Karu language
Karu, one of several languages called Baniwa, or in older sources Itayaine , is an Arawakan language spoken in Guainía, Colombia, Venezuela, and Amazonas, Brazil. It forms a subgroup with the Tariana, Piapoco, Resígaro and Guarequena languages. There are 10,000 speakers.
Varieties
Aikhenvald considers the three main varieties to be dialects; Kaufman considers them to be distinct languages, in a group he calls "Karu". They are:- Baniwa of Içana
- Curripaco
- Katapolítani-Moriwene-Mapanai
Ramirez gives the following classification for three separate dialect chains:
- Southern : lower Içana River, also a group living in Victorino on the Guainia River
- *Mapatsi-Dákeenai
- *Wadzoli-Dákeenai
- *Dzawi-Mínanai
- *Adaro-Mínanai
- Central : middle Içana River and its tributaries ; also around Tunuí
- *Hohódeeni
- *Walipere-Dákeenai
- *Máolieni
- *Mápanai
- *Awádzoronai
- *Molíweni
- *Kadáopoliri
- *etc.
- Northern : upper Içana River, Guainia River, headwaters of the Cuiari River. Has individual ISO 639 code.
- *Ayáneeni
- *Payoálieni
- *Komada-Mínanai
- *Kapitti-Mínanai
- *etc.
Phonology
More precisely, stressed vowels are nasalized before simple nasal consonants, and vowels on either side of voiceless nasals are nasalized regardless of whether they are stressed.
Sequences of vowels may reduce to diphthongs and triphthongs, for example for. The resulting behaves differently than the consonant.
- Most sounds are found in both Baniwa and Kuripako. Kuripako apparently has both and, though possibly the difference is allophonic, where Baniwa has only in those words; Baniwa has both and where Kuripako has only.
- occurs preceding a velar consonant.
- Lateral varies with median, though the lateral allophones is preferred.
;Voiceless nasals
;Aspirated consonants
;Other effects of
Grammar
Alignment system
Baniwa has active–stative alignment. This means that the subject of an intransitive clause is sometimes marked in the same way as the agent of a transitive clause, and sometimes marked in the same way as the patient of a transitive clause. In Baniwa alignment is realized through verbal agreement, namely prefixes and enclitics.Prefixes are used to mark:
- Active intransitive subjects
- Agents of transitive clauses
- Possessors
- Arguments of adpositions
- Stative intransitive subjects
- Patients of transitive clauses
- Transitive: ri-kapa-ni 'He sees him/it'
- Active Intransitive: ri-emhani 'He walks'
- Stative Intransitive: hape-ka-ni 'He is cold'
Noun classification system
In addition to gender, Baniwa also has 46 classifiers. Classifiers are used in three main contexts:
- As a derivational suffix on nouns, e.g.
- With numerals, e.g.
- With adjectives, e.g.
Classifiers for Humans and animate beings:
| Classifier | Usage | Example |
| -ita | for animate males and body parts | apa-ita pedaɾia 'one old man' |
| -hipa | for human males only | aphepa nawiki 'one man' |
| -ma | for female referents | apa-ma inaʒu 'one woman' |
Classifiers according to shape, consistency, quantification and specificity:
| Classifier | Usage | Example |
| -da | round objects, natural phenomena and generic classifier | hipada 'stone' |
| -apa | flying animate, semioval objects | kepiʒeni 'bird' |
| -kwa | flat, round, extended objects | kaida 'beach' |
| -kha | curvilinear objects | a:pi 'snake' |
| -na | vertical, standing objects | haiku 'tree' |
| -Ø | hollow, small objects | a:ta 'cup' |
| -maka | stretchable, extended objects | tsaia 'skirt' |
| -ahna | liquids | u:ni 'water' |
| -ima | sides | apema nu-kapi makemaɾi 'one big side of my hand' |
| -pa | boxes, parcels | apa-pa itsa maka-paɾi one big box of fishing hooks' |
| -wana | thin slice | apa-wana kuphe maka-wane 'a big thin slice of fish' |
| -wata | bundle for carrying | apa-wata' paɾana maka-wate 'a big bundle of bananas' |
| -Ø | canoes | i:ta 'canoe' |
| -pawa | rivers | u:ni 'river' |
| -ʃa | excrement | iʃa 'excrement' |
| -ya | skins | dzawiya 'jaguar skin' |
Negation
There are two main strategies for negation in the Kurripako-Baniwa varieties:- Independent negative markers
- The privative derivational prefix ma-
| Dialect | Spoken in | Yes | No |
| Aha-Khuri | Colombia, Venezuela & Brazil | Aha | Khuri |
| Ehe-Khenim | Venezuela | Ehe | Khenim |
| Oho-Karo | Colombia & Brazil | Oho | Karo |
| Oho-Ñame | Colombia & Brazil | Oho | Ñame |
The independent negative markers come before the verb. They are used as clausal negators in declarative and interrogative sentences. They are also used to link clauses.
The privative suffix is attached to nouns to derive a verb which means 'lacking' the noun from which it was derived. The opposite of the privative prefix is the attributive prefix ka-. This derives a verb which means 'having' the noun from which it was derived. The difference can be illustrated below:
- Noun: iipe 'meat'
- Privative: ma-iipe > meepe 'be thin'
- Attributive: ka-iipe > keepe 'be fat'