Betoi language
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| Betoi | |
|---|---|
| Jirara | |
| Native to | Colombia |
| Region | Orinoco Llanos |
| Ethnicity | 394 Betoi (2005), Jirara |
| Extinct | mid 19th century |
Early form | Proto-Betoi-Jirara
|
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
qtd | |
| Glottolog | beto1236 |
| ELP | Lua error in Module:Endangered_Languages_Project at line 21: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
 Map of the Betoi language | |
Betoi (Betoy) or Betoi-Jirara is an extinct language of Colombia and Venezuela, south of the Apure River near the modern border with Colombia. The names Betoi and Jirara are those of two of its peoples/dialects; the language proper has no known name. At contact, Betoi was a local lingua franca spoken between the Uribante and Sarare rivers and along the Arauca. Enough was recorded for a brief grammatical monograph to be written.[1]
Classification
[edit | edit source]Betoi is generally seen as an isolate, though Kaufman (2007) included it in Macro-Paesan.
Zamponi (2017) finds enough lexical resemblances between Betoi and the Saliban languages to conclude that a genealogical relationship is plausible.[2]
Historically, Betoi was considered a Tucanoan language, hence the original name Betoyan for the family.[3]
Varieties
[edit | edit source]Historically a dialect cluster, varieties include Betoi, Jirara, Situfa, Ayrico, Ele, Lucalia, Jabúe, Arauca, Quilifay, Anabali, Lolaca, and Atabaca.[4]
Below is a full list of Betoi varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.[5]
- Betoi / Guanero / Isabaco - extinct language once spoken on the Casanare River, Cravo Norte River, and Apure River, Arauca territory, Colombia.
- Situfa / Cituja - extinct language once spoken on the Casanare River in the Arauca region.
- Airico - once spoken at the sources of the Manacacías River. (Gumilla 1745, pt. 2, pp. 243-247, only a few words.)
- Jirara - spoken once in the upper Manacacías River region. (Gumilla 1745, pt. 1, pp. 201 and 203, pt. 2, pp. 16 and 328, only a few words and phrases.)
- Atabaca - once spoken in the upper Manacacías River region. (Gumilla 1745, pt. 2, p. 274, only a few words.)
- Lolaca - once spoken on the confluence of the Arauca River and Chitagá River. (Unattested.)
- Quilifay - once spoken around the confluence of the Arauca River and Chitagá River. (Unattested.)
- Anabali - spoken south of the Atabaca tribe around the confluence of the Arauca River and Chitagá River. (Unattested.)
- Ele - spoken on the Ele River. (Unattested.)
Glottolog groups Betoi dialects as follows:[6]
- Betoi-Jirara
- Nuclear
- Betoi
- Jirara
- Lolaca
- Mafilito
- Quilifay
- Situfa-Ayrico
- Ayrico
- Situfa
- Nuclear
Phonology
[edit | edit source]Consonants
[edit | edit source]| Bilabial | Alveolar[a] | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | ||||||
| Stop | voiceless | t | k | (kʷ)1 | |||
| voiced | b | d | g | ||||
| Fricative | ɸ | s | h | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | |||||
| Lateral | l | ||||||
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Glide | w | j | |||||
- [kʷ] may be present in the words cuivivì 'duck' and quaja 'forest'. It is also present in the nearby Saliban languages and Tunebo (Uwa).
Vowels
[edit | edit source]Betoi appears to have a 5-vowel system, as illustrated below.[1]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
[i] was written as ⟨y⟩ as a part of diphthongs.[7]
Lexicon
[edit | edit source]Lexicon of Betoi compiled by Zamponi (2003) from various sources:[1]
Nouns
[edit | edit source]| English gloss | Betoi | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| earth (soil) | dafibú, umena | |
| country | ajabó | |
| sky | teo-tucu | lit. ‘house of the sun’ |
| sun | teo, theo, teo-umasoi | lit. ‘sun-man’ |
| moon | teó-ro | lit. ‘sun-woman’ |
| star | silicó | |
| Pleiades | ucasú, ocasú | |
| wind | fafuala | |
| lightning | buní | |
| rain | ofacú | |
| water | ocú, ocudú, oculiba | |
| lake | ocú | = ‘water’ |
| stone | inakí | |
| fire | fútui, futuit | |
| day | munitá | |
| month | teo-ró | = ‘moon’ |
| year | ucasú, ocasú | = ‘Pleiades’ |
| living being (animal, rational being) | ubad-, sg. ubadoi, pl. ubadola | |
| man | humas-, umas-, sg. humasoi, pl. humasola | |
| woman | ro, pl. roducajaná | |
| monkey | sorroy | |
| jaguar | ufi | |
| bird | cosiú, cusí | |
| duck | cuiviví | |
| hen | focará | |
| k.o. mosquito | sumí | |
| fish | dujiduca | duca may be the demonstrative enclitic ‘this’ |
| ants (collective) | irruqui | |
| cock | toteleló | |
| honey | alalaba | |
| forest | quaja, ucaca-ajabo | ajabo = ‘country’ |
| polypody (k.o. fern) | sorroy umucosó | lit. ‘hand of monkey’ |
| maize | romú | |
| body | ejebosi | |
| head | osacá | |
| hair | ubuca | |
| forehead | afubá | |
| face | afucá | |
| eye | ufonibá | |
