Guarani language
{{short description|Indigenous language, Paraguay variant}}
{{About|the Paraguayan language|other varieties of Guarani|Guarani dialects}}
{{Distinguish|text=the Kurdish-Iranian Gorani language or the Indo-Aryan Gujarati language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Guarani
| altname = Paraguayan Guarani
| nativename = {{lang|gn|avañeʼẽ}}
| pronunciation = {{IPA|gn|ʔãʋãɲẽˈʔẽ|}}{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}
| ethnicity = Guaraní
Paraguayan people
| state = Paraguay
| speakers = {{sigfig|6.540|2}} million
| date = 2020
| ref = e24
| familycolor = tupian
| fam1 = Tupian
| fam2 = Tupi–Guarani
| fam3 = Guarani (I)
| fam4 = Guaraní
| script = Guarani alphabet (Latin script)
| nation = {{flag|Paraguay}}
{{flag|Bolivia}}
| dia1 = Jopará
| dia2 = Taragui
| agency = Academia de la Lengua Guaraní (Guarani Ñeʼẽ Rerekuapavẽ)
| iso1 = gn
| iso2 = grn
| iso3 = gug
| glotto = para1311
| glottorefname = Paraguayan Guaraní
| lingua = 88-AAI-f
| notice = IPA
| map = Idioma guaraní.png
| mapcaption = Guarani-speaking world{{cite web|url=https://www.muturzikin.com/cartesamerique/12.htm|title=Paraguai|publisher=muturzikin.com|date=2008|author=Muturzikin}}
| image = Libros en guarani.JPG
| imagecaption = Books in Guarani
}}
File:WIKITONGUES- María speaking Guarani.webm
Paraguayan Guarani (Avañe'ẽ){{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɡ|w|ɑːr|ə|ˈ|n|iː|,_|ˈ|ɡ|w|ɑːr|ən|i}} {{respell|GWAR|ə|NEE|,_|GWAR|ə|nee}};{{cite LPD|3}} {{lang|gn|avañeʼẽ}} "the people's language"}} is a South American language that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani branch{{cite book |last=Britton |first=A. Scott |year=2004 |title=Guaraní-English/English-Guaraní Concise Dictionary |location=New York |publisher=Hippocrene Books}} of the Tupian language family. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay (along with Spanish), where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and where half of the rural population are monolingual speakers of the language.{{cite journal |last=Mortimer |first=K |year=2006 |title=Guaraní Académico or Jopará? Educator Perspectives and Ideological Debate in Paraguayan Bilingual Education |journal=Working Papers in Educational Linguistics |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=45–71}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/world/americas/in-paraguay-indigenous-language-with-unique-staying-power.html?ref=global-home&pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |first=Simon |last=Romero |title=In Paraguay, Indigenous Language With Unique Staying Power |date=12 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312190007/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/world/americas/in-paraguay-indigenous-language-with-unique-staying-power.html |archive-date=12 March 2012 |location=Asunción}}
Variants of the language are spoken by communities in neighboring countries including parts of northeastern Argentina, southeastern Bolivia and southwestern Brazil. It is a second official language of the Argentine province of Corrientes since 2004{{Cite web |url=http://www.romanistik.uni-mainz.de/guarani/texte/Ley5598.pdf |title=Ley Provincial Nº 5.598, que establece el guaraní como 'idioma oficial alternativo' de Corrientes |access-date=22 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229101008/http://www.romanistik.uni-mainz.de/guarani/texte/Ley5598.pdf |archive-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.mapuche.info/indgen/indgen00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051027052405/http://www.mapuche.info/indgen/indgen00.html |archive-date=27 October 2005 |lang=es |title=Antecedentes sobre la población nativa de las Américas |website=Centro de Documentación Mapuche}} and in the Brazilian city of Tacuru since 2010.{{Cite web |url=http://noticias.r7.com/brasil/noticias/cidade-do-mato-grosso-do-sul-adota-o-guarani-como-idioma-oficial-20100531.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116131245/http://noticias.r7.com/brasil/noticias/cidade-do-mato-grosso-do-sul-adota-o-guarani-como-idioma-oficial-20100531.html |archive-date=16 January 2014 |lang=pt |title=Cidade de Mato Grosso do Sul adota o guarani como segundo idioma oficial |trans-title=City in Mato Grosso do Sul adopts Guarani as second official language |website=R7 Notícias}} Guarani is also one of the three official languages of Mercosur, alongside Spanish and Portuguese.{{cite web |url=http://www.mercosur.int/buscarenmarco.jsp?url=http%3A//200.40.51.218/SAM/GestDoc/PubWeb.nsf/Busqueda%3FOpenAgent%26TextoBusqueda%3Dguarani%26modulo%3DNormativa%26ModuloBusqueda%3DNormativa%26lang%3DESP%20 |title=Incorporación del Guaraní como Idioma del Mercosur |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225063003/http://www.mercosur.int/buscarenmarco.jsp?url=http%3A%2F%2F200.40.51.218%2FSAM%2FGestDoc%2FPubWeb.nsf%2FBusqueda%3FOpenAgent&TextoBusqueda=guarani&modulo=Normativa&ModuloBusqueda=Normativa&lang=ESP%20 |archive-date=25 December 2013 |website=MERCOSUR official page |lang=es}}
Guarani is one of the most widely spoken Native American languages and remains commonly used among the Paraguayan people and neighboring communities. This is unique among American languages; language shift towards European colonial languages (in this case, the other official language of Spanish) has otherwise been a nearly universal phenomenon in the Western Hemisphere, but Paraguayans have maintained their traditional language while also adopting Spanish.
