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The Waimiri Atroari language is spoken by the Waimiri Atroari people. The current population is 2,009 (PWA, 2018),[2] and they have 19 villages spread along the rivers of Camanau/Curiau, Alalaii, Jauaperi, and Rio Branquinho.[3] These are located in the northern part of the State of Amazonas, and the southern part of the State of Roraima.[4] The people call themselves Kinja and call their language Kinja Iara (meaning 'people's language') (Do Vale).[5] The language has many other names such as, Atroahy, Atroahí, Atroarí, Atroaí, Atrowari, Atruahi, Atruahí, Ki'nya, Krishaná, Waimirí, Waimirí-atroarí, Yawaperí (Glottolog).[6] This language seems to have a high transmission as it is spoken by all members of the community and is the main language used for reading and writing (Do Vale).[5]
 | This article should specify the language of its non-English content, using {{lang}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used - notably atr for Waimiri-Atroari. (February 2022) |
First contact with the Waimiri Atroari occurred in the 17th century with the Spanish and Portuguese crown spreading to gain more territory (Do Vale).[5] First official contact with the Waimiri Atroari took place in 1884 with Joãno Barbosa Rodrigues who enlisted the Waimiri Atroari as guides. At this point in time the Waimiri Atroari already had a reputation for being violent and Rodrigues sought to change the stereotypes associated with the group (Do Vale).[5]
In 1911 a member of the SPI (Indian Protection Services) made contact with the Waimiri Atroari, the following year the First Indian Attraction Station was established (Do Vale).[5] Despite friendly contact the government of this region saw the great wealth of resources that the native land possessed and encouraged the invasion of the land in order to exploit the natural resources (Do Vale).[5] As a result, the Waimiri Atroari took up defense of their land with bows and arrows. This led to many acts of violence between the Waimiri Atroari and non-indigenous people, with military forces used to combat the indigenous group and wiping out entire villages (Do Vale).[5] The next large scale conflict with the Waimiri Atroari that has been documented is in the 1960s with the Amazonas State and Roraima Territory Government's plan for a highway between Manaus and Caracarai, cutting directly through indigenous land (Do Vale).[5] This project brought in individuals and teams to "pacify" the Waimiri Atroari as well as Military forces to build the highway and intimidate the indigenous people (Do Vale).[5] As a result of high tension and disagreements most of the non-indigenous pacifists were killed by the Waimiri Atroari (Do Vale).[5]
In 1971 the Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Reservation was created, however between plans for Amazonas expansion and the discovery of cassiterite deposits, the government continued to infringe on the land (Do Vale).[5] The reserve was demoted to a Temporary Restricted Area for the Attraction and Pacification of the Waimiri Atroari Indians in 1981 in order to exclude the mineral deposits from their land (Do Vale).[5] Later more land was taken from the Waimiri Atroari as a hydroelectric plant project flooded over 30,000 hectares of their land (Do Vale). Today the Waimiri Atroari have their own school system which they control independently (Do Vale).[5]
Waimiri Atroari belongs to the Carib language family, which is centralized in Northern South America. The Carib languages in northern Brazil are fairly similar, while Waimiri-Atroari is rather different (Moore, 2006, 119).[7] Carib can be categorized into three groups: Northwest Amazon, Guiana area and Upper Xingu Basin. Waimiri Atroari seems to fall into the second group, Guiana area.[8]
João Barbosa Rodrigues’ wordlist seems to be the first to document the language in 1885 and he refers to the people as "Crichanas".[3] A century later, in 1985, a phonological proposal and alphabet were developed by a Catholic missionary couple from the Indigenous Missionary Council.[9] A year after, in 1986, another missionary couple from the Evangelical Mission of the Amazonian (MEVA), created a more accurate orthography.[10]
It seems that the first detailed description was done by Ana Carla Bruno. She released a dissertation in 2003 on the descriptive grammar of the Waimiri-Atroari language. She extensively described the phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax of the language. In addition, she has continued detailing the typology of Waimiri-Atroari in further works. In 2004, she published a paper on reduplication in the language. The following two years, she detailed its pronominal system (2005)[11] and causative construction (2006).[12] Then, in 2008 and 2009, she further analyzed the syntactic features of case-marking; phrase structure, clauses and word order. Most recently, she explored the value of linguistic analysis to better language revitalization by analyzing the syllable structure in the orthography and formal education of Waimiri-Atroari (2010).[13]
While there are currently no language documentation projects for Wairmiri Atroari, there are projects for other languages in the Carib family. Carib language documentation supported by DOBES include the following languages: Kuikuro, documented by Bruna Franchetto, as well as Kaxuyana and Bakairi, which have been documented by Sergio Meira (Báez et al., 2016, 32).[14]
Consonants
Vowels
Bruno (2003) creates a thorough documentation of the morphology of Waimiri Atroari which includes nouns of possession, relational morphemes, derivational morphemes, pronouns, non-third person pronouns and third-person pronouns. Verbs have also been documented, covering tense/aspect suffixes, mood (imperatives and negation suffix), interrogative clitic, interrogative forms, causative forms and desiderative suffix. Waimiri Atroari also has documentation of adverbs, postpositions, particles and case markings. [17]
Pronouns
Bruno states that pronouns can take both subject and object positions in Waimiri Atroari.[18]
1st Person: awy, aa, kara~kra
Subject position
Bruno states that kara~kra is used when responding to a question or to emphasize that the person did an action or wants something. It is also the only pronoun that can be used in the OSV order.[19]
(1)
wasypy-pa
hungry-EMPH
kra
1.PRO
w-ia
1-COP
'I am hungry.'
