Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Contents
- List of literature
- Rules for pronunciation and abbreviations
- Alphabetical Index
- German words in Schultz' texts
- CHAPTER I Finite verb
- CHAPTER II Character of the Arawak words
- CHAPTER III Infinite verb
- CHAPTER IV Auxiliary verb a
- CHAPTER V Intensives, conjunctions, etc.
- CHAPTER VI K; B
- CHAPTER VII F; P; B
- CHAPTER VIII M
- CHAPTER IX N
- CHAPTER X D
- CHAPTER XI T
- CHAPTER XII Formation of verbs, etc.
- CHAPTER XIII L; R
- CHAPTER XIV H
- CHAPTER XV S
- CHAPTER XVI Vowels, diphotongs; colours
- CHAPTER XVII Classes of utterances; numerals
- CHAPTER XVIII Man
- CHAPTER XIX Foreign words. Arawak and Arawak-Maipure
- CHAPTER XX Origins of the Arawak language
- APPENDIX: Information collected in Surinam in 1907 and in 1928
CHAPTER XX - Origins of the Arawak language
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2010
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Contents
- List of literature
- Rules for pronunciation and abbreviations
- Alphabetical Index
- German words in Schultz' texts
- CHAPTER I Finite verb
- CHAPTER II Character of the Arawak words
- CHAPTER III Infinite verb
- CHAPTER IV Auxiliary verb a
- CHAPTER V Intensives, conjunctions, etc.
- CHAPTER VI K; B
- CHAPTER VII F; P; B
- CHAPTER VIII M
- CHAPTER IX N
- CHAPTER X D
- CHAPTER XI T
- CHAPTER XII Formation of verbs, etc.
- CHAPTER XIII L; R
- CHAPTER XIV H
- CHAPTER XV S
- CHAPTER XVI Vowels, diphotongs; colours
- CHAPTER XVII Classes of utterances; numerals
- CHAPTER XVIII Man
- CHAPTER XIX Foreign words. Arawak and Arawak-Maipure
- CHAPTER XX Origins of the Arawak language
- APPENDIX: Information collected in Surinam in 1907 and in 1928
Summary
A few words which are in use in most A. M. languages, are not found in Arawak. These are: I, me, A. M. *n(u)-, Arawak d(a)-; man, A. M. *e(š)ina-ri, A. loko (human), wadili (male); sun, A. M. *kamu, A. (h)adaili; mountain, A. M. *yapa, earth, A. M. *ipai, A. (h)ororo; mouth, A. M. *numa, A. areroko; hair, A. M. *(b)itiu, A. o-barra.
The language of the Lesser Antilles, which was closely related to Arawak, and of which important remains have been preserved in Island-Karib, has not undergone these changes. Goajiro and Parauhano have the pronominal prefix t(a)- for the first person singular, which evidently is the same as Arawak d(a)-.
We surmise that Arawak, which is a very living language, has discarded the old words, because their inner meaning was no longer felt. The economical use of pronouns (§§ 16 c), 19) may also be an Arawak innovation.
In a few cases in which an Arawak word may be readily explained from the general principles of the language, the same explanation is not applicable to the corresponding A. M. word. Most often, however, the explanation of the Arawak word also holds good for the A. M. word, and this, with what has been mentioned in § 181, makes it very probable, that in primitive Arawak-Maipure, the vowels and consonants were used with a similar meaning to that which they still have in Arawak.
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- Information
- The Arawak Language of Guiana , pp. 236 - 245Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009First published in: 1928