The name "Guarani" is generally used for the official language of Paraguay. However, this is part of a dialect chain, most of whose components are also often called Guarani.
History
While Guarani, in its Classical form, was the only language spoken in the expansive missionary territories, Paraguayan Guarani has its roots outside of the Jesuit Reductions.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
Modern scholarship has shown that Guarani was always the primary language of colonial Paraguay, both inside and outside the reductions. Following the expulsion of the Jesuits in the 18th century, the residents of the reductions gradually migrated north and west towards Asunción, a demographic shift that brought about a decidedly one-sided shift away from the Jesuit dialect that the missionaries had curated in the southern and eastern territories of the colony.{{cite journal |last1=Wilde |first1=Guillermo |title=Los guaraníes después de la expulsión de los jesuitas: dinámicas políticas y transacciones simbólicas |trans-title=The Guaraní after the expulsion of the Jesuits: political dynamics and symbolic transactions |journal=Revista Complutense de Historia de América |date=2001 |volume=27 |pages=69–106 |language=es}}{{cite book |last1=Telesca |first1=Ignacio |title=Tras los expulsos: cambios demográficos y territoriales en el paraguay después de la expulsión de los jesuitas |date=2009 |publisher=Universidad Católica "Nuestra Señora De La Asunción" |location=Asunción}}
By and large, the Guarani of the Jesuits shied away from direct phonological loans from Spanish. Instead, the missionaries relied on the agglutinative nature of the language to formulate new precise translations or calque terms from Guarani morphemes. This process often led the Jesuits to employ complicated, highly synthetic terms to convey European concepts.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Thun |first=Harald |title=La hispanización del guaraní jesuítico en 'lo espiritual' y en 'lo temporal'. Segunda parte: Los procedimientos |encyclopedia=Geschichte und Aktualität der deutschprachigen Guaraní-Philologie |editor-last1=Dietrich |editor-first1=Wolf |editor-last2=Symeonidis |editor-first2=Haralambos |date=2008 |location=Berlin |publisher=Lit Verlag |pages=141–169}} By contrast, the Guarani spoken outside of the missions was characterized by a free, unregulated flow of Hispanicisms; frequently, Spanish words and phrases were simply incorporated into Guarani with minimal phonological adaptation.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
A good example of that phenomenon is found in the word "communion". The Jesuits, using their agglutinative strategy, rendered this word "{{lang|gn|Tupârahava}}", a calque based on the word "{{lang|gn|Tupâ}}", meaning God.{{cite book |last1=Restivo |first1=Paulo |title=Vocabulario de la lengua guaraní |date=1724 |location=Madrid |language=es}} In modern Paraguayan Guarani, the same word is rendered "{{lang|gn|komuño}}".{{cite book |last1=Guarania |first1=Félix |title=Ñande Ayvu Tenonde Porãngue'i: Nuevo diccionario guaraní́-castellano, castellano-guaraní́: Avañe'ẽ-karaiñe'ẽ, Karaiñe'ẽ-avañe'ẽ |date=2008 |publisher=Servilibro |location=Asunción}}
Following the out-migration from the reductions, these two distinct dialects of Guarani came into extensive contact for the first time. The vast majority of speakers abandoned the less colloquial, highly regulated Jesuit variant in favor of the variety that evolved from actual use by speakers in Paraguay.{{cite book |last1=Melia |first1=Bartomeu |title=La lengua guaraní́ en el Paraguay colonial |date=2003 |publisher=CEPAG |location=Asunción |language=es |isbn=9789992584958}} This contemporary form of spoken Guarani is known as Jopará, meaning "mixture" in Guarani.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
= Political status =
File:Sign in Guaraní and Spanish in Asunción.jpg, Paraguay; bilingual in Guarani and Spanish]]
{{See also|Languages of Paraguay}}
Widely spoken, Paraguayan Guarani has nevertheless been repressed by Paraguayan governments throughout most of its history since independence. It was prohibited in state schools for over 100 years. However, populists often used pride in the language to excite nationalistic fervor and promote a narrative of social unity.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
During the autocratic regime of Alfredo Stroessner, his Colorado Party used the language to appeal to common Paraguayans although Stroessner himself never gave an address in Guarani.{{cite journal |last1=Nickson |first1=Robert Andrew |s2cid=144250960 |title=Governance and the Revitalization of the Guaraní Language in Paraguay|journal=Latin American Research Review |date=2009 |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=3–26 |doi=10.1353/lar.0.0115 |jstor=40783668 |language=en}} Upon the advent of Paraguayan democracy in 1992, Guarani was established in the new constitution as a language equal to Spanish.
Jopará, the mixture of Spanish and Guarani, is spoken by an estimated 90% of the population of Paraguay. Code-switching between the two languages takes place on a spectrum in which more Spanish is used for official and business-related matters, and more Guarani is used in art and in everyday life.{{cite web |url= http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/Ling450ch/reports/Guarani1.html |title= Guaraní: The Language and People |last= Page |first= Nathan |date= 6 September 1999 |website= Brigham Young University Department of Linguistics |access-date= 1 February 2019}}
Guarani is also an official language of Bolivia and of Corrientes Province in Argentina.{{Cite web |title=Guarani |url=http://languagesgulper.com/eng/Guarani.html |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=languagesgulper.com}}
== Writing system ==
{{Main|Guarani alphabet}}
Phonology
Guarani syllables consist of a consonant plus a vowel or a vowel alone; syllables ending in a consonant or two or more consonants together do not occur. This is represented as (C)V.
In the below table, the IPA value is shown. The orthography is shown in angle brackets below, if different.
