Pirahã

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Pirahã

Spoken in

Brazil
speaker 250-350
Linguistic
classification
Official status
Official language in -
Language codes
ISO 639 -1

-

ISO 639 -2

sai

ISO 639-3

myp

Pirahã (pronounced: pidahán ), also Múra-Pirahã , is a language spoken by the indigenous people of the same name in the Amazon region of Brazil , it is considered the only language of the Mura language family still spoken today .

The Pirahã has sparked a huge debate among linguists since 2005 , which has received considerable media coverage. The reason for this is the thesis of the linguist and former missionary Daniel L. Everett , who mainly worked with this language, that the language is extremely unusual in many respects and that it differs massively from other - also “exotic” - languages.

Linguistic peculiarities

Among the extraordinary properties of language mentioned are e.g. B.

  • Alleged absence of recursion , d. H. no possibility of forming hypotactic structures, which is particularly relevant for Chomskyan linguistics, which considers recursion to be a central structural feature of all languages
  • Only three numerals : hói “one” and hoí “two” and baágiso “many”; no grammatical distinction between singular and plural. In more recent work, Everett even says that these numerals were missing and that a better equivalent would be “few” and “many”.
  • No real color names in the actual sense (“red”, “black” etc.). Speakers can only denote colors by using other characteristically colored objects (e.g. "like blood", "like coal", etc.).
  • One of the simplest known pronominal systems . The available pronouns may have been recently borrowed from a Tupi-Guarani language .
  • The simplest known system for expressing kinship relationships. A single word, baíxi (spoken [màíʔì] ), denotes both mother and father. The Pirahã do not seem to pursue kinship further than the biological children.

In addition, Pirahã, with only ten phonemes, has a special position among all languages. However, this analysis is controversial (see below).

Phonology

Pirahã is one of the phonologically simplest languages ​​known, as is Rotokas ( New Guinea ) and Hawaiian .

Vowels

Front Back
Closed ​i​
Half open ​O​
Open ​a​

Consonants

The individual consonantic phonemes are:

Bilabial Alveolar Velar Glottal
Plosive unvoiced ​p​ ​t​ (k) ​ʔ​ ("x" in practical orthography )
voiced ​b​ ​ɡ​
Fricative unvoiced ​s​ ​H​

[⁠ k ⁠] is partially as ( allophone ) of / hi / viewed and thus not as an independent phoneme. Women sometimes replace / ⁠ s ⁠ / by / ⁠ h ⁠ / .

Pirahã consonants with word examples
Phonemes Phone example
/ ⁠ p ⁠ / [⁠ p ⁠] p ibaóí "otter"
/ ⁠ t ⁠ / [⁠ t ⁠] t aahoasi "sand"
[⁠ tʃ ⁠] before / ⁠ i ⁠ / t ii "remnant"
/ ⁠ k ⁠ / [⁠ k ⁠] k aaxai "Ara"
/ ⁠ ʔ ⁠ / [⁠ ʔ ⁠] kaa x ai "Ara"
/ ⁠ b ⁠ / [⁠ b ⁠] xísoo b ái "floor"
[⁠ m ⁠] as initial sound b oopai "neck, neck"
/ ⁠ ɡ ⁠ / [⁠ ɡ ⁠] xopóo g ií " Inga (fruit)"
[⁠ n ⁠] as initial sound g áatahaí "permission"
[⁠ * ⁠] (see below) too g ixi "hoe"
/ ⁠ s ⁠ / [⁠ s ⁠] s ahaxai "shouldn't"
[⁠ ʃ ⁠] before / ⁠ i ⁠ / xí s ii s í "fat"
/ ⁠ h ⁠ / [⁠ h ⁠] xáapa h ai "bird arrow"

If [⁠ k ⁠] is counted as a phoneme and is expected to only two tones, like the number of phonemes in accordance with this list of 13 of the Hawaiian. If, however, [⁠ k ⁠] not considered a phoneme, the total number of phone like the Rotokas with 12 of Phonemenzahl. (For comparison: German has 40 phonemes, most German dialects have even more). There are also numerous allophonic variations:

