THE CA RIB LANGUAGE VERHANDELINGEN VAN HET KONINKLIJK INSTITUUT VOOR TAAL-, LAND- EN VOLKENKUNDE 55 THE CARIB LANGUAGE Phonology, Morphonology, Morphology, Texts and Word Index B. J. HOFF THE HAGUE - MARTINUS NIJHOFF - 1968 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On the completion of this book it is a pleasure to record the many debts of gratitude I owe to the organizations and institutions which made it possible for me .10 carry out my investigaJtion, as weIl as to the many prople who helped me in various ways. In the first place I am greatly indebted to the Royal Institute for Linguistics and Anthro- pology, which took the initiative for the present investigation, the result of which is now published in its proceedings; and to the Wosuna Foundation - now incorporated in the Wotro Foundation - which provided the funds for the project. I am grateful to the treasurer of Wosuna, Dr. J. H. Westermann and in particular to Wosuna's late secretary Miss Johanna Felhoen Kraal, for the interest shown not only in my investigation but also in the fortunes of myself and my family. The then director of the W osuna Research Institute in Paramaribo, Mr. J. Heiting, did not only show us much kindness, but he also found solutions for our most unusual problems. lamalso grateful for assis- tance on the part of representatives of the Surinam authorities: govemment officials, doctors, and members of the police force. As it is impossible to mention them all by name, Iconfine myself to the district commissioners who looked af ter me, Dr. J. P. Kaulesar Sukul, Dr. J. Michels, Mr. Lum Chou and Mr. H. D. Ryhiner. Of the repre- sentatives of the Roman Catholic Mission I mention Mr. H. Kassels, who was our host when we arrived in Comelis Kondre and who helped us in getting our house built. lamalso deeply indebted to my informants for the indispensabIe help "they gave me; each of them in his own way and with his own particular competence, but all with great patience and intelligence: Mrs. W. KasseIs, the chiefs J. Mande and Th. Banga, Mr. Ph. Cor- nelis, Mr. R. Kiban, and the chief of Bigiston, Mr. A. Stjoera, who moreover put us up in his own house. I also obtained occasional text material from Elisabeth Manate, Elisabath and Veronica. Professor H. Schultink, of the University of Utrecht, read part of the chapter on morphology; I am grateful for his critici sm. I wish to VI THE CARIB LANGUAGE thank Professor P. E. de Josselin de Jong for his willingness to check the translations of the text material. I am grateful to Dr. F. C. de Vries, of the University of Utrecht, for the care and patience with which he has translated my hook; with the exception of the texts, which I myself translated into English to the best of my ability. Mr. J. Soegiarto and my wife type<! out the greater part of the MS.; I am extremely grateful for their assistance. Finally I wish to thankthe Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde for assistance with photo material, and the staff of the Leiden University Library, who often managed to trace old rare publications. CONTENTS o. INTRODUCTION 1 0.1. The Carib language and its speakers . 1 0.1.1. Linguistic classification 1 0.1.2. Current terminology 1 0.1.3. Area of habitation 3 0.1.4. The number of Caribs . 15 0.2. The Surinam Caribs 16 0.2.1. Some historica1 notes 16 0.2.1.1. Trade and war 16 0.2.1.2. Missionary activities 20 0.2.2. The present situation 22 0.3. The study of Carib . 24 0.4. Field work 26 0.4.1. Duration and place. Dialectal difference . 26 0.4.2. The informants 26 0.4.3. Procedure 27 0.4.4. Theoretical background . 29 1. PHONOLOGY 31 1.1. The consonants 31 1.1.1. Allophonics . 31 1.1.1.1. The allophones 31 1.1.1.2. The rules of palatalization 39 1.1.1.3. The palatalizing vowels 41 1.1.1.4. Final remarks . 41 1.1.2. Distribution and contrast . 43 1.1.2.1. Voiced and voiceless stops 43 1.1.2.2. ~and~. 45 VIII THE CARIB LANGUAGE 1.1.2.3. The semivowels 1.1.2.4. x and ~. 1.1.2.5. The glottal fricative . 47 48 48 1.2. The vowels 48 48 1.2.1. Allophonics. 1.2.1.1. Long and short monophthongs . 48 1.2.1.1.1. Open and half-open. 49 1.2.1.1.2. Close 50 1.2.1.2. Diphthongs 1.2.2. Distribution and contrast . 51 51 1.2.2.1. Long and short monophthongs . 