Cariban languages
Encyclopedia
The Cariban languages are an indigenous language family
of South America
. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River
to the Colombia
n Andes
, but also appear in central Brazil. Cariban languages are relatively closely related, and number two to three dozen, depending on what is considered a dialect. Most are still spoken, though often by only a few hundred speakers; the only one with more than a few thousand is Macushi
, with 30,000. The Cariban family is well known in the linguistic world due to Hixkaryana, a language with object–verb–subject clauses, previously thought not to exist in human language.
Some years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish
explorers, Caribs invaded and occupied the Lesser Antilles
, killing, displacing or assimilating the Arawaks who inhabited the islands. The resulting language was Carib in name but largely Arawak in substance. This was due to invading Carib men killing Arawak men and taking Arawak wives, who then passed their language on to the children. For a time, Arawak was spoken by women and children and Carib by adult men, but the situation was unstable. As each generation of Carib-Arawak boys children reached adulthood, they acquired less Carib, until only basic vocabulary and a few grammatical elements were left. This "Island Carib
" went extinct in the Lesser Antilles
in the 1920s, but survives in the form of Garífuna
, or "Black Carib", in Central America. The gender distinction has dwindled to only a handful of words. Dominica
is the only island in the eastern Caribbean
to retain some of its pre-Columbian
population—the Carib Indians—about 3,000 of whom live on the island's east coast.
} (S)
} [Warikyana] (S) (†)
} (N)
} [Atrowari, Waimiri] (N)
}–Apalaí
(N)
} [Ikpeng] (N)
} [Nahukwa] (S) (†)
} [Pará] (N)
} (N)
The extinct Patagón de Perico
of northern Peru also appears to have been a Cariban language. Ethnologue lists an extinct language which it says was "similar" to Panare.
and Tupi families, and Ribeiro connects them all in a Je–Tupi–Carib family.
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
to the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, but also appear in central Brazil. Cariban languages are relatively closely related, and number two to three dozen, depending on what is considered a dialect. Most are still spoken, though often by only a few hundred speakers; the only one with more than a few thousand is Macushi
Macushi language
Macushi is the most populous of the Cariban languages, spoken by 30,000 in Brazil and Guyana. It is also spelled Makushi, Makusi, Makuxi, Macusi, Macussi, and also known as Teweya ....
, with 30,000. The Cariban family is well known in the linguistic world due to Hixkaryana, a language with object–verb–subject clauses, previously thought not to exist in human language.
Some years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
explorers, Caribs invaded and occupied the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
, killing, displacing or assimilating the Arawaks who inhabited the islands. The resulting language was Carib in name but largely Arawak in substance. This was due to invading Carib men killing Arawak men and taking Arawak wives, who then passed their language on to the children. For a time, Arawak was spoken by women and children and Carib by adult men, but the situation was unstable. As each generation of Carib-Arawak boys children reached adulthood, they acquired less Carib, until only basic vocabulary and a few grammatical elements were left. This "Island Carib
Island Carib language
Island Carib, also known as Iñeri , was an Arawakan language of the Lesser Antilles related to Taíno. It went extinct about 1920, but survives in its daughter language Garifuna....
" went extinct in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
in the 1920s, but survives in the form of Garífuna
Garifuna language
Garifuna is an Arawakan language spoken in Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize by the Garifuna people. The language is also spoken to a lesser extent in Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. Historically it was referred to as Carib or Black Carib and Igñeri by Europeans. Garifuna has a vocabulary split between...
, or "Black Carib", in Central America. The gender distinction has dwindled to only a handful of words. Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
is the only island in the eastern Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to retain some of its pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
population—the Carib Indians—about 3,000 of whom live on the island's east coast.
Family division
The Cariban languages are closely related, and in many cases where a language is more distinct, this is due to influence from neighboring languages rather that an indication that it is not closely related. Several classifications are seen; the one shown here divides Cariban into seven branches. A traditional geographic classification into northern and southern branches is cross referenced with (N) or (S) after each language.- Galibi
[ KaliñaKalinaKalina may refer to:feminine given name:* Kalinapeople* Noah Kalina, American photographer* Robert Kalina, Austrian banknote designer* Václav Kalina, Czech footballerplaces* Kalina, a geographical location in Mumbai...] (N) - Guiana Carib (Taranoan):
- TiriyóTiriyó languageThe Tiriyó language , is spoken by approximately 2,000 people living in several villages on both sides of the Brazil-Suriname border in Northern Amazonia. It is a relatively healthy language, learned by all children as their mother tongue and actively used in all areas of life by its speakers...
