Baniwa of Içana

Aikhenvald (1999) considers the three main varieties to be dialects; Kaufman (1994) considers them to be distinct languages, in a group he calls "Karu". They are: • Baniwa of Içana (Baniua do Içana) • Curripaco (Kurripako, Ipeka-Tapuia-Curripako) • Katapolítani-Moriwene-Mapanai (Catapolitani, Kadaupuritana) Various of all three are called tapuya, a Brazilian Portuguese and Nheengatu word for non-Tupi/non-Guarani Indigenous peoples of Brazil (from a Tupi word meaning "enemy, barbarian"). All are spoken by the Baniwa people. Ruhlen lists all as "Izaneni"; Greenberg's Adzánani (= Izaneni) presumably belongs here. Ramirez (2020) gives the following classification for three separate dialect chains: • Southern (Karotana): lower Içana River, also a group living in Victorino on the Guainia River (Colombia-Venezuela border) • Mapatsi-Dákeenai (Yurupari-Tapuya) • Wadzoli-Dákeenai (Urubu-Tapuya) • Dzawi-Mínanai (Yauareté-Tapuya) • Adaro-Mínanai (Arara-Tapuya) • Central (Baniwa): middle Içana River (from Assunção Mission to Siuci-Cachoeira) and its tributaries (Aiari River and lower Cuiari River); also around Tunuí • Hohódeeni • Walipere-Dákeenai (Siucí-Tapuya) • Máolieni (Cáuatapuya) • Mápanai (Ira-Tapuya) • Awádzoronai • Molíweni (Sucuriyú-Tapuya) • Kadáopoliri • etc. • Northern (called "Koripako" in Brazil): upper Içana River (from Matapi upwards), Guainia River, headwaters of the Cuiari River. Has individual ISO 639 code. • Ayáneeni (Tatú-Tapuya) • Payoálieni (Pacútapuya) • Komada-Mínanai (Ipéca-Tapuya) • Kapitti-Mínanai (Coatí-Tapuya) • etc. ==Phonology==

When short, the vowels are realized as . Vowels are nasalized when adjacent to nasal consonants; nasal is realized as , while the other vowels show little change in their place of articulation when nasalized. 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. ;Palatalization :* Palatalization is more productive in Baniwa than in Karipako. In Baniwa, and are pronounced and before . In Kuripako, they are pronounced and as the approximant before all vowels. :* In both dialects, is pronounced before . In Baniwa, when occurs after consonantal (but not the allophone of the vowel ), the sequence is pronounced ; this is in Kuripako. ;Voiceless nasals :* A sequence (where '' is a nasal) may be realized as a voiceless nasal, , or as a (glottal) fricative with nasalization on adjacent vowels. :* The may be in the following syllable, as in from 'I'. Other authors have analyzed these sounds differently, and there are similar processes in other Arawakan languages. ;Aspirated consonants :* Similarly, a sequence (where '' is a plosive or affricate) is aspirated: . The may be in the following syllable. ;Other effects of :* The other sonorants are similarly devoiced under the influence of , for in Baniwa. :* Kuripako becomes and . == 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 (Sa) • Agents of transitive clauses (A) • Possessors • Arguments of adpositions Enclitics are used to mark: • Stative intransitive subjects (So) • Patients of transitive clauses (O) The differences between active and stative intransitive clauses can be illustrated below: • 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 Baniwa has an interesting system of noun classification that combines a gender system with a noun classifier system. Baniwa has two genders: feminine and nonfeminine. Feminine gender agreement is used to refer to female referents, whilst nonfeminine gender agreement is used for all other referents. The two genders are only distinguished in third person singular. Aihkenvald (2007) considers the bipartite gender system to be inherited from Proto-Arawak. Word order Granadillo (2014) considers Kurripako a VOS language. ==Further reading==