= Consonants =
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |
colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | Labial ! rowspan="2" | Alveolar ! rowspan="2" | Alveolo- ! colspan="2" | Velar ! rowspan="2" | Glottal |
---|
{{small|plain}} || {{small|lab.}} |
colspan="2" | Nasal
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ᵐb}}~{{IPA link|m}} | rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ⁿd}}~{{IPA link|n}} | rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ᵈj}}~{{IPA link|ɲ}} | rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ᵑɡ}}~{{IPA link|ŋ}} | rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ᵑɡʷ}}~{{IPA link|ŋʷ}} | rowspan="2" | |
rowspan="2" | Stop|| {{small|voiced}} |
{{small|voiceless}}
| {{IPA link|p}} | {{IPA link|t}} | | {{IPA link|k}} | {{IPA link|kʷ}} {{angbr|ku}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{angbr|ʼ}} |
colspan="2" | Fricative
| | {{IPA link|s}} | {{IPA link|ɕ}} {{angbr|ch}} | colspan="3" | {{IPA link|x}} ~ {{IPA link|h}} {{angbr|h}} |
colspan="2" | Approximant
| {{IPA link|ʋ}} {{angbr|v}} | | | {{IPA link|ɰ}} ~ {{IPA link|ɰ̃}} | {{IPA link|w}} ~ {{IPA link|w̃}} | |
colspan="2" | Flap
| | {{IPA link|ɾ}} {{angbr|r}} | | | | |
The voiced consonants have oral allophones (left) before oral vowels, and nasal allophones (right) before nasal vowels. The oral allophones of the voiced stops are prenasalized.
There is also a sequence {{IPA|/ⁿt/}} (written {{angbr|nt}}). A trill {{IPA|/r/}} (written {{angbr|rr}}), and the consonants {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/f/}}, and {{IPA|/j/}} (written {{angbr|ll}}) are not native to Guarani, but come from Spanish.
Oral {{IPA|/ᵈj/}} is often pronounced {{IPAblink|dʒ}}, {{IPAblink|ɟ}}, {{IPAblink|ʒ}}, {{IPAblink|j}}, depending on the dialect, but the nasal allophone is always {{IPAblink|ɲ}}.
The dorsal fricative is in free variation between {{IPAblink|x}} and {{IPAblink|h}}.
{{angbr|g}}, {{angbr|gu}} are approximants, not fricatives, but are sometimes transcribed {{IPAblink|ɣ}}, {{IPAblink|ɣʷ}}, as is conventional for Spanish. {{angbr|gu}} is also transcribed {{IPA|[ɰʷ]}}, which is essentially identical to {{IPAblink|w}}.
All syllables are open, viz. CV or V, ending in a vowel.
= Glottal stop =
The glottal stop, called {{lang|gn|puso}} in Guarani, is only written between vowels, but occurs phonetically before vowel-initial words. Because of this, some words have several glottal stops near each other that consequently undergo a number of different dissimilation techniques. For example, "I drink water" {{lang|gn|ʼaʼyʼu}} is pronounced {{lang|gn|hayʼu}}. This suggests that irregularity in verb forms derives from regular sound change processes in the history of Guarani. There also seems to be some degree of variation between how much the glottal stop is dropped (for example {{lang|gn|aruʼuka > aruuka > aruka}} for "I bring"). It is possible that word-internal glottal stops may have been retained from fossilized compounds where the second component was a vowel-initial (and therefore glottal stop–initial) root.{{cite book |last=Ayala |first=José Valentín |year=2000 |title=Gramática Guaraní |location=Asunción |publisher=Centro Editorial Paraguayo S.R.L. |page=19 |oclc=50608420}}
= Vowels =
{{IPA|/a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/}} correspond more or less to the Spanish and IPA equivalents, although sometimes the open-mid allophones {{IPAblink|ɛ}}, {{IPAblink|ɔ}} are used more frequently. The grapheme {{angbr|y}} represents the vowel {{IPAslink|ɨ}} (as in Polish). Considering nasality, the vowel system is perfectly symmetrical, each oral vowel having its nasal counterpart (most systems with nasals have fewer nasals than orals).
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Oral and nasal vowels |
rowspan="2" | Close
! {{small|oral}} | {{IPA link|i}} {{angbr|i}} | {{IPA link|ɨ}} {{angbr|y}} | {{IPA link|u}} {{angbr|u}} |
---|
{{small|nasal}}
| {{IPA link|ĩ}} {{angbr|ĩ}} | {{IPA link|ɨ̃}} {{angbr|ỹ}} | {{IPA link|ũ}} {{angbr|ũ}} |
rowspan="2" | Open
! {{small|oral}} | {{IPA link|e}} {{angbr|e}} | {{IPA link|a}} {{angbr|a}} | {{IPA link|o}} {{angbr|o}} |
{{small|nasal}}
| {{IPA link|ẽ}} {{angbr|ẽ}} | {{IPA link|ã}} {{angbr|ã}} | {{IPA link|õ}} {{angbr|õ}} |
== Nasal harmony ==
Guarani displays an unusual degree of nasal harmony. A nasal syllable consists of a nasal vowel, and if the consonant is voiced, it takes its nasal allophone. If a stressed syllable is nasal, the nasality spreads in both directions until it bumps up against a stressed syllable that is oral. This includes affixes, postpositions, and compounding. Voiceless consonants do not have nasal allophones, but they do not interrupt the spread of nasality.