(2)
meprypyny
Tapir meat
kara
1.PRO
h-yn-iany.
LA-eat-TAM
'I was eating tapir meat.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Object position
It seems that for a 1st person singular object, aa can be used (Bruno 81).
(3)
ka
3.PRO
ram
2PART
aa=ini-pia.
1o-see-iM.p
'He saw me.'
2nd Person: amyry-amyra
Subject position
(4)
amyry
2.PRO
m-om-pia
2S-dive-IM.P
syna
water
kaka
LOC
'You dove into the water.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Object position
It seems that the morpheme a is used to express a 2nd person singular object as in the examples (5) [21] and (6) [22] below.
(5)
ka
3.PRO
ram
2PART
a-wen-tah-py-pia.
2o-threw up-VERBL-CAUS-IM.p
'She/he made you throw up.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
1+2 we inclusive : kyky and 1+3 we exclusive: a’a
Subject position
(7)
araky
Today
ram
2PART
kyky
1+2.PRO
h-y-sa
1+2S-go-TAM
xiba
fish
myryka-se
fish-in order to
'Today we go fishing.'
(8)
a’a
1+3
n-itxi-piany
1+3S-go-REC.P
kaapa
garden
taka
AL
'We went to the plantation garden.'
Object position
(9)
Irɨ
3.PRO
k-ini-pe-s
1+2o-see-?-DESI
na.
COP
'She/he wants to see us.'
(10)
Ka
3.PRO
ram
2PART
a’=ini-pia.
1+3o-see-IMD.PAST
'She/he saw us.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Anaphoric (he, she, they, it): mykyky, mykyka'a, ka, iry
Subject position
(10)
mykyky
3.PRO
ty-se
3.REFL-foot
kinj-e
wash-TAM
'He is washing his own foot'
(11)
mykyky
3.PRO
ty-se
3.REFL-foot
kinj-e
wash-TAM
'He is washing his own foot'
(12)
mykyka’a
3.PRO
ram
2PART
n-yma-pa
3S-fall-REM.P
'He fell'
(13)
Ka
3.PRO
ram
2PART
ka
3.PRO
ini-huwa
see-NEG
na
COP
'He does not see him'
(14)
iry
3.PRO
n-aryma-pa
3S-come back-REM.P
te’xy
DESI
n-eeni-pa
3S-stay-REM.P
'He did not want to come back'
Object position
Mykyka and ka can appear in object position, but Bruno notes that ka seems to be the preferred morpheme in her data.[26]
(15)
amyra
2.PRO
mykyka
3.PRO
m-ary-py-pia
2A-order-CAUS-IM.P
mykyka
3.PRO
ini-se.
see-in order to
'You ordered him to see him.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(16)
ka
3.PRO
ram
2PART
ka
3.PRO
ini-huwa
see-NEG
na.
COP
'He does not see him.'
Proximal: (h)anji, kanji, anjinji, byby, by
Subject position
(17)
apia
What
hanji?
this
aa=samka
1POS=hammock
ram
2PART
kanji
this
'What is this?' 'This is my hammock.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(18)
pip-ky
Look for-IMP
anjinji
here/this
i-etaty
REL-name
'Look here for the names!'
(19)
byby
3.PRO
maryba
song
ka-tape.
sing-REM.F
'He will sing.'
By is used to describe animate objects.[28]
(20)
bypa
Whose
i-eka
REL-pet
by
this
karyka-e’?
chicken-INT
'Whose is this chicken?'
Medial: myry and Distal: mo’o, mymo’, myky
Subject position
Myry can only be used to describe inanimate objects.[30]
(21)
wyty
Meat
ka
EVID
myry
this
'This is meat.'
