Abstract

RAMIREZ GONZALEZ, Rudecindo  and  DIECK, Marianne. Personal pronouns in wayunaiki. Leng. [online]. 2019, vol.47, n.2, suppl.1, pp.479-513. ISSN 0120-3479.  https://doi.org/10.25100/lenguaje.v47i3.6824.

This article is a description of the underlying morphosyntactic regularities of the Wayunaiki (Arawak (Septentrional): Colombia) pronominal system with a focus on the grammatical roles of pronouns. Based on recent data collected from fieldwork, this analysis proposes three different pronoun paradigms: the first one consists of eight forms (free morphemes) varying in person (first, second and third), number (singular/plural), and in the gender (masculine/feminine) of third person. These forms are used to express the subject and the direct object, and the verbal morphology is the main factor that allows for the interpretation of one of these grammatical functions. The second paradigm consists of bound pronouns that are prefixed to two word classes: to nouns, in which case possession is expressed (specifically, the possessor), and to a set of prepositions marking the dative and several oblique roles. The third paradigm consists of a set of person markers that express the subject and are prefixed to the transitive verb. The system of verbal markers that agree with the subject in intransitive constructions is also described.

Keywords : Wayunaiki (Guajiro); pronouns; grammatical roles; person markers; linguistic description.

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