For example,
:{{IPA|/ⁿdo+ɾoi+ⁿduˈpã+i/}} → {{IPA|[nõɾ̃õĩnũˈpãĩ]}}
:{{IPA|/ro+ᵐbo+poˈrã/}} → {{IPA|[ɾ̃õmõpõˈɾ̃ã]}}
However, a second stressed syllable, with an oral vowel, will not become nasalized:
:{{IPA|/iᵈjaˈkãɾaˈku/}} → {{IPA|[ʔĩɲãˈkãɾ̃ãˈku]}}
:{{IPA|/aˈkãɾaˈwe/}} → {{IPA|[ʔãˈkãɾ̃ãˈwe]}}{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Rachel |year=2000 |title=Nasalization, neutral segments, and opacity effects |isbn=9780815338369 |page=210|publisher=Psychology Press }}
That is, for a word with a single stressed vowel, all voiced segments will be either oral or nasal, while voiceless consonants are unaffected, as in oral {{IPA|/ᵐbotɨ/}} vs nasal {{IPA|/mõtɨ̃/}}.
Grammar
Guarani is a highly agglutinative language, often classified as polysynthetic. It is a fluid-S type active language, and it has been classified as a 6th class language in Milewski's typology. It uses subject–verb–object (SVO) word order usually, but object–verb when the subject is not specified.{{cite journal |last1=Tonhauser |first1=Judith |author1-link=Judith Tonhauser |last2=Colijn |first2=Erika |title=Word Order in Paraguayan Guarani |journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |date=2010 |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=255–288 |doi=10.1086/652267 |s2cid=73554080}}
= Nouns =
Guarani exhibits nominal tense: past, expressed with {{lang|gn|-kue}}, and future, expressed with {{lang|gn|-rã}}. For example, {{lang|gn|tetã ruvichakue}} translates to "ex-president" while {{lang|gn|tetã ruvicharã}} translates to "president-elect." The past morpheme {{lang|gn|-kue}} is often translated as "ex-", "former", "abandoned", "what was once", or "one-time". These morphemes can even be combined to express the idea of something that was going to be but did not end up happening. So for example, {{lang|gn|paʼirãgue}} is "a person who studied to be a priest but didn't actually finish", or rather, "the ex-future priest". Some nouns use {{lang|gn|-re}} instead of {{lang|gn|-kue}} and others use {{lang|gn|-guã}} instead of {{lang|gn|-rã}}.{{cite book |last=Guasch |first=P. Antonio |title=El Idioma Guarnai: Gramática e Antología de Prosa y Verso |year=1956 |publisher=Casa América |location=Asunción |page=53}}
= Pronouns =
Guarani distinguishes between inclusive and exclusive pronouns of the first person plural.
class="wikitable" |
colspan="2" |
! singular ! plural |
---|
rowspan="2" | 1st person
! inclusive | rowspan="2" | {{lang|gn|che}} | {{lang|gn|ñande}} |
exclusive
| {{lang|gn|ore}} |
colspan="2" | 2nd person
| {{lang|gn|nde}} | {{lang|gn|peẽ}} |
colspan="2" | 3rd person
| {{lang|gn|haʼe}} | {{itco|{{lang|gn|haʼekuéra/ hikuái}}}}{{efn-lr|{{lang|gn|hikuái}} is a post-verbal pronoun ({{lang|gn|oHecha hikuái}} 'they see')}} |
{{notelist-lr}}
Reflexive pronoun: {{lang|gn|je}}: {{lang|gn|ahecha}} ("I look"), {{lang|gn|ajehecha}} ("I look at myself")
= Conjugation =
Guarani stems can be divided into a number of conjugation classes, which are called {{lang|gn|areal}} (with the subclass {{lang|gn|aireal}}) and {{lang|gn|chendal}}. The names for these classes stem from the names of the prefixes for 1st and 2nd person singular.
The {{lang|gn|areal}} conjugation is used to convey that the participant is actively involved, whereas the {{lang|gn|chendal}} conjugation is used to convey that the participant is the undergoer. However, the {{lang|gn|areal}} conjugation is also used if an intransitive verb expresses an event as opposed to a state, for example {{Lang|gn|manó}} 'die', and even with a verb such as {{Lang|gn|ké}} 'sleep'. In addition, all borrowed Spanish verbs are adopted as {{lang|gn|areal}} as opposed to borrowed adjectives, which take {{lang|gn|chendal}}.{{cite thesis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302131251/http://www.ling.su.se/gu/kursmaterial/311_4/active.pdf |archive-date=2 March 2008 |url=http://www.ling.su.se/gu/kursmaterial/311_4/active.pdf |last=Andréasson |first=Daniel |year=2001 |title=Active languages |publisher=Stockholm University |pages=18–20 |degree=BA}} Intransitive verbs can take either conjugation, transitive verbs normally take {{lang|gn|areal}}, but can take {{lang|gn|chendal}} for habitual readings. Nouns can also be conjugated, but only as {{lang|gn|chendal}}. This conveys a predicative possessive reading.{{cite journal |last=Nordhoff |first=Sebastian |year=2004 |title=Nomen-Verb-Distinktion im Guarani |editor-last=Sasse |editor-first=Hans-Jürgen |location=Köln |publisher=Universität zu Köln |journal=Arbeitspapier |volume=48 |issn=1615-1496 |lang=de |url=https://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/opus4/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/22366/file/AP_48_Nordhoff_Nomen_ver_Distinktion_im_Guarani.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612022954/http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/opus4/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/22366/file/AP_48_Nordhoff_Nomen_ver_Distinktion_im_Guarani.pdf |archive-date=12 June 2020}}
Furthermore, the conjugations vary slightly according to the stem being oral or nasal.
class="wikitable" |
rowspan="3" | pronoun
! colspan="2" | {{lang|gn|areal}} ! rowspan="2" | {{lang|gn|aireal}} ! rowspan="2" | {{lang|gn|chendal}} |
---|
oral
! nasal |
{{nobold|{{lang|gn|guata}} {{gloss|to walk}}}}
! {{nobold|{{lang|gn|ñeʼẽ}} {{gloss|to speak}}}} ! {{nobold|{{lang|gn|puru}} {{gloss|to use}}}} ! {{nobold|{{lang|gn|tuicha}} {{gloss|to be big}}}} |
{{lang|gn|che}}
| {{lang|gn|a-guata}} | {{lang|gn|a-ñeʼẽ}} | {{lang|gn|ai-puru}} | {{lang|gn|che-tuicha}} |
{{lang|gn|ñande}}
| {{lang|gn|ja-guata}} | {{lang|gn|ña-ñeʼẽ}} | {{lang|gn|jai-puru}} | {{lang|gn|ñande-tuicha}} |
{{lang|gn|ore}}
| {{lang|gn|ro-guata}} | {{lang|gn|ro-ñeʼẽ}} | {{lang|gn|roi-puru}} | {{lang|gn|ore-tuicha}} |
{{lang|gn|nde}}
| {{lang|gn|re-guata}} | {{lang|gn|re-ñeʼẽ}} | {{lang|gn|rei-puru}} | {{lang|gn|nde-tuicha}} |
{{lang|gn|peẽ}}
| {{lang|gn|pe-guata}} | {{lang|gn|pe-ñeʼẽ}} | {{lang|gn|pei-puru}} | {{lang|gn|pende-tuicha}} |
{{lang|gn|haʼe(kuéra)}}
| {{lang|gn|o-guata}} | {{lang|gn|o-ñeʼẽ}} | {{lang|gn|oi-puru}} | {{lang|gn|i-tuicha}} |
== Negation ==
Negation is indicated by a circumfix {{lang|gn|n(d)(V)-...-(r)i}} in Guarani. The preverbal portion of the circumfix is {{lang|gn|nd-}} for oral bases and {{lang|gn|n-}} for nasal bases. For 2nd person singular, an epenthetic {{lang|gn|-e-}} is inserted before the base, for 1st person plural inclusive, an epenthetic {{lang|gn|-a-}} is inserted.
The postverbal portion is {{lang|gn|-ri}} for bases ending in {{lang|gn|-i}}, and {{lang|gn|-i}} for all others. However, in spoken Guarani, the {{lang|gn|-ri}} portion of the circumfix is frequently omitted for bases ending in {{lang|gn|-i}}.
class="wikitable" |
Oral verb
! Nasal verb ! With ending in "i" |
---|
{{nobold|{{lang|gn|japo}} {{gloss|do, make}}}}
! {{nobold|{{lang|gn|kororõ}} {{gloss|roar, snore}}}} ! {{nobold|{{lang|gn|jupi}} {{gloss|go up, rise}}}} |
{{lang|gn|nd-ajapó-i}}
| {{lang|gn|n-akororõ-i}} | {{lang|gn|nd-ajupí-ri}} |
{{lang|gn|nde-rejapó-i}}
| {{lang|gn|ne-rekororõ-i}} | {{lang|gn|nde-rejupí-ri}} |
{{lang|gn|nd-ojapó-i}}
| {{lang|gn|n-okororõ-i}} | {{lang|gn|nd-ojupí-ri}} |
{{lang|gn|nda-jajapó-i}}
| {{lang|gn|na-ñakororõ-i}} | {{lang|gn|nda-jajupí-ri}} |
{{lang|gn|nd-orojapó-i}}
| {{lang|gn|n-orokororõ-i}} | {{lang|gn|nd-orojupí-ri}} |
{{lang|gn|nda-pejapó-i}}
| {{lang|gn|na-pekororõ-i}} | {{lang|gn|nda-pejupí-ri}} |
{{lang|gn|nd-ojapó-i}}
| {{lang|gn|n-okororõ-i}} | {{lang|gn|nd-ojupí-ri}} |
The negation can be used in all tenses, but for future or irrealis reference, the normal tense marking is replaced by {{lang|gn|moʼã}}, resulting in {{lang|gn|n(d)(V)}}-base-{{lang|gn|moʼã-i}} as in {{lang|gn|Ndajapomoʼãi}}, "I won't do it".
There are also other negatives, such as: {{lang|gn|ani}}, {{lang|gn|ỹhỹ}}, {{lang|gn|nahániri}}, {{lang|gn|naumbre}}, {{lang|gn|naʼanga}}.
= Tense and aspect morphemes =
- {{lang|gn|-ramo}}: marks extreme proximity of the action, often translating to "just barely": {{lang|gn|Oguahẽramo}}, "He just barely arrived".{{cite book |last=Graham |first=Charles R. |title=Guarani Intermediate Course |year=1969 |publisher=Brigham Young University |location=Provo}}{{rp|198}}
- {{lang|gn|-kuri}}: marks proximity of the action. {{lang|gn|Haʼukuri}}, "I just ate" ({{lang|gn|ha'u}} irregular first person singular form of {{lang|gn|u}}, "to eat"). It can also be used after a pronoun, as in {{lang|gn|ha che kuri, che poʼa}}, "and about what happened to me, I was lucky".
- {{lang|gn|-vaʼekue}}: indicates a fact that occurred long ago and asserts that it's really truth. {{lang|gn|Okañyvaʼekue}}, "he/she went missing a long time ago".
- {{lang|gn|-raʼe}}: tells that the speaker was doubtful before but he's sure at the moment he speaks. {{lang|gn|Nde rejoguaraʼe peteĩ taʼangambyry pyahu}}, "so then you bought a new television after all".