Mymo’ and mo’o are used with inanimate objects, while myky is used with animate objects.[30]
(22)
mymo’
That
marehe ram
sieve-2PART
abremyhsa
round
'That sieve is round’
(23)
myky
That
ram
2PART
tabe’a
capybara
mo’o
There
ka
EVID
samka
hammock
'That is a capybara' 'There, is the hammock.'
Object position
(24)
a'a
1+3.PRO
txi-piany
go-REC.P
mo'o
there
ase
new
mydy
house
taka.
AL
'We went there to the new village.'
Negation particle
Waimiri Atroari uses non-verbal negation, that is, negation marked by particles kap~kapy~kapa and wan. These particles act to indicate negation rather than negation being marked on a verb and are often used to negate existence as seen below (Bruno 115).
(25)
aiana
Sp.bird
ram
2PART
wyty
meat/food
kapa
NEG
'Any-preto is not food.'
(26)
wyty
Meat
wan
NEG
naminja
dog
'Don't eat the food, dog!'
Causative forms
There are two kinds of causative forms that can be used to signify if a subject causes an event. First, there is the -py morpheme that indicates if someone “made” someone else do something or if they are not resistant to “cause” an event to happen. There is one construction where the morpheme -py appears with the lexicalized verb, such as in examples (27) and (28), where -py attaches to the verb for 'tell' (Bruno 100).
(27)
Aa
1.PRO
Kaina
Kaina
h-ary-py-pia
1s-tell-CAUS-IM.P
kyrywu
snake
ini-se.
see-in order to
'I told/dictated to Kaina to see the snake.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(28)
Paruwe
Paruwe
aa-iry-py-pia
1o-tell-CAUS-IM.P
woky
banana
yry-ky
give-IMP
Marta
Marta
inaka
DAT
'Paruwe told/dictated to me to give the banana to Marta.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
There is also a form where -py does not appear with a lexicalized verb, such as in examples (29) and (30), where -py attaches to the verbs 'bleed' and 'laugh'. It also seems that intransitive verbs like these, behave like transitive verbs when they take a causative form like V[Intr+Caus [A O]] (Bruno 101).
(29)
kyka
1+2.PRO
ram
2PART
ka
3.PRO
hu-myny-tah-py-pia.
1+2A-bleed-VERBL-CAUS-IM.P
'We made him bleed.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(30)
Ka
3.PRO
k-yeepitxah-py-pia.
1+2o-laugh-CAUS-IM.P
'She/he made us laugh.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Second, there is a form that indicates if the subject is “letting” the event happen. Someone is ordered or permitted to do something without forcing the other or knowing if the other may fulfill the event. It seems that there is an absence of the morpheme -py, as in examples (31) and (32), and the particle tre’me is notable, however Bruno notes that the particle tre’me may not mean "let" because of example (33), in which it does not indicate "let/permit" (Bruno 103).
(31)
Aa
1.PRO
wo'nj-e'me
clay-VAL
h-aminjaky-piany
LA-permit/let-REC.P
a-wenpa-typah
2o-leam-?
tre'me
PART
tyruwa
pan
kapry
make
pyky.
how
'I permitted you to/let you dabble in the clay to learn how to make a ceramic pan.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(32)
Aa
1.PRO
ka
ka
m-injaky-piany
2o-permit/let-REC.P
wyty
meat
ipy-na
look for-?
tre'me.
PART
'I permitted you to/let you leave to hunt.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(33)
Aa
1.PRO
k-aa-piany
2o-take-REC.P
maryba
party/song
taka
AL
a-iwapy-try
2o-sing-?
pyky
how
a-wenpa-typa
2o-leam-?
tre'me.
PART
'I took you to the party for you to learn how to sing.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Split System-S
Waimiri Atroari is what Gildea (1998)[32] classifies to as an Inverse Split system-S. Characteristics of this language system include A and O nominals having no case marking, a lack of auxiliaries and personal prefix set as well as the collective number suffixes.[33] In Inverse Split System-s, also referred to as Set I systems the OV unit may either precede or follow the A, in Wamiri Atroari the order is AOV.[34]
A Verb-Phrase may be formed with just the verb.[34]
(1)
Ka-ky!
speak-IMPER
'Speak!'
A verb may be preceded by a Noun-Phrase.[35]
(2)
bahinja
Children
maia
knife
kɨnk-E
break-TAM
'The children break the knife.'
The particle ram cannot separate elements of a single phrase, however it can be used as a tool to determine which element is moved within a sentence.[35]
(3)a.
tahkome
elders
i-inɨ-pia
REL-eat-IMD-PAST
ram
2PART
Irikwa
Irikwa
'Irika (a mythological entity) ate the elders.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
b.