51 1.2.2.2. Diphthongs 52 2. THE STRUCTURE OF THE WORD FORMS. 54 2.0. Introduction 54 2.1. General ruies of word structure 57 2.1.1. Sequential rules 57 2.1.1.1. Consonant sequences 57 2.1.1.1.1. Sequencesoftwoconsonants 57 2.1.1.1.2. Sequences of more than two consonants 61 2.1.1.1.3. Elision of a vowel in rapid speech 61 2.1.1.2. Vowel sequences. 61 2.1.1.3. Sequences of consonant + vowel. 64 2.1.1.4. Sequences of vowel + consonant or consonant cluster. 65 2.1.1.4.1. Impossible sequences.. 65 2.1.1.4.2. Alternation of x with zero between i-diphthong and t or k 65 2.1.1.4.3. Alternation of vowel + x or vowel + ~ with long vowel . 2.1.2. Positional rules 65 68 CONTENTS IX 2.1.2.1. Consonants 68 2.1.2.1.1. Initia! and medial position 68 2.1.2.1.2. Final position . 69 2.1.2.1.3. Position after first and 2.1.2.2. V owels 2.1.2.2.1. 2.1.2.2.2. 2.1.2.2.3. 2.1.2.2.4. second vowel Initia! position . Media! position Fina! position . Final and penultimate posi- tion 2.1.3. Rules of vocalie structure . 2.1.3.1. Voealie structure of words without 70 70 70 70 71 71 71 cluster and without diphthong. 72 2.1.3.2. Vocalie strueture of words with cluster, without diphthong 80 2.1.3.3. Vocalic struoture of words with a diphthong, wi,thout a cluster . 2.2. Disturbanee of the regular patterns . 2.2.1. Sequential rules 2.2.2. Positional rules 2.2.2.1. Clusters with a first component x or ~ in positions other than af ter the first 83 85 85 86 or the second vowel. 86 2.2.2.2. Sequenee of vowels not 111 final and penultimate position . 87 2.2.3. Rules of vocalie structure. 2.2.3.1. Words without a cluster, without a diphthong, in the vocalie structure of which two long vowels take a eonsecu- 88 tive position 88 2.2.3.2. Words with cluster, without diphthong, with the vocalie structure -" + -- instead of - " - + -. 91 2.2.3.3. Words with cluster, without diphthong, eontaining one long vowel extra. 91 2.2.3.4. Other irregular patterns. 93 x TIIE eARl B LANGUAGE 2.3. Alternation of x, ;> and vowel length in two enclitics. 93 2.4. Sandhi 94 2.4.1. Shortening 94 2.4.2. Assimilation 95 2.5. Accent 2.5.1. Rules of accentuation 2.5.2. Expressive accent 2.5.3. Accent in certain types of sentence. 96 96 102 102 3. MORPHOLOGY 105 3.0. Introdllction 105 3.1. Verbs 111 3.1.0. Introduotion 111 3.1.1. The monomorphematic category . 116 3.1.2. Syntactic categories . 117 3.1.2.1. The se- and rï-categories . 117 3.1.2.2. The categories with vowel-alternation ejo 121 3.1.3. The polymorphematic categories. 3.1.3.1. Processes on the basis of l11onomor- phematic verbs, which may OCCllr in combination with all other verbal pro- cesses 3.1.3.1.1. 3.1.3.1.2. 3.1.3.1.3. 3.1.3.1.4. 3.1.3.1.5. 3.1.3.1.6. 3.1.3.1.7. 3.1.3.1.8. The we-category The wos-category The potï-category The lwpï-category The ;>ma-category The po-category The nopï-category Combination of the proces- ses discllssed in 3.1.3.1.1-8. 121 121 121 123 124 125 125 126 127 with each other 127 3.1.3.2. A set of five personal prefixing pro- cesses and the processes in combination with which they can occur. 133 CONTENTS XI 3.1.3.2.1. The five personal categories 133 3.1.3.2.2. The mbo-category 136 3.1.3.2.3. The ni-category 137 3.1.3.2.4. The xpo-category 138 3.1.3.2.5. The xto-category 139 3.1.3.2.6. The xpa-category 140 3.1.3.2.7. The topo-category 141 3.1.3.2.8. The netJ-category 141 3.1.3.2.9. The ne-categories 1-l1 3.1.3.2.10. The to-category 143 3.1.3.2.11. The mc-category 144 3.1.3.2.12. The mï-category 146 3.1.3.2.13. The no-categories 147 3.1.3.2.14. Combination of the proces- ses discussed in 3.1.3.2.1-13. with each other 148 3.1.3.2.15. The ke- and the poro- category 157 3.1.3.3. Personal prefixture combined with temporal and modal processes 158 3.1.3.3.0. Introduction 158 3.1.3.3.1. Personal prefix tu re 15fJ 3.1.3.3.2. Temporal/modal processes 169 3.1.3.3.2.1. The categories with -ya 169 3.1.3.3.2.2. The categories wi>th -take. 170 3.1.3.3.2.3. The categories with -yakoij 171 3.1.3.3.2.4. The categories with -yaine 172 3.1.3.3.2.5. The categories with -t0 2 172 3.1.3.3.2.6. The categories with diph- thongisation 172 3.1.3.3.2.7. The categories with -'3 173 3.1.3.3.2.8. The categories with -:se 174 3.1.3.3.2.9. The categories with -ri 175 3.1.3.3.2.10. The semantic correlations between the ca>tegories dis- cussed in 3.1.3.3.2.1-9. 