- {{lang|gn|-rakaʼe}}: expresses the uncertainty of a perfect-aspect fact. {{lang|gn|Peẽ peikorakaʼe Asunción-pe}}, "I think you lived in Asunción for a while". Nevertheless, nowadays this morpheme has lost some of its meaning, having a correspondence with {{lang|gn|raʼe}} and {{lang|gn|vaʼekue}}.
The verb form without suffixes at all is a present somewhat aorist: {{lang|gn|Upe ára resẽ reho mombyry}}, "that day you got out and you went far".
- {{lang|gn|-ta}}: is a future of immediate happening, it's also used as authoritarian imperative. {{lang|gn|Oujeýta ag̃aite}}, "he/she'll come back soon".
- {{lang|gn|-ma}}: has the meaning of "already". {{lang|gn|Ajapóma}}, "I already did it".
These two suffixes can be added together: {{lang|gn|ahátama}}, "I'm already going".
- {{lang|gn|-vaʼerã}}: indicates something not imminent or something that must be done for social or moral reasons, in this case corresponding to the German modal verb {{lang|de|sollen}}. {{lang|gn|Péa ojejapovaʼerã}}, "that must be done".
- {{lang|gn|-ne}}: indicates something that probably will happen or something the speaker imagines that is happening. It correlates in a certain way with the subjunctive of Spanish. {{lang|gn|Mitãnguéra ág̃a og̃uahéne hógape}}, "the children are probably coming home now".
- {{lang|gn|-hína}}, {{lang|gn|-ína}} after nasal words: continual action at the moment of speaking, present and pluperfect continuous or emphatic. {{lang|gn|Rojatapyhína}}, "we're making fire"; {{lang|gn|che haʼehína}}, "it's ME!".
- {{lang|gn|-vo}}: it has a subtle difference with {{lang|gn|-hína}} in which {{lang|gn|-vo}} indicates not necessarily what's being done at the moment of speaking. {{lang|gn|ambaʼapóvo}}, "I'm working (not necessarily now)".
- {{lang|gn|-pota}}: indicates proximity immediately before the start of the process. {{lang|gn|Ajukapota}}, "I'm near the point at which I will start to kill" or "I'm just about to kill". (A particular sandhi rule is applied here: if the verbs ends in {{lang|gn|-po}}, the suffix changes to {{lang|gn|-mbota}}; {{lang|gn|ajapombota}}, "I'll do it right now").
- {{lang|gn|-pa}}: indicates emphatically that a process has all finished. {{lang|gn|Amboparapa pe ogyke}}, "I painted the wall completely".
This suffix can be joined with {{lang|gn|-ma}}, making up {{lang|gn|-páma}}: {{lang|gn|ñande jaikuaapáma nde remimoʼã}}, "now we came to know all your thought".
- {{lang|gn|-mi}}: customary action in the past: {{lang|gn|Oumi}}, "He used to come a lot".
These are unstressed suffixes: {{lang|gn|-ta, -ma, -ne, -vo, -mi}}; so the stress goes upon the last syllable of the verb or the last stressed syllable.
= Other verbal morphemes =
- {{Lang|gn|-se}}: desiderative suffix: {{Lang|gn|(Che) añemoaranduse}}, "I want to study".{{cite book|last=Blair|first=Robert|title=Guarani Basic Course: Book 1|year=1968|page=50|display-authors=etal}}
- {{Lang|gn|te-}}: desiderative prefix: {{Lang|gn|Ahasa}}, "I pass", {{Lang|gn|Tahasa}}, "I would like to pass." {{Lang|gn|te-}} is the underlying form. It is similar to the negative in that it has the same vowel alternations and deletions, depending on the person marker on the verb.{{rp|108}}
Spanish loans in Guarani
The close and prolonged contact Spanish and Guarani have experienced has resulted in many Guarani words of Spanish origin. Many of these loans were for things or concepts unknown to the New World prior to Spanish colonization. Examples are seen below:Pinta, J. (2013). "Lexical strata in loanword phonology: Spanish loans in Guarani". Master's thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (See also Lexical stratum.)
