Hodï language

{{Short description|Unclassified language spoken in Venezuela}}

{{distinguish|Hoti language}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Hodï

| nativename = {{lang|yau|Jojodö tjįwęnę}}

| region =

| speakers = 640

| date = 2007

| ref = e18

| familycolor = American

| fam1 = Duho ?

| iso3 = yau

| glotto = yuwa1244

| glottorefname = Hoti

| notice = IPA

| states = central Venezuela

| altname = Yuwana

| ethnicity = Hodï

| pronunciation = {{IPA|[hotɨ]}}

}}

The Hodï (Jodï, Jotí, Hoti) language, also known as Yuwana (Yoana), Waruwaru, or Chikano (Chicano), is a small unclassified language spoken by the Hodï people of Venezuela. Very little is known of it; its several hundred speakers are monolingual hunter-gatherers. The people call themselves Jojodö ('the people') or Wįlǫ̈, and their language Jojodö tjįwęnę.Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada (2013) Reciprocal constructions in Mako. 6th Oklahoma Workshop in Native American Languages. The two communities with the most speakers are San José de Kayamá and Caño Iguana, with several hundred speakers total.{{cite book |editor-last=Epps |editor-first=Patience |editor-last2=Michael |editor-first2=Lev |title=Amazonian Languages: Language Isolates. Volume I: Aikanã to Kandozi-Chapra |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |location=Berlin |date=2023 |isbn=978-3-11-041940-5}}{{rp|550}}

Sources are inconsistent with nasals, varying between e.g. nV and lṼ.Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada (2019) 'Jodï-Sáliban: A linguistic family of the northwest Amazon. IJAL 85.3.

Classification

No classification of Hodï has yet been established to the satisfaction of linguists.

Attempts have been made to link Hodï with the nearby Piaroa–Saliban languages. A recent proposal classifies Hodï and (Piaroa–)Saliban as the branches of a single Jodï–Saliban macrofamily.Labrada, Rosés; Emilio, Jorge (2015). [http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/jodi1234 "Jodi-Saliban"]. Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. However, similarities in vocabulary with the Piaroa–Saliban languages may in fact be due to sprachbunding: Henley, Mattéi-Müller and Reid (1996) argue that the apparent cognates between Hodï and Piaroa–Saliban are rather loanwords.

Henley et al., based on limited data, said that Hodï may be related to the Nadahup languages.Henley, Paul; Marie-Claude Mattéi-Müller y Howard Reid 1996. "Cultural and linguistic affinities of the foraging people of North Amazonia: a new perspective"; Antropológica 83: 3-37. Caracas. The only linguist to speak Hodï and Piaroa, Stanford Zent, has collected more reliable data and said that it is "probably" related to the Piaroa–Saliban languages.{{cite book|title=El estado de la salud indígena en Venezuela|editor-last1=Freire|editor-first1=Germán|editor-last2=Tillett|editor-first2=Aimé|last1=Zent|first1=Stanford|last2=Zent|first2=Egleé L.|location=Caracas|language=es|pages=77–130|publisher=Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Salud de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela|chapter=Los Jodï|date=2007|url=https://www.academia.edu/164960|access-date=12 July 2022}}

Since 1985 a relationship to the Yanomaman languages has also been suggested, in part on the grounds that Hodï shares 20% of its vocabulary with this family.Migliazzi, Ernesto C. 1985. "Languages of the Orinoco-Amazon region"; H.M.Klein & L. Stark (eds.): South American Indian Languages: 17-139. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Phonology

The first phonological analysis is Vilera Díaz (1985). She largely retains the vocalic description of earlier researchers, apart from finding vowel length is a product of emphasis, but does not state whether vowel nasalization is phonemic, and does not provide a minimal pair for /o/ vs /u/.Vilera Díaz, Diana C. 1985. "Introducción morfológica de la lengua Hoti". Thesis in Anthropology. Caracas: Universidad Central de Venezuela.

The mid central vowel is written {{angbr|ö}}.

