Aikanã (sometimes called Tubarão,[2] Corumbiara/Kolumbiara, or Huari/Uari/Wari) is an endangered language isolate[3] spoken by about 250 Aikanã people in Rondônia, Brazil. It has SOV word order.[1] Aikanã uses the Latin script. The people live with speakers of Koaia (Kwaza).[1]
| Aikanã | |
|---|---|
| Tubarão, Huari | |
| Aikanã | |
| Native to | Brazil |
| Region | Rondônia |
| Ethnicity | Aikanã people |
Native speakers | 250 (2023)[1] |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tba |
| Glottolog | aika1237 |
| ELP | Aikanã |
| Linguasphere | 82-AKA-a |
Demographics
editAikanã is traditionally spoken in the Terra Indígena Tubarão-Latundê, where it is still the dominant language. About 250 people speak the language.[1] It is also spoken in the Terra Indígena Kwazá do Rio São Pedro, where Kwazá is traditionally spoken. The language is currently being learned by children and used sometimes in school. A few Aikanã families in also reside in the Terra Indígena Rio Guaporé, but they do not speak the language there. There are nearly 100 ethnic Aikanã (locally known as Kassupá) people, in the Comunidade Indígena Cassupá e Salamãi, although the final Aikanã speaker there died in 2018.[1]
Name
editThe name Huari originates from the Guarasu language, meaning 'Indian', and is not recognized by the Aikanã. The names Massaká and Kassupá are the names of important family heads originating from different Aikanã settlements. Tubarão is a corruption of the name Gubal’um, a Salamãi (Mondé) man who became an influential figure in the Aikanã after he married into them. Aikanã is also known by the name of the Corumbiara River.[1]
Classification
editHein van der Voort (2005) observes similarities among Aikanã, Kanoê, and Kwaza, but believes that it is not strong enough to definitively link the three languages together as part of a single language family.[4]
Jolkesky (2016) also observes lexical similarities with Kanoe, Kwaza, and Nambikwara, which he claims is due to contact.[5]
Phonology
editVowels
editConsonants
edit| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t̪͡s | t | t͡ʃ | k | ʔ |
| voiced | b | d̪͡ð | d | d͡ʒ | |||
| Fricative | |||||||
| Sonorant | w | ɾ | h | ||||
- Within the position of nasal vowels, sounds /b, d, d͡ð/ become [m, n, ⁿ̪ð] and /w, ɾ, h/ become [w̃, ɾ̃, h̃].
- /t̪͡s, d͡ð/ are only heard as affricates [t̪͡s, d͡ð] in word-initial position. Elsewhere, they are heard as a fricatives [s] and [ð].
- /w/ can be heard as a fricative [β] when before /i/.
- /ɾ/ can also be heard as [l] between vowels.
- /d͡ʒ/ is heard as [d͡ʒ] before a front-vowel, [j] before a non-front vowel, and as [ɲ] or [j̃] before a nasal vowel.[7]
Morphology
editSyntax
editWord order
editThe constituent word order of Aikanã varies. Pragmatically unmarked word order for constituents of core clauses is subject–object–verb.[1]
baba
father
erue-ye
pig-ACC
su-ka-ekawa-re-ẽ
stab-1SG-CLF:neck-FUT-DECL
'Father is going to slaughter the pig (i.e., stab it in the neck).'
An object with the accusative case -ye may be placed after the verb:[1]
xua-ka-kü-wãyã-re-ka-ẽ
see-1SG-DIR:close-2PL.BEN-FUT-1SG-DECL
yaya-ye
older.sibling-ACC
'I will go look for Sister for you.'
Further reading
edit- Vasconcelos, I. P. (2004). Aspectos da fonologia e morfologia da língua Aikanã. Maceió: Universidade Federal de Alagoas. (Masters dissertation).
References
edit
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Voort, Hein van der; Birchall, Joshua (2023-01-16), Epps, Patience; Michael, Lev (eds.), "1 Aikanã", Language Isolates I: Aikanã to Kandozi-Shapra, De Gruyter, pp. 1–64, doi:10.1515/9783110419405-001, ISBN 978-3-11-041940-5, retrieved 2026-05-23
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ↑ Hein van der Voort (2004). A Grammar of Kwaza. Walter de Gruyter. p. 9. ISBN 3-11-017869-9.
- ↑ Hein van der Voort (2007). "Theoretical and social implications of language documentation and description on the eve of destruction in Rondônia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ↑ van der Voort, Hein (October 2005). "Kwaza in a Comparative Perspective". International Journal of American Linguistics. 71 (4): 365–412. doi:10.1086/501245. ISSN 0020-7071.
- ↑ Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
- ↑ Patrícia Goulart Tondineli (2020-11-06). "O Sistema fonológico das vogais orais na língua indígena Aikanã". Revista Linguagem & Ensino (in Portuguese). 23 (4): 914. ISSN 1983-2400. Archived from the original on 2025-04-09. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ↑ da Silva, Maria de Fátima dos Santos (2012). Dicionário de raízes da língua aikanã. Guajará-Mirim: Universidade Federal de Rondônia.