class="wikitable" | |||||
rowspan="2" | Semantic category
! colspan="2" | Spanish ! colspan="2" | Guarani ! rowspan="2" | English | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orthography | IPA
! Orthography | IPA | |||
rowspan="3" | animals | {{lang|es|vaca}} | {{IPA|/baka/}} | {{lang|gn|vaka}} | {{IPA|/ʋaka/}} | cow |
| {{lang|es|caballo}} | {{IPA|/kabaʝo/}} | {{lang|gn|kavaju}} | {{IPA|/kaʋaᵈju/}} | horse | |
| {{lang|es|cabra}} | {{IPA|/kabɾa/}} | {{lang|gn|kavara}} | {{IPA|/kaʋaɾa/}} | goat | |
rowspan="3" | religion | {{lang|es|cruz}} | {{IPA|/kɾuθ/}} | {{lang|gn|kurusu}} | {{IPA|/kuɾusu/}} | cross |
| {{lang|es|Jesucristo}} | {{IPA|/xesukɾisto/}} | {{lang|gn|Hesukrísto}} | {{IPA|/xesuˈkɾisto/}} | Jesus Christ | |
| {{lang|es|Pablo}} | {{IPA|/pablo/}} | {{lang|gn|Pavlo}} | {{IPA|/paʋlo/}} | Paul (saint) | |
rowspan="3" | place names | {{lang|es|Australia}} | {{IPA|/austɾalia/}} | {{lang|gn|Autaralia}} | {{IPA|/autaɾalia/}} | Australia |
| {{lang|es|Islandia}} | {{IPA|/islandia/}} | {{lang|gn|Iylanda}} | {{IPA|/iɨlaⁿda/}} | Iceland | |
| {{lang|es|Portugal}} | {{IPA|/poɾtugal/}} | {{lang|gn|Poytuga}} | {{IPA|/poɨtuɰa/}} | Portugal | |
rowspan="3" | foods | {{lang|es|queso}} | {{IPA|/keso/}} | {{lang|gn|kesu}} | {{IPA|/kesu/}} | cheese |
| {{lang|es|azúcar}} | {{IPA|/aθukaɾ/}} | {{lang|gn|asuka}} | {{IPA|/asuka/}} | sugar | |
| {{lang|es|morcilla}} | {{IPA|/moɾθiʝa/}} | {{lang|gn|mbusia}} | {{IPA|/ᵐbusia/}} | blood sausage | |
rowspan="3" | herbs/spices | {{lang|es|canela}} | {{IPA|/kanela/}} | {{lang|gn|kanéla}} | {{IPA|/kaˈnela/}} | cinnamon |
| {{lang|es|culantro}} | {{IPA|/kulantɾo/}} | {{lang|gn|kuratũ}} | {{IPA|/kũɾ̃ãtũ/}} | cilantro (US), coriander (UK) | |
| {{lang|es|anís}} | {{IPA|/aˈnis/}} | {{lang|gn|ani}} | {{IPA|/ani/}} | anise |
Guarani loans in English
English has adopted a small number of words from Guarani (or perhaps the related Tupi) via Portuguese, mostly the names of animals or plants. "Jaguar" comes from {{lang|gn|jaguarete}} and "piraña" comes from {{lang|gn|pira aña}} ("tooth fish" Tupi: {{lang|tup|pirá}} 'fish', {{lang|tup|aña}} 'tooth'). Other words are: "agouti" from {{lang|gn|akuti}} (which means "individual that eats standing up"),Teodoro Sampaio, [https://bdor.sibi.ufrj.br/handle/doc/429 O tupi na geografia nacional], p. 228[https://www.infopedia.pt/dicionarios/lingua-portuguesa/cutia Infopédia] "tapir" from {{lang|gn|tapira}}, "coati" from kuatĩ (which means "what is scratched, or gashed; what has stripes across the body"),Teodoro Sampaio, [https://bdor.sibi.ufrj.br/handle/doc/429 O tupi na geografia nacional], p. 308 "açaí" from {{lang|gn|ĩwasaʼi}} ("[fruit that] cries or expels water"), "warrah" from {{lang|gn|aguará}} meaning "fox", and "margay" from {{lang|gn|mbarakaja'y}} meaning "small cat". Jacaranda
(y-acã-ratã, "that which has a firm core or heartwood"Teodoro Sampaio, [https://bdor.sibi.ufrj.br/handle/doc/429 O tupi na geografia nacional], p. 263 or "hard-headed"),[https://www.infopedia.pt/dicionarios/lingua-portuguesa/jacaranda Infopédia] guarana and manioc are words of Guarani or Tupi–Guarani origin.{{cite conference |first=Yliana |last=Rodríguez |title=Vestiges of an Amerindian-European language contact: Guarani loanwords in Uruguayan Spanish |conference=18e Rencontres Jeunes Chercheurs en Sciences du Langage |date= 11–12 June 2015 |location=Paris |id=hal-01495095 |page=13 |url=https://hal-univ-paris3.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01495095}} Ipecacuanha (the name of a medicinal drug) comes from a homonymous Tupi–Guarani name that can be rendered as {{lang|gn|ipe-kaa-guené}}, meaning a creeping plant that makes one vomit.{{cite OED |ipecacuanha}} "Cougar" is borrowed from Guarani guazu ara.Oxford English Dictionary, Cougar.
The name of Paraguay is itself a Guarani word, as is the name of Uruguay.{{cite journal|last=Simpson|first=George Gaylord|year=1941|title=Vernacular Names of South American Mammals|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=22|issue=1|pages=1–17|doi=10.2307/1374677 |jstor=1374677}}, p.2. However, the exact meaning of either placename is subject to varied interpretations.{{cite journal|last=Rona|first=José Pedro|year=1960|title=Uruguay (The Problem of Etymology of Place Names of Guarani Origin)|journal=Names|volume=8|issue=1|pages=1–5|doi=10.1179/nam.1960.8.1.1}}. pp=2-3.{{cite journal|last=Holmer|first=Nils M.|year=1960|title=Indian Place Names in South America and the Antilles. I|journal=Names|volume=8|issue=3|pages=133–149|doi=10.1179/nam.1960.8.3.133|url=https://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/download/308/307|access-date=2 September 2024|doi-access=free}}, p.147. (See: List of country-name etymologies.)
