Pemón language

The Pemon language (also called Arecuna) belongs to the Carib family of languages. It is spoken above all by the Pemona ethnic group, of approximately thirty thousand people, in the Southeast of Venezuela, particularly in the Canaima National Park (Bolívar State), in the state of Roraima, Brazil. Some of his words have been incorporated into the way of speaking of the inhabitants of that area of the country.

Classification

Pemon language among the Caribbean languages.

Pemon is part of the Carib family, of the Guayanese branch, Kapón sub-branch. It is closely related to Akawaio, Macushi, and Patamona, and to a lesser degree to languages such as Yekuana.

Distribution

Pemon is the most spoken Caribbean language. It is spoken in the Sifontes and Gran Sabana municipalities of the Bolívar state of Venezuela, in Guyana and in Roraima, Brazil. Macushí or macuxi, spoken in Brazil, is sometimes considered a dialect of Pemón. La Gran Sabana is the site with the largest number of speakers of the Pemona language.

Dialects

There are three mutually intelligible Pemon dialects:

• arekuna: North and Central dialect, spoken by 45% of the population.
• kamarakoto: dialect of Kamarata and Urimán, in the north-west, in the Lower Caroní and Lower Paragua.
• taurepán: Southern dialect (Great Sabana)

These dialects differ phonetically, grammatically, and lexically.

History

Taurepan has a common origin with a series of languages known as Carib languages. These languages would have derived from a hypothetical Proto-Caribbean language whose existence is estimated to date back to 3,700 years ago. This family is one of the largest in the Americas and would have reached its maximum extent at the time of contact with the Europeans.

The language still bears a great resemblance to other Carib languages currently spoken in Venezuela and to others that became extinct in past centuries, such as Tamanaco or Chaima. In previous centuries, Catholic missionaries carried out studies of related Carib languages, such as Tamanaco and Chaima. Taurepan has been primarily a language with no written tradition. Only in the 20th century did this begin to change.

Anthropologist and explorer Theodor Koch-Grünberg was probably the first person to publish studies on this language. Fray Cesáreo de Armellada developed the first grammar of taurepan in the mid-XX century (1943), as well as a dictionary, which have received several editions. De Armellada also published several volumes of short stories in Taurepan and Spanish.

The 1999 constitution declared Taurepan one of the official languages of the country, although this has not had much impact. Primary school students receive some classes in Taurepan, although education is carried out primarily in Spanish. Every year there is a reading contest in four languages in the city of Santa Elena de Uairén and taurepan is one of these languages. There is no written press in taurepan. There are local radio stations in the Gran Sabana that have programs in this language. In Santa Elena de Uairén it is common to find people who speak Taurepan.

Influence on other languages

Pemon has given some words to the Spanish language. One of them is "tepuy" (your pu). A family of allephagous beetles has received the name Meruidae, from the Pemón meru or "cascade".

Numerous place names in the Venezuelan Guayana are of Pemón origin. Among others, there are: Roraima, Kamoirán, Uairén (Wairen), Kukenán, Icabarú, Caroní, Auyán Tepui, Kari'ña, Kavanayén, Canaima (Kanaima), although Caroni is thought to be of Arawak origin.

Tepuy, of the Pemón tüpü, is a word that has gone to designate in Spanish and other languages the type of mountains found in the Macizo Guayanés.

Phonology

Vowels

Pemon has the following vowel phonemes:

a: /a/

e: /e/ or /ε:

i: /i/

ï: /i/

u:

o: /o/ or /ø/

ö: /ø/ or /ə/

u: /u/

There are still texts that only use the Spanish letters, without making a clear difference between phonemes such as /o/ or /ø/.

Consonants

There are the following consonants:

b, ch, d, k, m, n, ñ, p, r, s, t, v, w, y

Morphology and syntax

Pemon, unlike Spanish, does not have articles. Instead of prepositions, postpositions are generally used.

Nouns

Number

The number is indicated very rarely in Pemón. In general, the suffix -damük is used for the plural of living things, while -ton is used for inanimate objects. The kamarakota variant does not use this form for humans, but -ton.

Other suffixes are used to express plurality: -kon, -non, -on, -san, -ton.

Gender

Pemon gender is not indicated by affixes. To indicate the gender of the animals, the ending -´pachi is added.

dog: arinmaraka

dog: arinmaraka pachi

Only certain words are distinguished to refer to male or female living beings, which are also dependent on the gender of who is said. Ex:

mumu: son, if it is the son of the man

yenchi: daughter, if it is the man's daughter

rume: for son or daughter of the female.

Diminutives and augmentatives

The main suffix to express a diminutive is -rü'kö. There are several suffixes that express the augmentative: potorü (of father), yun (father), pai (head), among others.

Adjectives

Pemon adjectives usually come before the noun, contrary to what happens in Spanish.

nosan yöi: long stick.

Adjectives can be nominalized depending on their position.

They can have a plural ending, although it is not as frequent as in Spanish:

chuviyü: red, chuviyüton: red

Comparison

In Pemón it can be compared using the adverb yentai. This is usually placed at the end of the sentence, following the formula S + A + S + yentai (noun phrase + adjective + noun phrase + more)

The tapir is more of a runner than the cachicamo.

Pronouns

The following table represents the nominal pronouns and affixes.

Verbs

Verbs usually go at the end of the sentence or between the direct object and the subject. There are prefixes and suffixes to identify the person and the number. The pronouns are attached to the verb.

Present

The regular present transitive has the following forms:

The verb ser/estar can be expressed by means of two different verbs. One is regular and the other is not:

Preterite

The synthetic past tense has the following forms:

The present perfect tense can be expressed with the root followed by the suffix -sak:

• e'neiika:

• e'neikasak da'tai: when I get angry

Future

The future tense is not indicated by a specific verb form. You can use suffixes that express nuances of the future (intention).

• -kupü: tapui ataremo kupü (the house will fall)
• -ina: chikö chimokaina (I'm going to take out the nigua)
• -se: mörö enöse (let's eat it)

Imperative

The pemón can indicate in its imperative forms if the action has to be carried out elsewhere or if the receiver must go to the interlocutor to carry it out.

Postpositions

Pemon, like many American languages from various families, uses postpotions instead of prepositions.

In the following table you can see some examples of them.

Adverbs

Many adverbs are not differentiated by their form from adjectives or nouns. One of the most common adverbializing suffixes is -pe.

Examples: emadope: firstly yataretika: when finished

Other adverbs are demonstrative: tare: here seporum: this way

Numerals

The Pemón language has a numbering system that only goes up to twenty. Spanish numerals are normally used for quantities beyond 5. The numerals in pemón are the following:

Syntax

The Pemón language is an SOV language alternated with OVS.

Pemon is an ergative language.

Some examples:

The following phrases with equivalents:

Sabauke is formed with the noun sabau (soap) and the postposition -ke (with or instrumental value).

Lexicon

Pemon has a strong lexical similarity to other Carib languages, especially those of Guyana and the west coast of Venezuela. Below are some words from the extinct Chaima and Tamanaco, which were recorded by Alexander von Humboldt on his trip to Venezuela, along with the equivalent in Pemón and Spanish.

The Pemón lexicon has also been influenced by various autochthonous and European languages.

Some expressions

• Öik adeseik: What's your name?

• Waküperö medan: How are you?

• Waküperö medatöu: How are you?

Literature

Grammars and Dictionaries