  • Vowels are in accordance with the glottal -Konsonanten / ⁠ h ⁠ / and / ⁠ ʔ / ⁠ nasalized .
  • / ⁠ b ⁠ / [b, ʙ, m] : after a pause is the Nasal [⁠ m ⁠] before / ⁠ o ⁠ / the Vibrant [⁠ ʙ ⁠] used.
  • / ⁠ ɡ ⁠ / [ɡ, n, ɺ͡ɺ̼] : The Nasal [n] (a apical alveolar Nasal ) is used after a pause. [ɺ͡ɺ̼] is a lateral alveolar-linguolabial double flap whose existence is only known in this language. It is created by slamming the tongue against the front part of the palate and then against the lower lip. However, this sound is only used in special ways of speaking and could therefore not be understood as a normal speech sound.
  • / ⁠ k ⁠ / [k, p, h, ʔ] : In speaking of men, the monitors are [⁠ k ⁠] and [⁠ ʔ ⁠] replaceable as initial sound. Another common way of the view that [⁠ k ⁠] and [⁠ p ⁠] can be replaced in a few words. The phonetic sequences [hoa] and [hia] are said to be interchangeable with [kʷa] and [ka] in at least some words .

Because of these variations Everett believes that it is in / ⁠ k / ⁠ not constitute a durable phoneme. By / ⁠ k ⁠ / as / hi / conceives, it was possible to reduce the number of consonants in the seventh

In addition, it should also be taken into account that Pirahã is a tonal language that knows at least two tones, which also have different meanings and which can therefore be understood as separate phonemes . Everett marked the first with an acute and the second either not at all or with a grave accent . Another researcher, Sheldon, suggested that language has three tones, which he called high (¹), medium (²) and low (³).

Furthermore, Pirahã is sometimes mentioned as one of the few languages ​​without nasals. However, alternative views are also possible here. Namely, when the [⁠ ɡ ⁠] as / ⁠ n ⁠ / and [⁠ k ⁠] as / hi / are considered, it can be the language alternatively also one of the few languages without velar indicate consonants. In this case the consonant table is as follows:

Bilabial Alveolar Glottal
Plosive ​p​ ​t​ ​ʔ​
nasal ​m​ ​n​
Fricative ​s​ ​H​

The bilabial vibrant

In 2004 Everett discovered that the language had an unvoiced dental-bilabial vibrant affricate [t͡ʙ̥] . He suspected that no Pirahã had previously used this sound in his presence for fear of being mocked if a non-Pirahã heard the sound. The discovery of the [t͡ʙ̥] is all the more significant when one considers that the only other languages ​​possessing this sound are the unrelated Chapacura-Wanham languages ​​Oro Win and Wari ', which are spoken 500 km west of the Pirahã language area. Oro Win is also an almost extinct language (which survives almost entirely as the second language of a dozen Wari ' members ) that Everett discovered in 1994.

vocabulary

Pirahã has a few loan words from Portuguese . The Portuguese “copo” was adopted with the Pirahã word “kóópo” (“mug”), and “bikagogia” (“business”) was derived from the Portuguese “mercadoria” (“goods”).

Family relationships

Pirahã has the simplest known kinship system of any human culture, according to Everett. A single word, "baíxi" (spoken [màíʔì] ), is used for both "mother" and "father" (like the German word "Eltern", but Pirahã has no alternatives) and the Pirahã Indians do not pursue family relationships further than the biological siblings .

Numbers and Numbers

According to Everett 1986, Pirahã has words for "one" ("hói") and "two" ("hoí") that differ only in their tone. In 2005, Everett explained, based on his observations, that Pirahã has no numerals at all and interpreted "hói" and "hoí" as "small number" and "greater number". In 2008, Frank and his team described two experiments that were carried out with four Pirahã speakers to test two hypotheses. In the first experiment ten identical objects were placed on a table. Now the Pirahã were asked for the number. All four responded, as suspected, with a mixture between ("hói") and the Pirahã word for "much". It was known that they used Pirahã for one object “hói” and for two objects “hoí”. In the second experiment, ten objects were first put down, then one was taken away. Now one of the Pirahã answered “hói” (the word interpreted as “one”). After removing three other items, all respondents agreed to use "hoí". Frank and his colleagues suspected after these different quantities that they were not numerals, but rather relative quantities.

