SIL International Publications

Retuarã Syntax: Studies in the Languages of Colombia 3

Author(s):
Strom, Clay
Description: 

Retuarã Syntax is based on a typological/functional perspective which provides an excellent framework for writing a broadly useful, descriptive grammar.

Retuarã, is also know as Letuama (Tanimuca-Retuarã, Retuama, Letuhama, Ufaina, Uairã) is a member of the central Tucanoan language family and is closely related to Tanimuca. Though the Retuarã and Tanimuca peoples consider themselves as separate groups, they speak the same language with slight lexical differences. Their location is in widely distributed areas of the Amazon Basin in southeastern Colombia has brought them into contact with other Tucanoan and Arawakan languages resulting in some grammatical variations.

Besides a brief phonological sketch and description of various aspects of the Retuarã language, the study presents a detailed discussion of parts of the speech, the noun phrases, case, the verb phrase, adverbs, sentence structure, imperatives, questions, negation, subordination, and various elements of discourse.

Table of Contents: 

Abbreviations
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

1.1-1.10 Word order constituents
1.1. Basic word order
1.2. Adpositions
1.3. Descriptive modifiers
1.4. Genitives
1.5. Affixation
1.6. Relative clauses
1.7. Comparatives
1.8. Negation
1.9. Questions
1.10. Word order summary

1.11-1.14 Distinguishing major syntactic functions
1.11. Word order
1.12. Subject expression
1.13. Nominalization
1.14. Categorization of nouns

1.1 5-1.20 Phonology sketch
1.15. Phonemic inventory
1.16. Phonological rules
1.17. Stress
1.18. Nasalization
1.19. Word and syllable structure
1.20. Morphophonology

2. Parts of Speech

2.1. Nouns and adjectives

2.2-2.8 Verbs
2.2. Copular verb
2.3. Spatial relators
2.4. Intransitive verbs
2.5. Transitive verbs
2.6. Ditransitive verbs
2.7. Verbs with sentential objects
2.8. Compound verbs

2.9. Adverbs

2.10-2.12 Pronouns and other pro-forms
2.10. Personal pronouns
2.11. Demonstratives
2.12. Dummy pronoun

2.13-2.15 Noun adjuncts
2.13. Case markers
2.14. Quantifiers
2.15. Classifiers

2.16-2.22 Verb adjuncts
2.16. Auxiliary verb
2.17. Tense
2.18. Aspect
2.19. Mood
2.20. Intensifiers
2.21. Evidentials
2.22. Subordinating suffixes

2.23. Coordinating conjunctions
2.24. Subordinating conjunctions
2.25. Negators

2.26-2.29 Derivational affixes
2.26. Nominalization by number/gender suffixes
2.27. Deverbalizer
2.28. Adverbializer
2.29. Causatives

3. Noun Phrase

3.1. Noun classes
3.2. Genitives
3.3. Relative clause
3.4. Quantifiers
3.5. Numerals
3.6. Adjectives
3.7. Demonstratives
3.8. Relative order of elements in noun phrase
3.9. Case
3.10. Classifiers and concord in the noun phrase

4. Case

4.1. Term
4.2. General locative
4.3. Specific locative
4.4. Ablative
4.5. Instrument
4.6. Comitative
4.7. Benefactive
4.8. Possessive
4.9. Case combinations

5. Verb Phrase

5.1. Order of verb affixes
5.2. Agreement
5.3. Auxiliary verb

5.4-5.9 Tense
5.4. Present
5.5. Immediate past
5.6. Recent past
5.7. Remote past
5.8. General past
5.9. Future

5.10-5.15 Aspect
5.10. Habitual
5.11. Imperfective
5.12. Continuative
5.13. Perfect
5.14. Impersonal
5.15. Punctual

5.16-5.19 Mood
5.16. Intention
5.17. Possibility
5.18. Consequence
5.19. Contra-expectation

5.20-5.24. Other verbal affixes
5.20. Stativizer
5.21. The functions of -I (stativizer) and -e ka (general past)
5.22. Directionals
5.23. Intensifiers
5.24. Evidentials

5.25. Compound verbs

5.26-5.28 Causatives
5.26. Volitional causation
5.27. Nonvolitional causation
5.28. Lexicalized causatives

5.29. Reciprocals
5.30. Incorporation

6. Adverbs

6.1. Manner
6.2. Time
6.3. Location
6.4. Speaker attitude adverbs
6.5. Mood/aspect adverbs
6.6. Derived adverbs

7. Sentence Structure

7.1. Intransitive
7.2. Transitive
7.3. Ditransitive
7.4. Copular sentences
7.5. Existential

7.6-7.8 Locationals
7.6. Locative/existential
7.7. Predicate nominal and possessive 'to be'
7.8. Possessive 'to have'

7.9. Reflexives
7.10. Subordinate clauses

8. Imperatives

8.1. Second-person imperatives
8.2. Indirect imperative
8.3. Negative imperative
8.4. Hortatory
8.5. Third-person imperatives
8.6. Responses to imperatives

9. Questions

9.1. Yes/no questions
9.2. Content questions
9.3. Alternate questions
9.4. Indirect questions
9.5. Courtesy in question-asking
9.6. Answers to questions

10. Negation

10.1. Sentential negation
10.2. Negative verb

11. Subordination

11.1-11.2 Relative clauses
11.1. Internally headed classification
11.2. Relativization into different syntactic positions

11.3-11.7 Complementation
11.3. Modality verbs
11.4. Manipulative verbs
11.5. Cognition/utterance/sensory verbs
11.6. Motion verbs with purpose complements
11.7. Preventative constructions

11.8-11.17 Adverbial clauses formed by suffixes
11.8. Time: after
11.9. Time: simultaneous
11.10. Purpose
11.11. Intention
11.12. Contingency
11.13. Negative purpose
11.14. Condition/grounds
11.15. Reason (different subject)
11.16. Reason (same subject)
11.17. Contra-expectation

11.18-11.22 Adverbial clauses formed by conjunctions
11.18. Time: when
11.19. Time: prior
11.20. Comparison: like
11.21. Condition: if
11.22. Continue: still/yet

12. Elements of Discourse

12.1-12.5 Participant reference
12.1. Participant reference rules
12.2. Introduction of participants
12.3. Further participant reference
12.4. Reintroduction of participants
12.5. Exceptions to rules

12.6. Stative versus active
12.7. Backgrounding
12.8. Agentiveness reduction strategy
12.9. Thematic development

Appendix
References

Series Volume: 
112
Issue Date: 
1992
Extent: 
xiii, 227 pages
ISBN 13: 
978-0883121818
Subject: 
Grammatical Description
Syntax
Grammatical Descriptions
ISBN 10: 
0883121816
Size: 
6 × 9 × 0.5 in
Weight: 
0.7 lb
Field: 
Country: 
Colombia
Subject Languages: 
Content Language: