the addressee (1+2 person). All personal pronouns
contrast by minimal and augmented number.
In (6), personal pronoun aɲa expresses augmented number for the 1 person:
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(6) sekame [n-ehetɨh-∅-ɨPRED=toto S] [aɲaS n-ehetɨh-∅-ɨ]PRED
sekame nɨ-ehetɨh-∅-ɨ=toto aɲa nɨ-ehetɨh-∅-ɨ
then 3.SA-disappear-NFUT-PFV=3.COLL 1.AUG 3.SA-disappear-NFUT-PFV
‘Then they disappeared, we disappeared.’
Similarly in (7), the demonstrative pronoun nərə expresses minimal number for the 3
person human.
In contrast, demonstrative pronouns that do not have animate referents, such as irə
(3.ANAPH) in (8), do not express number:
As shown in (6) and (7) above, the personal pronoun aɲa (1.AUG) and the demonstrative
pronoun nere (3.HUM.PROX.MIN) co-occur with the person prefix nɨ-, and there is no number
marking on the verb. In such cases, the person and number readings depends solely on
pronouns.
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Table 7. System of number in Karijona verbs
PERSON
Number suffix/particle
Person PREFIXES
A O Minimal Augmented
1.MIN i- ʤɨ- Implicit in the prefix Not applicable
2 mɨ- əʤi-
-Ø (MIN) -tə (AUG)
1+2 kɨse- kɨ-
Implicit in demonstrative pronouns
Implicit in demonstrative
3 or by the collective particle =toto
nɨ- i- pronouns
(3.COLL)
1.AUG Not applicable Implicit in the personal pronoun
The 2 person and 1+2 person form a productive system of number marking on verbs. The
suffix -tə expresses the augmented number and minimal number is formally unmarked (-∅).
In (9), the augmented number on the verb eh ‘come’ is expressed by the suffix -te:
(10) shows the unmarked form of minimal number for the 1+2 person, expressed by the
pronoun kɨmərə ‘you and I’ and the person prefix kɨ- ‘you and I’:
In (11), the verb eharaga ‘dance’ takes the suffix -tə to express augmented number. The
augmented meaning is also expressed by the pronoun kɨɲamoro ‘y’all and I’:
In (12), the pronoun aɲamoro ‘y’all’ co-occurs with the 1+2 person prefix kɨ- and the
augmented number suffix -tə to agree with the 2 person augmented acting over the 1 person
minimal (2.AUG>1.MIN):
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(12) aɲamoroA kɨ-hɨnə-ʤa-tə-iPRED
aɲamoro kɨ-hɨnəh-ʤa-tə-i
2.AUG 1+2.O-kill-NFUT-AUG-IPFV
‘Y’all are going to kill me.’
Number of the 1 person is not expressed by number suffixes on the verb. 1 person minimal
is implicit in i- ‘I’ and ʤɨ- ‘me’, as in (13):
The 1 person augmented is implicit for aɲa ‘we’. This pronoun is obligatory expressed in
all cases due that it only co-occurs with the personal prefixes of the 3 person (nɨ-‘he/it’ and
i-‘him’), as in (14) (repeated from (6)):
Similar to the 1 person augmented, the 3 person augmented cannot be expressed by the
augmented -tə (‘more than one’). Instead, there are two strategies to express augmented
number for 3 person arguments:
(16) n-aheh-0-ɨPRED=totoS
nɨ-aheh-0-ɨ=toto
3.SA-die-NFUT-PFV=3.COLL
‘They died.’
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Both strategies cannot be used simultaneously. In (17), the collective particle =toto can only
occur when the demonstrative pronouns namoro (3.HUM.PROX.AUG) ‘these’ and məkamoro
(3.AN.DIST.AUG) ‘those’ are not present:
Possessed nouns are marked for person of possessor, possession, and number of
possessor. They can also be marked by suffixes expressing former possession.
Cross-reference markers specify the person (-1) and number (+3) of the possessor (R),
and Possessive markers (+2) show that the noun is in the possessed function (D) and
specify its number (-rɨ for minimal possessed nouns, and –to for augmented ones).
Former possession markers (+1) refer to past or terminated possessive relations and
evaluatives (+4) express the values of small and big sizes.
In (18), the noun hatu ‘nephew’ carries the cross-reference marker of 1 person (ʤɨ-)
functioning as a possessor marker. The possessive marker -rɨ marks the minimal number of
the possessed noun.
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(18) [∅-batu-ruNP maruku]NP:A nɨ-hono-ʤa-kədəkəPRED
ʤɨ-hatu-rɨ maruku nɨ-honoh-∅-kətəkə
1.MIN.R-nephew-MIN.POSS Marcos 3.A-narrate-NFUT-HAB
‘My nephew Marcos used to narrate.’