175 3.1.3.3.3. The processes which must he combined with a personal XII THE CARIB LANGUAGE and a tempora! / modal pro- cess 179 3.1.3.3.3.1. The ne-categories 179 3.1.3.3.3.2. The interrogative catego- ries 183 3.1.3.3.3.3. Combination of the ne- process (plural) and the interrogative process 187 3.1.3.3.3.4. The tamï-categories 187 3.1.3.4. Personal prefixture 111 combination with the imperative or with the vetative process 188 3.1.3.4.0. Introduction 188 3.1.3.4.1. The categories formed by personal prefixture, in com- bination with -ko (impera- tive) or with diphthongisa- tion (vetative) . 188 3.1.3.4.1.1. Formation of the categories 188 3.1.3.4.1.2. Homonymy of vetative and optative/affirmative verbs 191 3.1.3.4.2. The processes which must be combined with personal prefixture and the impera- tive or the vetative process 193 3.1.3.4.2.1. The ne-caJtegories 193 3.1.3.4.2.2. The tamï-categories 194 3.1.3.4.2.3. Combination of the nc- and the tamï-process 195 3.1.3.5. The non-personal tï-process and the processes with which it may he com- bined. 195 3.1.3.5.1. The tï-category 195 3.1.3.5.2. The mbo 2 -category 197 3.1.3.5.3. The to 2 -category 199 3.1.3.5.4. Semantic proportionality to categories discussed 111 3.1.3.3. 199 CONTENTS XIII 3.1.3.6. The non-personal toto-process, and the processes with which it may be com- bined. 200 3.1.3.6.1. Thc toto-category 200 3.1.3.6.2. The ne-category 200 3.1.3.6.3. The .rto- and the .rpa-cate- gory 201 3.1.3.7. The non-persollal no 2 -process 201 3.1.3.8. The transpositioll-process with -sene . 202 3.1.3.9. Combination of the voice- alld aspect- processes discussed in 3.1.3.1., with the other verbal processes . 203 3.1.4. The defective verb wa 'I am' . 212 3.2. Nouns 214 3.2.0. Introduction 214 3.2.1. Syntactic categories 214 3.2.1.1. Formation and sylltactic valence 214 3.2.1.2. N ominal word-groups . 219 3.2.2. Morphological categories 220 3.2.2.1. The five personal categories . 220 3.2.2.2. The mbo-category 222 3.2.2.3. The xpa-category 225 3.2.2.4. The ne-category 227 3.2.2.5. The no-category . 229 3.2.2.6. The nano-category 229 3.2.2.7. Transposition to the verbs 232 3.2.2.7.1. Transposition to the intran- sitive verbs . 232 3.2.2.7.2. Transposition to the tral1- sitive verbs . 234 3.2.2.8. Transposition to the adjectives . 241 3.2.3. Combination of the nomina} processes with each other 245 3.2.4. The categories with -xto, mï-, -kepï, -po, as- . 247 3.3. Postpositions 248 3.3.0. Introduction 248 3.3.1. The monomorphematic category . 249 XIV THE CARIB LANGUAGE 3.3.2. The five personal categories . 251 3.3.3. The as-category 252 3.3.4. The no-category 252 3.3.5. The ne-categories 253 3.3.6. The mbo-category 254 3.3.7. Combination of the postpositional processes with each other 255 3.3.8. Incidental forma ti ons 256 3.4. Adjectives . 259 3.4.0. Inltroduction 259 3.4.1. The monomorphematic category 259 3.4.2. The no-category 260 3.4.3. The ne-category 263 3.4.4. The mbo-category 264 3.4.5. Combination of the adjectival processes with each other 265 3.4.6. Incidental formations 265 3.4.7. Transpositiona~ adjectives . 268 3.5. Demonstratives 269 3.5.1. The monomorphematic demonstratives 269 3.5.2. The polymorphematic demonstratives . 275 3.5.2.1. The ba~-category 276 3.5.2.2. The mbo-category 276 3.5.2.3. The ne-category 277 3.5.2.4. Combination of the processes with each other 278 3.6. Numerals 279 3.6.0. Introduction 279 3.6.1. Monomorphematic and compound Iltll11erals 279 3.6.2. Word-groups with ku:pona:ka . 281 3.6.3. Three categories with -pai. -mboto, -no. 282 3.6.4. Incidental formations 284 3.6.5. Concluding remarks . 285 4. TEXTS 289 4.1. Oriole 290 4.2. Kuru : pi as teacher . 290 4.3. De Goede Hoop. 4.4. The deputy-chief 4.5. Pecca.ry-girl 4.6. The abducted girl 4.7. Chicken father CONTENTS 4.8. The descent at Iracoubo . 4.9. The killing of Pa :yawa:ru 4.10. Eating snakes 4.11. The old woman . 4.12. The lost girl. 4.13. The murderer 4.14. The red polishing stones . 4.15. The petroglyphs at Bigiston 4.16. A conversation 5. WORD INDEX xv 300 304 306 314 324 330 336 344 348 350 352 360 364 374 385 Chief Juliaan ~[anrle t .~ ~ ::: .... c U ~ .~ ü Chid Alphol1s Stjo('ra