| nose | iusaca | |
| mouth | afubó | |
| lip | afubé | |
| tooth | oxoki | |
| tongue | inecá | |
| throat | emalafadá | |
| arm | dafucá | |
| hand | umucosó, umocoso | |
| finger | umucurrú | |
| leg, foot | emocá | |
| thigh | uduba | |
| heart | ijiba | |
| belly | utucú | |
| shoulder | telisá | |
| father | babí, babbí | |
| mother | mamá | |
| ancestors | ojabolá | pl. |
| house | tucú, pl. tucujaná | |
| road | maná | |
| needs (requirements) | duiji | |
| spirit, devil | memelú | |
| God | Diosó | < Spanish Dios |
| Father, missionary | Babí | = ‘father’ |
| devil | memelú-fofei | lit. ‘bad spirit’ |
| will | ojaca, ajaca |
Verbs
[edit | edit source]| English gloss | Betoi | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| advise | babasa-, o- -eba | -eba = ‘make, do’ |
| assail | rolea- | |
| bathe | do- | |
| be (location verb (?) and auxiliary) | -u | |
| be (copula) | aj- | |
| be dismayed (or astonished) | ijuca- -uma | Italian: ‘essere sbigottito’ |
| be good | mamiaj- | mamí = ‘well’ |
| be not (copula and auxiliary) | re- (sg.) ~ ref- (pl.) | |
| be obedient | obai- -omucaaj- | |
| be pitiful | dusucaaj- | |
| bum | fafole- | |
| call | cofa- | |
| come | -usa | |
| deceive | -olea, -oloa | |
| die | -iju, rijubi- | |
| fill | anu- -eba | -eba = ‘make, do’ |
| forgive | -usuca | = ‘pay’ |
| give | -umua | |
| go | -anu | |
| help | -ausu | |
| illuminate | tulu- -eba | -eba = ‘make, do’ |
| look for | be-, cula- -atu | |
| make, do | -ebá, sa- | |
| I must beat you | robarriabarrarráácajú | |
| pay | -usuca | = ‘forgive’ |
| don’t permit | jitebometú | |
| prevent | tu- | |
| revere | -omea | |
| speak, say | faá- | |
| steal | rááquirra- | |
| take away | cumi- | |
| take care of | -inefá | |
| think | o- -acaa |
Adverbs
[edit | edit source]| English gloss | Betoi | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| beforehand | umarrá | |
| now | maidacasí | maida ‘today’ |
| soon, already | maydaytú, maydaitú | maida ‘today’ |
| afterwards, later | lojenuma | numa may be the root ‘all’ |
| yesterday | vita | |
| today | maidda, maida | |
| another time | jajamú | |
| there | fá | |
| down | umenanú | = ‘on earth’ |
| everywhere | ubujenuma | numa may be the root ‘all’ |
| where | día | |
| from where | diatú | |
| well | mamí | |
| little by little | caibanú | |
| casually | foirreojanudá | |
| so | mai, may | |
| little, a bit | bijeasi | |
| sufficiently | fedanú | |
| how | day | = ‘what, ?how much’ |
| very | naisú |
Pronouns
[edit | edit source]| English gloss | Betoi | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | rau | |
| you (sg.) | uju | |
| he, she, it | yairi | |
| we | raufisucá | |
| you (pl.) | ujurrola | |
| they | yarola | |
| this one (m.) | irrí | |
| this one (f.) | iú | |
| this one (n.) | ijé | |
| the same one | oanú | = ‘as’ |
| who (sg. m.) (interrogative and relative) | madoi | |
| who (sg. f.) (interrogative and relative) | mado | |
| what, which, that (sg. n.) (interrogative and relative) | majaduca | |
| what | day | = ‘how, ?how much’ |
Other parts of speech
[edit | edit source]| English gloss | Betoi | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| this | -ducá | demonstrative clitic? |
| white | cocosiajo | |
| sweet | olisa | |
| bad | fofei, fofej, fofey | |
| wise, prudent | culasa | |
| other | ed-, sg. edoi, pl. edolatu | |
| next, coming | edasu | |
| one | edojojoi | |
| two | edoi | = ‘other’ |
| three | ibutú | = ‘and’ |
| four | ibutú-edojojoi | lit. ‘and/three one’ |
| five | rumucoso | lit. ‘my hand’ |
| many | maitolá | |
| all | -numa, sg. bagenuma, pl. bolanuma | |
| how much | daitolá | pl. |
| above | ubo | |
| inside | toli | |
| and | ibutú | |
| but | uita | |
| because | day | |
| as | oanu | = ‘the same one’ |
| no | ebamucá | |
| true! | tugaday | |
| how did this happen? | day día qué | day = ‘what, how, ?how much’; día ‘where’, -qué = ‘interrogative’ |
| excl. of wonder | ayaddi | |
| excl. of admiration | ódique | |
| excl. of desire and uncertainty | odijá | |
| excl. of fear | odifarracá | |
| excl. of grief | ai asidí | |
| interrogative marker | -qué | day = ‘what, how, ?how much’; -qué = ‘interrogative’ |
| tag-question marker | dayqué | |
| moreover | farrocafada, farrocafeda |
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ Betoi likely did not have dental consonants, like its geographic neighbors.
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c Zamponi 2003.
- ^ Zamponi, Raoul (2017). Betoi-Jirara, Sáliban, and Hod i: Relationships among Three Linguistic Lineages of the Mid-Orinoco Region. Anthropological Linguistics, Volume 59, Number 3, Fall 2017, pp. 263-321.
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Bibliography
[edit | edit source]
Wiktionary has a word list at Appendix:Betoi word list
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