Avá-Canoeiro language

Avá-Canoeiro, known as Avá or Canoe, is a minor Tupi–Guaraní language of the state of Goiás, in Brazil. It can be further divided into two dialects: Tocantins Avá-Canoeiro and Araguaia Avá-Canoeiro. All speakers of the language are monolingual.^[1]

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

• /ɾ/ may also be heard as [l] in free variation.
• Nasals /m, n/ can be heard as voiced plosives [b, d] freely in word-initial positions.^[2]

Morphosyntax

Verbs

Avá-Canoeiro, a language from the Tupi-Guarani family, has four subclasses of verbs: transitive, active intransitive, descriptive intransitive, and one copular verb eko ∼ iko. These subclasses are identified by the number of arguments they take and the pronominal elements they receive. In Avá-Canoeiro, there are three series of verbal person markers: personal prefixes, relational prefixes, and clitic pronouns. Unlike other Tupi-Guarani languages, Avá-Canoeiro does not have portmanteau personal prefixes that mark simultaneous reference to subject and object—here, only one argument (subject or object) is indicated at a time. In declarative clauses, transitive and active intransitive verbs use Series I personal prefixes, while in imperative clauses they use Series II prefixes. Descriptive intransitive verbs use Series II prefixes in imperative clauses. Subjects of descriptive intransitive verbs and objects of transitive verbs are marked by Series III clitic pronouns. The third-person pronoun is expressed using the relational prefix i-.

Transitive verbs can have two noun arguments, one as the subject and one as the object, or they can have one noun argument marked exclusively on the verb. The verb is encoded by a person marker, either Series I prefixes for the subject or Series III prefixes for the object.

In Avá-Canoeiro, active intransitive verbs are used to indicate activities and acts of volition and control by the participant in the action. These verbs are marked by person prefixes.

Descriptive intransitive verbs in Avá-Canoeiro express concepts related to size, age, value, color, physical property, human propensity, and speed. While these concepts may be considered adjectives semantically, morphologically and syntactically, they do not have distinct properties that distinguish them as a separate class of adjectives. They share characteristics with active intransitive verbs, such as reduplication indicating intensive and iterative aspects, the -pam suffix indicating completive aspect, the circumfix n(a)=…-i(te) for negation, and the causative prefix mo-. As such, the descriptive intransitive verbs can be treated as a subclass of intransitive verbs.

The copular verb eko ∼ iko is inflected like active intransitive verbs and is marked by personal prefixes. It is related to the deletion of the nuclear case morpheme {-a} in the language.

In Avá-Canoeiro verbs, the following moods have been described: indicative I (expresses a straightforward action or verbal process), indicative II (used when a preceding circumstance affects the verb), permissive (commands and advice) and gerundive (purpose, succession, or simultaneity).

Sources

Bibliography

External links

• Lev, Michael; Stark, Tammy; Chang, Will (2012). "Phonological inventory of Avá-Canoeiro". The South American Phonological Inventory Database (version 1.1.3 ed.). Berkeley: University of California: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages Digital Resource.

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