Abstract

FAGUA RINCON, Doris. «ADJECTIVITY» IN OCAINA (WITOTO FAMILY, NORTHWESTERN AMAZON): ADVERBS, NOUNS, AND AN ADJECTIVE. Forma funcion, Santaf, de Bogot, D.C. [online]. 2019, vol.32, n.2, pp.69-90. ISSN 0120-338X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/fyf.v32n2.80815.

Through the description of the Ocaina language, we explore phenomena often confused with the adjectival lexical class and which, rather, fall under the broad concept known as «adjectivity» , or which, simply should be given other names. The methodology proposed to differentiate those phenomena, understand their scope, and distinguish them from the adjective is to define the latter on the basis of its specificity at each level of linguistic analysis. At the syntactic level, we discuss the modifier or epithet function of the adjective, distinguishing it from the adjectival use of nouns and adverbs, on the one hand, and, on the other, the attributive or predicative function (not exclusive of the adjective), which, in Ocaina, is not performed by the only adjective in the language. With respect to semantics, we found that, in Ocaina, descriptive concepts or those related to properties (known as «adjectivals») are expressed mainly through adverbial lexemes, as well as through nouns and the paradigm of classificatory morphemes of nominal discretization.

Keywords : adjective; adjectivity; Ocaina; Witoto family; property concepts.

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