In (19), muguhə ‘orphan’ consists of the noun mugu ‘child/son’ and the suffix of former
possession -hə (MIN.FRM.POSS):
The number marking can co-occur within the same NP. In (20), the word ʤeʧiʧatogo ‘our
ancestors (former fathers)’ simultaneously takes the suffixes -ʧa (FRM.AUG), -to (AUG.POSS),
and -ko (AUG.R):
Non-possessed nouns do not carry person or number affixes, and they have an indefinite
reference. They can refer to one object, such as koheto ‘shotgun’ (Spanish borrow word) in
(21) (repeated from (17)):
Non-possessed nouns can also refer to a generic class of referents, such as kaheri ‘hen’ in
(22) (repeated from (13)), which does not refer to a specific hen, but to the class of animals
in general:
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(22) kaheriO i-hɨnə-ʤa-ePRED
kaheri i-hɨnə-ʤa-e
hen 1.MIN.A-kill-NFUT-IPFV
‘I am gonna kill hens.’
In (23), kaituʧi ‘dog’, which has an indefinite reading on its own, is modified by the pronoun
demonstrative məkamoro (3.AN.DIST.AUG) ‘those’. Thus, the NP has a definite reading that
expresses augmented number.
The expression of number depends of the subdivision of nouns in Karijona. Inherently non-
possessed nouns, which include personal names, place names, and landscape terms, cannot
take cross-reference or possessive markers, such as maruku ‘Marcos’ in example (24)
(repeated from (18)):
There is a small set of nouns that intrinsically mark number. In (25) and (26), gɨʤa
‘partners’ and mugə ‘children’ are collective nouns that express number without any
number suffix or a demonstrative pronoun.
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(26) [əwɨ mugə]NP [aɲa mugə] NP [karihona mugə] NP
əwɨ mugə aɲa mugə karihona mugə
1.MIN child.COLL 1.AUG child.COLL Karijona child.COLL
Compare gɨʤa ‘partners’ and mugə ‘children’ in (25) and (26) above with the nouns gɨrɨ
‘partner’, mure ‘boy’, and the possessed noun muguru ‘(someone’s) child’ in (27):
A number of nouns are inalienably possessed, which means that they always carry the
possessor cross-reference and/or the possessive markers. Most of these nouns are kindship
and body part terms.
In (28), the noun owo ‘uncle’ takes the 2 person prefix əʤi- ‘your’ and the minimal
possessive -rɨ:
Karijona also has a set of alienable nouns. These nouns optionally express number by
cross-reference markers and possessive markers, or by means of demonstrative pronouns.
They can also be unmarked for number, and have generic or undefined readings. Most of
them are animals and inanimate objects.
In (29), the formally alienable noun kaikuʧi ‘dog’ is the S argument of the verb təh ‘go’.
Compare with kɨkaikuʧirɨko ‘our dog’ and məkamoro kaikuʧi ‘those dogs’ in (4) and (23)
above.
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(29) kaikuʧiS də-məPRED ʤe-də-kəPP
kaikuʧi təh-mə ʤɨ-da-kə
dog 3.go.IRR-PFV 1-SUBE-TRANS
‘The dog crossed (lit. went) underneath me.’
Number suffixes
Formal class
Person prefix Root
of nouns Possessive Number of the
markers possessor
Inherently
non-
NA nominal NA
possessed
nouns
Intrinsically individual
numbered NA NA
nouns collective
Inalienably
possessed obligatory obligatory
nouns
nominal
Alienably optional optional
possessed
(marked by
nouns (marked by demonstratives)
demonstratives)
To mark the augmented, however, instead of the suffix -tə used on verbs (§4) or the suffix
-ko used on nouns (§5), they take the suffix -ne, which is exclusive for postpositions.
Additionally, the 1 person augmented is expressed with the free pronoun aɲa (1.AUG)
without any cross-reference marker.
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Table 10. Structural slots of Karijona postpositions
Person Number
Postposition
–1 +1
ʤɨ- (1.MIN)
əʤi- (2) -∅ (MIN)
kɨ- (1+2) Postpositional stem -ne (AUG)
i- (3)
aɲa (1.AUG) Not applicable
Postpositions of orientation express person and number, such as in ʤiwaho ‘in front of
me’ and əʤigəkəne ‘(cross) behind of y’all’ in (30) and (31):
In (32) and (33), əʤinone ‘afraid of y’all’ and əʤino ‘afraid of you (just one)’ are mental
state postpositions inflected by person and number:
Relational postpositions can also express number by the cross-reference suffix -ne, such as
əʤimarəne ‘with y’all’ in (34):
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7 Summary
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Abbreviations
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References
Aikhenvald, A. Y. (2012). The languages of the Amazon. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Carlin, E. (2004). A grammar of Trio. A Cariban language of Suriname. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Derbyshire, D. (1999). Carib. In R. M. W. Dixon & A. Aikhenvald (Eds.), The Amazonian languages
(pp. 23-64). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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