In addition, there are no numbers in Pirahã and therefore no possibility of indicating whether it is singular or plural.

Colours

In addition to the lack of numbers, the Pirahã are said to have no color names and to be one of the few peoples who only have words for “light” and “dark”. (Most of these peoples live in the Brazilian rainforest and New Guinea.) According to Everett, descriptive phrases are used to name colors.

Pirahã and the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
That the (strong) Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is correct is an extraordinary claim and requires extraordinary evidence. This section is only covered by primary literature and therefore does not represent established knowledge, but Everett's view (which is of course relevant here).

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that language shapes thought.

This seems to be confirmed in the case of the Pirahã. Although it is still being discussed whether the language has numerals for “one” and “two” or not, there is no question that there are no larger numbers. For them, the Pirahã use only approximate information and in experiments were not able to reliably differentiate between a group of four objects and five similarly grouped objects. When asked to recreate groups of objects, on average they will manage to pick the right number, but rarely on the first try.

Fearing (rightly) that they would be betrayed in doing so, they asked Daniel Everett to teach them simple arithmetic . After eight months of enthusiastic but fruitless learning, they gave up and found they were unable to grasp the subject. Not a single Pirahã had learned to count to 10 or add 1 + 1.

Everett argues that the Pirahã cannot count for two cultural and one formal linguistic reasons. First of all, they are hunters and gatherers and have nothing to count, therefore no opportunity to practice counting. Furthermore, there is a cultural pressure against generalizing beyond the present, which eliminates numerals. In addition, counting and numerals are based on recursion in the language, which cannot be expressed due to the simple sentence structure of Pirahã. The reason, however, is not to be found in the fact that the Pirahã are mentally incapable of counting.

Others

Since 2014, the researcher Everett has been prohibited from visiting the Pirahã by the Brazilian authority for affairs of indigenous peoples, FUNAI , on the grounds that he could prevent possible proselytizing while the government itself is installing technical infrastructure, schools and TV at the same time. Everett himself long ago renounced his original mission, precisely because of his experience with the Pirahã.

literature

The Indian people

  • Daniel L. Everett: The happiest people. Seven years with the Pirahã Indians in the Amazon. (Original title: Don't sleep, there are snakes. ) German by Sebastian Vogel. Munich 2010, ISBN 3-421-04307-8 .

Grammar and Universal Grammar Debate

Numerals and cognition

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Daniel L. Everett : Cultural Constraints on Grammar in PIRAHÃ: A Reply to Nevins, Pesetsky, and Rodrigues. (PDF, 471 kB) In: lingbuzz - Archive of Linguistics Articles. March 2007, accessed on May 2, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Bruce Steele: Linguistics professor discovers new language in Brazilian rain forest. In: University Times 4/27. University of Pittsburgh , October 13, 1994, accessed May 2, 2018 .
  3. ^ Daniel L. Everett: Cultural Constraints on Grammar and Cognition in Pirahã: Another Look at the Design Features of Human Language. (PDF, 600 kB) In: Current Anthropology Aug – Oct 2005. April 2005, archived from the original on September 29, 2006 ; accessed on May 2, 2018 .
  4. ^ Daniel L. Everett: Cultural Constraints on Grammar and Cognition in Pirahã: Another Look at the Design Features of Human Language. (PDF, 600 kB) In: Current Anthropology Aug – Oct 2005. April 2005, p. 14 , archived from the original on September 29, 2006 ; Retrieved on May 2, 2018 (English, in the original Vol. 46/4, 2005, pp. 621–646.).
  5. ↑ programm.ARD.de - ARD Play-Out-Center Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany: The lucky ones of the Amazon. Retrieved October 27, 2018 .