Barasana-Eduria language
- Not to be confused with Bará language, an Eastern-Central Tucanoan language.
| Barasano | |
|---|---|
| Taiwano | |
| Jãnerã - Eduria Oca | |
| Native to | Colombia |
| Ethnicity | Barasana, Eduria |
Native speakers | (1,900 cited 1993 census)[1] |
Tucanoan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bsn |
| Glottolog | bara1380 |
| ELP | Barasano |
Barasana is one of the various languages spoken by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas belonging to the Amazonian region, specifically in Colombia. It belongs to the language family of the Tucanoan languages, as one of the Eastern Tucanoan languages. The people who speak the language are also known as the Barasana. The population of its native speakers is about 1,990 people, according to a census taken in 1993.[2] Native speakers' tribes are spread out among the Pira Paraná River in Colombia and the banks of the Vaupés River Basin.[3]
The different dialects within this language family utilize their individual languages as barriers to distinguish themselves through their own identity. Marriage between two people who speak the same language are looked at as a taboo; for they are marrying their own brothers and sisters.[3] Instead, Barasanians participated in exogamous marriages, which promoted multilingualism of the people in the region. It is also served as an explanation for similarities between different dialects in the region. Barasana and Eduria are often considered separate languages by the individuals of these groups and allow each other to intermarry. However, the languages' similarities are up to 98%; the other 2% accounts for minor differences in phonology.[2]
Many different grammar characteristics of Barasana separate it distinctively from various other groups in the language family. Out of the Eastern Tucanoan languages, Barasana is the only one to maintain a three portion distinction between spatial and temporal distances.[4] It also differed in many other things such as nasality of words, consonantal systems, phonemes, and imperatives.
Classification
Barasana is an aboriginal Amerindian language spoke in the local region of Colombia and the Amazon River.[5] It is believed that the Barasana are descendants of the legendary Amazonians. The language belongs to the Tucanoan language family, specifically Eastern tucanoan. [6] Most closely related to Barasana is Macuna and Cubeo-desano, also part of the Eastern Tucanoan languages located in Colombia. [7] Barasana and Eduria are considered separate languages by their native speakers that can intermarry due to culture differences, regardless of the language similarities. [6] Also classified of having a Linguistic typology of OVS. [6]
Other variants of the language name includes: Barasano, Barasano-Taiwano, Barasano-Eduria, and Paneroa.
Despite being in the same language family, Barasana has developed in a distinct manner in comparison with it's related languages. Barasana has various distinctions in grammar, phonology, and vocabulary.
The Barasano language is considered an exogamous language as well.
Geographic distribution
Native speakers' tribes are located within and throughout Colombia, specifically in the region of the Vaupés River Basin and the Pira Paraná River. The map located illustrates the specific region of Colombia in which the indigenous tribe is most commonly located in. Among this location, according to a 1993 census, there are approximately 1,900 speakers; which classifies this language as endangered. It is vigorously used in standard form, but is not widespread throughout the region. [8]
Dialects/Varieties:
The Barasana dialect is also known as Southern Barasano, Come Masa, Comematsa, Janera, Paneroa, Yebamasa; Eduria is also known as Edulia, Taibano, Taiwaeno, Taiwano.
Sounds/Phonology
Barasano is one of the few languages within the Tucanoan language family that has consonant phonemes.[9] It has 23 phonemes, containing 11 consonants and twelve vowels. There are various symbols that are used in the language that represent the various phonemic orthography of the language of Barasano itself. A phonological word in Barasano can consist of either one, or even up to nine syllables.[10] Another important aspect of the language is stress and pitch. Many words in the language itself can be considered either high or low pitch. The Barasano language expresses this importance by way of the phonemics on the word level.[10]
Examples:
Consonants:
- /ta/ --> Grass
- /kahi/ --> Coca
- /rase/ --> Toucan
Vowels:
- /wa/ --> to go
- /oha/ --> to enter woods
Grammar
Mood and modality
Barasano has interrogative and imperative markers the take place of evidential endings found at the end of a verb.
Examples
Colors:
- ñĩĩ --> black
- boti --> white
- sũã --> red
- s
uri --> yellow
Body parts:
- hoa --> hair
- kahea --> eyes
- gãmõrõ --> ears
- rise --> mouth
Notes
- ^ Barasano at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ a b "Barasana-Eduria". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ a b "Multilingual Imperatives: The Elaboration of a Category in Northwest Amazonia on JSTOR" (PDF). doi:10.1086/587704.pdf.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Piggott, G. L. (1992-01-01). "Variability in Feature Dependency: The Case of Nasality". Natural Language & Linguistic Theory. 10 (1): 33–77.
- ^ "Barasana-Eduria language". Wikipedia. 2015-10-16.
- ^ a b c "Barasana-Eduria". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ "Glottolog 3.0 - Barasana-Eduria". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
- ^ "Barasana-Eduria". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. (1999-09-23). The Amazonian Languages. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521570213.
- ^ a b Jones, Paula; Jones, Wendell (1991-01-01). Barasano Syntax: Studies in the languages of Colombia. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and University of Texas at Arlington.
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