*[tahkome
elders
ram
2PART
i-inɨ-pia]
REL-eat-IMD.PAST
Irikwa
Irikwa
Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
In OSV contexts the object may move independently to subject position rather than the Verb-Phrase preceding the Noun-Phrase through the process of topicalization in which its components cannot be separated.[35]
(4)
woky
Banana
i-eki
REL-juice
kra
1.PRO
h-ee-ia
1A-drink-TAM
'I drink the banana juice' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Hierarchy
Hierarchical relationships exist in Waimiri Atroari in which the third person is ranked lower than the first, second and first plural inclusive and exclusive person. In situations where second person acts on first person, or first person acts on second person there is may be subject agreement or object agreement. Therefore, it is necessary that subject and object marking follow a hierarchy : 1=2, 1+2/1+3>3. The following table provided by Bruno[36] illustrates how case is marked in Waimiri Atroari as well as the hierarchy present in the language.
| 1A3O | |
| 2A3O | Amɨra 2.PRO ram 2PART ka 3.PRO m-ini-pia. 2A-see-IMD.PAST 'You saw him.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help); |
| 3A3O | Mɨkɨka 3.PRO ram 2PART ka 3.PRO Ø-ini-pia. Ø-see-IMD.PAST 'She/he saw him/her'. Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help); |
| 1+2A3O | Kɨka 1+2.PRO ram 2PART ka 3.PRO h-ini-pia. 1+2A-see-IMD.PAST 'We saw him.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help); |
| 3A1O | |
| 3A2O | |
| 3A1+3O | Ka 3.PRO ram 2PART a’=ini-pia. 1+3O-see-IMD.PAST 'She/he saw us.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help); |
| 3A1+2O | Irɨ 3.PRO k-ini-pe-s 1+2O-see-?-DESI na. COP 'She/he wants to see us.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help); |
| 1A2O | |
| 2A1O |
or Template:Interlinear: no lines supplied.; |
Quantification
Adverbial quantifiers
Noun phrases which possess quantifiers show positional variation, as seen in examples (5) to (9). Adverbials quantifiers may be positioned on either side of the head noun. Bruno (2003) explains the relative mobility of these quantifiers by categorizing them as adjuncts.[17]
(5)
waha
many
xiba
fish
'many fish'
(6)
xiba
fish
waha
many
'many fish'
(7)
kinja
people
wyty
meat
ipo-piany
look.for-REC.P
wapy
many
'People hunted a lot.'
(8)
inja
people
wapy
many
wyty
meat
ipo-piany
look.for-REC.P
'Many people hunted.'
(9)
wapy
many
kinja
people
wyty
meat
ipo-piany
look.for-REC.P
'Many people hunted.'
Numeral noun phrases
Examples (10) to (12) provide examples of the occurrence of the numeral one. (11) is unique in the set as it refers to 'one group' while (10) and (12) refer to one individual.[37] Example (13) demonstrates use of the number two and examples (14) and (15) provide depictions of the use of number three.[38]
amini ~ awinini -awinihe -awynihe (one, alone)[37]
(10)
awinihe
one
petxi
wild
ka-ky
pig
ampa
talk-PAST
ia
other
to.
'One petxi talked to the other.' Mismatch in the number of words between lines: 5 word(s) in line 1, 6 word(s) in line 2 (help);
(11)
awinih-pa
alone-EMPH
ka
EVID
kinja
people
txi-pia
go-IM.P
itxi
jungle
taka
AL
'The kinja went to the jungle alone.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(12)
awynihe
One
petxi
pig
Kwawura
Kwawura
i-atyka-pa
REL-put-REM
ty-kyda
3.REFL-back
tohnaka
over
'One wild pig put Kwawura on his own back.'
Typytyna (two, a couple, a pair) [38]
(13)
typytyna
two
karyka
chickens
'two chickens'
Takynynapa (three) [38]
(14)
weri
Woman
samka
hammock
ka-pia
make-IM
takynynapa
three
'The woman made three hammocks.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(15)
takynyny
three
pahky
only
kaminja
non-native
n-apynaka.
3-escape
'Only the three white men escaped.'
Loanword influence
As of recently, due to western influence, Portuguese loanwords are also used to refer to amounts higher than three, and it is common for younger speakers to use them for amounts lower than three.[38]
(16)
dois
Two
kinja
people
xiba
fish
myry-myry-pia
REDUP-fish-IM
quatro
four
pahky.
only
'Two people caught only four fish.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(17)
amy
Other
amy
Other
kinja
people
kinja
people
dezessete
seventeen
dezessete
seventeen
apytphy
behind
nate’me
behind
'Seventeen people were in front, and seventeen were behind.'
Many
However, traditionally, it is common for the Kinja people to use waha~wapy ('many, a lot') for amounts more than three because they did not count up to three.[38]
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