Palikúr language

Palikúr (Brazilian Portuguese: Palicur, French: Palikur) is an Arawakan language of Brazil and French Guiana, spoken by the Palikur and formerly the Karipuna do Amapá. Knowledge of French and Portuguese is common among the Palikur, and French Guianese Creole is used as the common language among the tribes in the area and with the local population. Palikúr is considered endangered in French Guiana and vulnerable in Brazil.

Phonology

Consonants

• Plosives in word-final position are heard unreleased as [p̚, t̚, k̚, b̚, d̚, ɡ̚].
• /p/ can be heard as [v] or [β] when before close vowels /i, u/, or within intervocalic positions.
• /t, d, n/ when before front vowels /i, ĩ/ are heard as palatal and post-alveolar sounds [tʃ, dʒ, ɲ].

Vowels

• /e, o/ are heard as [ɛ, ɔ] within different positions.
• /a/ is heard as a nasalized central vowel sound [ɐ̃] when preceding a nasal consonant.

Pronouns

Palikúr has dependent and independent personal pronouns. The verb marks the object by using suffixes, but not the subject, which must appear in the form of a nominal group or as an independent pronoun. This affixation of only the object and not of the subject is linguistically very rare: the norm is the affixation for both or for only the subject. The noun complement is marked by a possessive prefix.

Loanwords

Palikúr has several loanwords, many of which are wildlife-related, from the Carib language, including:

External links

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