Example text
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Guarani:
:{{lang|gn|Mayma yvypóra ou ko yvy ári iñapytyʼyre ha eteĩcha tekoruvicharenda ha akatúape jeguerekópe; ha ikatu rupi oikuaa añetéva ha añeteʼyva, iporãva ha ivaíva, tekotevẽ pehenguéicha oiko oñondivekuéra.}}{{cite web|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/guarani.htm |title=Guarani language, alphabet and pronunciation |publisher=Omniglot.com |access-date=26 August 2013}}
:{{IPA|[maɨˈma ɨʋɨˈpoɾa oˈu ko ɨʋˈɨ ˈaɾi iɲapɨtɨʔɨˈɾe xa ẽtẽˈĩɕã tekoɾuʋiɕaɾeˈⁿda xa akaˈtuape ᵈjeweɾeˈkope; xa ikaˈtu ɾupi oikuaˈa aɲeˈteʋa xa aɲeteʔɨˈʋa, ĩpõɾ̃ˈãʋã xa iʋaˈiʋa tẽkõtẽˈʋẽ pexeˈᵑgʷeiɕa oiˈko oɲoⁿdiʋeˈkʷeɾa]|}}
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:
:All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |publisher=United Nations }}
Literature
A more modern translation of the whole Bible into Guarani is known as {{lang|gn|Ñandejara Ñeʼẽ}}.{{cite news |url=http://www.ultimahora.com/notas/571537-Biblia-en-guarani-es-incluida-oficialmente-en-el-Vaticano |title=Biblia en guaraní es incluida oficialmente en el Vaticano |trans-title=Guarani Bible officially included in the Vatican |date=23 October 2012 |website=Última Hora |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027025938/http://www.ultimahora.com/notas/571537-Biblia-en-guarani-es-incluida-oficialmente-en-el-Vaticano |archive-date=27 October 2012}}
In 2019, Jehovah's Witnesses released the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Guarani,{{Cite news |url=https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/paraguay/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Release-New-World-Translation-in-Guarani/ |title=Jehovah's Witnesses Release New World Translation in Guarani |date=20 August 2019 |website=jw.org |publisher=Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.jw.org/gug/testigos-de-jehov%C3%A1/o%C3%B1eporandu-mem%C3%A9va/jw-biblia-tnm/ |title=¿Orekópa umi testígo de Jehová ibíblia tee? |trans-title=Do Jehovah's Witnesses have their own Bible? |lang=gn |website=jw.org |publisher=Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania}} both in print and online.{{cite news |url=https://www.jw.org/gug/Vivliot%C3%A9ka/biblia/nwt/livroku%C3%A9ra/ |title=Ñandejára Ñeʼẽ La Biblia |website=jw.org |publisher=Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania}}
Recently a series of novels in Guarani have been published:
- {{lang|gn|Kalaito Pombero}} (Tadeo Zarratea, 1981)
- {{Lang|gn|Poreʼỹ rape}} (Hugo Centurión, 2016)
- {{lang|gn|Tatukua}} (Arnaldo Casco Villalba, 2017)
Institutions
See also
{{Portal|Paraguay|Languages}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite journal |last1=Verón |first1=Miguel Ángel |date=2020 |title=The Guaraní language in the Digital Era: Perspectives and Challenges |url=http://docplayer.es/195812327-Miguel-angel-veron-resumen-instituto-yvy-marae-y-universidad-nacional-de-asuncion.html |journal=Arandu UTIC |volume=VII |issue=1 |pages= |issn=2311-7559 |access-date=20 December 2021 |language=es }}
Sources
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite journal |last=de Carvalho |first=Fernando O. |title=A new sound change for Guarani(an): glottal prothesis, internal classification, and the explanation of synchronic irregularities |journal=Folia Linguistica |volume=56 |issue=43–s1 |date=2022 |pages=263–288 |doi=10.1515/flin-2022-2026|s2cid=249549872 }}
External links
{{InterWiki|code=gn}}
{{Commons category}}
- [http://es.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guaran%C3%AD Guarani] at Wikibooks {{in lang|es}}
- [http://www.staff.uni-mainz.de/lustig/guarani Guarani Portal from the University of Mainz]:
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20111018082243/http://www.guaranirenda.com/ www.guaranirenda.com] – Website about the Guarani language
- [http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/paraguay/guarani-and-the-importance-of-maintaining-indigenous-language/ Guarani and the Importance of Maintaining Indigenous Culture Through Language] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429003614/http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/paraguay/guarani-and-the-importance-of-maintaining-indigenous-language/ |date=29 April 2015 }}
- [http://www.ru.nl/lenguasdebolivia/ Lenguas de Bolivia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904080403/http://www.ru.nl/lenguasdebolivia/ |date=4 September 2019 }} (online edition)
- Duolingo [https://www.duolingo.com/course/gn/es course in Guarani]
= Resources =
- [https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10107709/1/A-Grammar-of-Paraguayan-Guarani.pdf A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani] – by Bruno Estigarribia, UCL Press (open access, Creative Commons license)
- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists_for_Tupi–Guarani_languages Guarani Swadesh vocabulary list] (from Wiktionary)
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20040410201836/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Guarani-english/ Guarani–English Dictionary]: from *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120223164907/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/ Webster's Online Dictionary] – The Rosetta Edition
- [http://www.guarani.de/ www.guarani.de] – Online dictionary in Spanish, German and Guarani
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060102212448/http://crl.ucsd.edu/newsletter/3-6/Article1.html Guarani Possessive Constructions]: – by Maura Velázquez
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110807061206/http://wwwstaff.eva.mpg.de/~cschmidt/SWL1/handouts/Nordhoff.pdf Stative Verbs and Possession in Guarani]: – University of Cologne – by Sebastian Nordhoff
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20171011132856/http://www.datamex.com.py/guarani/neenga/neejoapy_latineeme.html Frases celebres del Latin traducidas al guarani] {{in lang|es}}
- [http://albino-guaranikupyty.blogspot.com/ Spanish – Estructura Basica del Guarani and others]
- [http://www.illa-a.org/wp/diccionarios/guarani-elio-ortiz-y-elias-caurey/ Etymological and Ethnographic Dictionary for Bolivian Guarani]
- [https://ids.clld.org/contributions/290 Guaraní] (Intercontinental Dictionary Series)
{{Languages of Argentina}}
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{{Languages of Brazil}}
{{Languages of Paraguay}}
{{Tupian languages}}
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Category:Agglutinative languages
Category:Languages of Argentina