[Trio] (N)
- Tiriyó
} (S)
-
- Hianákoto (ex-Carijona)
} [Warikyana] (S) (†)
-
- WaiwaiWaiwai languageWaiwai is a Cariban language of Brazil, with a couple hundred speakers in Guiana. Katawian dialect has been listed as a separate language ....
(N) - HixkaryánaHixkaryana languageHixkaryana is one of the Carib languages, spoken by just over 500 people on the Nhamundá River, a tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil. It is one of a few known natural languages that normally use object–verb–subject word order, and may have been the first such language to be described...
(S)
- Waiwai
} (N)
- North Amazonian Carib:
} [Atrowari, Waimiri] (N)
-
- MacushiMacushi languageMacushi is the most populous of the Cariban languages, spoken by 30,000 in Brazil and Guyana. It is also spelled Makushi, Makusi, Makuxi, Macusi, Macussi, and also known as Teweya ....
(N) - PemonPemon languageThe Pemon are an indigenous people of South America, living in areas of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. They are also known as Arecuna/AricunaJaricuna, , Kamarakoto/Camaracoto, Taurepan/Taulipang....
[Arekuna] – AkawaioAkawaio languageAkawaio is a Cariban language spoken mainly in Guyana, most commonly in the region of the Upper Mazaruni. Though many speakers don't live in villages, there are a number of population centers, notably Kamarang, Jawalla, Waramadong, and Kako. Some 6,000 people speak Akawaio...
–PatamonaPatamona languagePatamona is a Cariban language spoken mainly in Guyana by the Patamona people. It is one of several closely related languages called Ingarikó and Kapong.-External links:*...
(= Kapong, Ingariko) (N) - Pawishiana (†)
- Macushi
- Central Carib:
}–Apalaí
Apalaí language
Apalaí is a Cariban language spoken in Brazil. Approximately 450 people speak Apalaí.-External links:*...
(N)
-
- Maquiritari [Dekwana] (S)
- MapoyoMapoyo languageMapoyo is a Carib language spoken along the Suapure and Parguaza Rivers, Venezuela. The ethnic population is about 365....
–YabaranaYabarana languageYabarana is a Carib language that was spoken by 20 to 50 people in 1977 in Venezuela. It is nearly extinct....
–PémonoPémono languagePémono is a Cariban language that was spoken by only an eighty-year-old woman when discovered in 1998 in Venezuela. The ethnic population now speaks Spanish. Pémono may already be extinct....
(N)
- South Amazonian Carib:
} [Ikpeng] (N)
} [Nahukwa] (S) (†)
} [Pará] (N)
- Yukpa:
} (N)
-
- YukpaYukpa languageYukpa is a Cariban language, spoken by 7,000–8,000 people in Zulia State in Venezuela and across the border in Colombia. It's also known as Carib Motilón, Macoíta, Northern Motilón, Manso....
(N) - ? (N) (†)
- Yukpa
- Panare (N)
The extinct Patagón de Perico
Patagon language
The Patagon language might be:*Tehuelche language, of Argentina*Patagon language...
of northern Peru also appears to have been a Cariban language. Ethnologue lists an extinct language which it says was "similar" to Panare.
Genetic relations
The Cariban languages share irregular morphology with the GeGe languages
The Jê languages , or Jê–Kaingang languages, are spoken by the Gê, a group of indigenous peoples in Brazil.-Family division:The language family is as follows:*Jaikó...
and Tupi families, and Ribeiro connects them all in a Je–Tupi–Carib family.
See also
- List of Spanish words of Indigenous American Indian origin
- Arawak peoples
- Arawakan languagesArawakan languagesMacro-Arawakan is a proposed language family of South America and the Caribbean based on the Arawakan languages. Sometimes the proposal is called Arawakan, in which case the central family is called Maipurean....
- Carib languageCarib languageCarib, also known as Caribe, Cariña, Galibi, Galibí, Kali'na, Kalihna, Kalinya, Galibi Carib, Maraworno and Marworno, is an Amerindian language in the Cariban language family....
- TainoTaíno languageTaíno, an Arawakan language, was the principal language of the Caribbean islands at the time of the Spanish Conquest, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Florida Keys, and the Lesser Antilles...
- Garifuna languageGarifuna languageGarifuna is an Arawakan language spoken in Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize by the Garifuna people. The language is also spoken to a lesser extent in Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. Historically it was referred to as Carib or Black Carib and Igñeri by Europeans. Garifuna has a vocabulary split between...
External links
- Etnolinguistica.Org: online resources on native South American languages
- Ethnologue report for Carib languages
- Ka'lina (Carib) Vocabulary List (from the World Loanword Database)
- http://www.cariblanguage.org/galibi.html
- Rosetta Project entry