Languages of the Isthmo–Colombian Area and its southeastern borderland

Autor: Colette Grinevald, Sérgio Meira, Matthias Pache
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
DOI: 10.4324/9781003010487-5
Popis: The chapter provides a brief comparative overview of the contemporary language families and languages spoken in the Isthmo-Colombian Area and focuses on Chibchan, Chocoan, Cariban (Yukpa), and Arawakan (Wayuunaiki or Guajiro). These languages are presented and discussed according to nine formal features, for instance, the presence or absence of nasal vowels, and three functional features, for instance, encoding of gender in pronouns or demonstratives. Along these lines, and including loanwords wherever appropriate, we trace information on contact between the peoples in question. It turns out that Chibchan and Chocoan languages share a number of specific features and elements, some of which may reflect intense contact in the past, whereas others seem to be the result of more recent interaction. Instead, Wayuunaiki shares relatively few features with other languages discussed here and in that respect stands somewhat apart within the linguistic landscape of the Isthmo–Colombian Area.
Databáze: OpenAIRE