Guahibo language
Encyclopedia
Guahibo, the native language of the Guahibo people
, is a Guahiban language that is spoken by about 23,006 people in Colombia
and additional 8,428 in Venezuela
. There is a 40% rate of monolingualism, and a 45% literacy rate.
The binary feet are parsed from left to right within each morpheme. Morphemes with an odd number of syllables leave the final syllable unstressed (and unparsed into feet):
Morphemes that consist of two syllables and are also word-final are an exception to the above and only have the trochaic pattern:
These morphemes alternate with an iambic pattern when placed in a nonfinal context. Thus náwa keeps its trochaic pattern with the addition of a single light syllable morpheme like -ta "in":
However, an iambic word show its underlying iamb when it is followed by -ta:
Affixation generally does not affect the stress pattern of each morpheme.
Heavy syllables since they are required to be stressed disrupt perfect trochaic and iambic rhythms. However, morphemes with a sequence of at least two light syllables show contrasting stress patterns:
Primary Stress. Primary stress generally falls on the rightmost nonfinal foot. For example, the following word
has primary stress on the rightmost foot (pa.lu) which is not word-final. However, the rightmost foot (qui.si) in
is word-final and cannot receive primary stress; the primary stress then falls on the next rightmost foot (tu.li). Placing a light syllable suffix -ta "with" after a four syllable root shows shifting of primary stress:
With the addition of the suffix, the root-final foot (ni.lu) is no longer word-final and is subsequently permitted to accept primary stress.
Guahibo people
The Guahibo people people are an indigenous people native to Llanos or savannah plains in eastern Colombia--Arauca, Meta, Guainia, and Vichada departments--and in southern Venezuela near the Colombian border. Their population is was estimated at 23,772 people in 1998....
, is a Guahiban language that is spoken by about 23,006 people in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and additional 8,428 in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. There is a 40% rate of monolingualism, and a 45% literacy rate.
Stress
Guahibo has a unique and complex stress system with both primary and secondary stress. The stress system shows a sensitivity to syllable weight so that heavy syllables are always stressed. Both contrasting trochaic and iambic patterns are found on morphemes in nonfinal morphemes with more than two syllables:| Trochaic | Iambic |
|---|---|
| ('LL)('LL) mátacàbi "day" |
(L'L)(L'L) tulíquisì "bead necklace" |
The binary feet are parsed from left to right within each morpheme. Morphemes with an odd number of syllables leave the final syllable unstressed (and unparsed into feet):
| Trochaic | Iambic |
|---|---|
| ('LL)L wánali "crystal" |
(L'L)L wayáfo "savannah" |
| ('LL)('LL)L pàlupáluma "rabbit" |
(L'L)(L'L)L culèmayúwa "species of turtle" |
Morphemes that consist of two syllables and are also word-final are an exception to the above and only have the trochaic pattern:
| Trochaic | Iambic (with reversal) |
|---|---|
| ('LL) náwa "grass fire" |
('LL) púca "lake" |
These morphemes alternate with an iambic pattern when placed in a nonfinal context. Thus náwa keeps its trochaic pattern with the addition of a single light syllable morpheme like -ta "in":
- náwa + -ta => náwata ('LL)L
However, an iambic word show its underlying iamb when it is followed by -ta:
- púca + -ta => pucáta (L'L)L
Affixation generally does not affect the stress pattern of each morpheme.
Heavy syllables since they are required to be stressed disrupt perfect trochaic and iambic rhythms. However, morphemes with a sequence of at least two light syllables show contrasting stress patterns:
| Trochaic | Iambic |
|---|---|
| ('LL)('H) nónojì "hot peppers" |
(L'L)('H) jútabài "motmot" |
Primary Stress. Primary stress generally falls on the rightmost nonfinal foot. For example, the following word
- ('ˌLL)('ˈLL)L (pà.lu).(pá.lu).ma "rabbit"
has primary stress on the rightmost foot (pa.lu) which is not word-final. However, the rightmost foot (qui.si) in
- (L'ˈL)(L'ˌL) (tu.lí).(qui.sì) "bead necklace"
is word-final and cannot receive primary stress; the primary stress then falls on the next rightmost foot (tu.li). Placing a light syllable suffix -ta "with" after a four syllable root shows shifting of primary stress:
- (L'ˈL)(L'ˌL) tsapánilù "species of turtle"
- (L'ˌL)(L'ˈL)L tsapànilúta "with the turtle"
With the addition of the suffix, the root-final foot (ni.lu) is no longer word-final and is subsequently permitted to accept primary stress.