Maká language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maká Maká |
||
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation: | makˡa | |
| Spoken in: | Paraguay | |
| Region: | Presidente Hayes Department, Asunción | |
| Total speakers: | 1500 | |
| Language family: | Mataco-Guaicuru Matacoan Maká |
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | – | |
| ISO 639-3: | mca | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Maká is a Matacoan language spoken in Paraguay by the Maká people. Its 1500[1] speakers live primarily in Presidente Hayes Department near the Río Negro, as well as in and around Asunción.
Contents |
[edit] Phonology
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal-Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | q | ʔ | |
| Ejective plosive | p' | t' | k' | q' | ||
| Affricate | ts | |||||
| Ejective affricate | ts' | |||||
| Fricative | f | s | x | χ | h | |
| Lateral fricative | ɬ | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | ||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
Velar consonants alternate with palatal consonants before /e/ and sometimes before /a/. Examples include /keɬejkup/ ~ [ceɬejkup] "autumn" and /exeʔ/ ~ [eçeʔ] "stork". The palatal approximant /j/ alternates with the palatal fricative /ç/ before /i/, as in /inanjiʔ/ ~ [inançiʔ].
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
Syllables in Maká may be of types V, VC, CV, CCV, and CCVC. When a consonant cluster appears at the beginning of a syllable, the second consonant must be /x/, /h/, /w/, or /y/.
[edit] Grammar
[edit] Morphology
Maká has two cases: ergative and absolutive. Other relations are marked using a system of clitics and postpositions.
[edit] Syntax
The basic word order in Maká is Subject Verb Object.
[edit] Works Cited
- ^ Maca. Ethnologue. SIL (2005).
- ^ Gerzenstein, Ana (1994). Lengua Maká. Estudio descriptivo, Archivo de Lenguas Indoamericanas (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Universidad de Buenos Aires. ISBN 9502901762.