= Vowels =

class="wikitable"

|+Vowels (Vilera Díaz 1985)

! rowspan="2" |

! colspan="3" | oral

! colspan="3" | nasal

front

!central

!back

!front

!central

!back

align=center

!close

| {{IPA|i [i]}}

| {{IPA|ɨ [ɨ]}}

| {{IPA|u [u]}}

| {{IPA|ĩ}}

| {{IPA|ɨ̃}}

| {{IPA|ũ}}

align=center

!mid

| {{IPA|e [e, ɛ]}}

| {{IPA|ɘ [ɘ, ʌ]}}

| {{IPA|o [o, ɔ]}}

| {{IPA|ẽ}}

| {{IPA|ɘ̃}}

| {{IPA|õ}}

align=center

!open

|

| {{IPA|a [æ, a, ɑ]}}

|

|

| {{IPA|ã}}

|

Quatra (2008) maintains that [ɛ] and [ɑ] are distinct phonemes, but does not provide any minimal pairs to demonstrate that. He also maintains that [ɘ] and [ɑ] are only nasalized following nasal consonants.

= Consonants =

class="wikitable IPA" style="text-align:center"

|+Consonants (Vilera Díaz 1985)

! colspan="2" |

! Bil.

! Dent.

! Alv.

! Alv-pal

! Pal.

! Post-pal.

! Vel.

! Lab-vel

! Glot.

align="center"

! rowspan="3" align="left" |Obstruent

!voiceless

| p

| t

|

| tʃ

| colspan=2| tʃʲ ~ kʲ

| k

| kʷ

|

align="center"

!voiced

| b (ɓ?)

| ɗ

|

|

| rowspan=2| dʒ ~ ɲ

|

|

|

|

align="center"

! fricative

| (β)

|

|

|

|

|

|

| h hʷ

align="center"

! colspan="2" align="left" |Nasal

| m

| n

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

align="center"

! colspan="2" align="left" |Continuant

| w

|

| l

|

| hʲ j

|

|

|

|

There is no minimal pair for {{IPA|/β/}}, so it is not clear that it is a separate phoneme.

/n/ is [ŋ] before a velar. /k/ and /kʲ/ are [ɡ, ɡʲ] after a nasal and occasionally intervocalicly. Intervocalic /l/ is [ɺ]. /b/ (perhaps ɓ) is [ɓʷ] before /i e o/. /ɗ/ was written 'd' due to lack of typewriter support.

[kʲ] varies as [tʃʲ], and [dʒ] varies as [ɲ] in all contexts, not just adjacent to nasal vowels.

Phonetic aspiration occurs at boundaries, often before voiceless consonants and always before /l/.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Consonants (Quatra 2008)

! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |

! colspan="2" |Bilabial

! colspan="2"|Alveolar

! colspan="2"|Alv-pal

! colspan="2"|Velar

! rowspan="2" |Glottal

plain

!preasp.

!plain

!preasp.

!plain

!preasp.

!plain

!preasp.

align="center"

! rowspan="2" align="left" |Obstruent

!voiceless

|

|

|

| jt {{IPA|[ʰt]}}

| ky {{IPA|[c]}}

| jky {{IPA|[ʰc]}}

| {{IPA|k}}

| jk {{IPA|[ʰk]}}

|

align="center"

!voiced

| {{IPA|b}}

|

| {{IPA|d}}

|

|

|

|

|

|

align="center"

! colspan="2" align="left" |Nasal

| {{IPA|m}}

|

| {{IPA|n}}

| jn {{IPA|[ʰn] }}

| ñ {{IPA|[ɲ] }}

| jñ {{IPA|[ʰɲ]}}

|

|

|

align="center"

! colspan="2" align="left" |Continuant

| {{IPA|w

| jw {{IPA|[ʰw]}}

| {{IPA|l}}

| jl {{IPA|[ʰl]}}

| y {{IPA|[j]}

| jy {{IPA|[ʰj]}}

|

|

| j {{IPA|[h]}}

The voiced stops are realized as nasals [m n] between nasal vowels. From the orthography, it is assumed that the 'aspirated' consonants are pre-aspirated, but there are no minimal pairs to establish them as phonemic.

Bibliography

  • Guarisma P., V.; Coppens, W. (1978). Vocabulario Hoti. Antropológica, 49:3-27. GUDSCHINSKY, S. C. (1974). Fragmentos de Ofaié: a descrição de uma língua extinta. Série Lingüística, 3:177-249. Brasília: SIL.
  • Krisólogo B., P. J. (1976). Manual glotológico del idioma wo'tiheh. (Lenguas indígenas de Venezuela, 16.) Caracas: Centro de lenguas Indigenas, Instituto de Investigaciones Historicas, Universidad Católica "Andrés Bello".
  • Mattei-Müller, M. (1981). Vocabulario Hodï (Hoti). (Manuscript).
  • {{Cite book |title=Bajkewa jkwïkïdëwa-jya: jodï i̱ne - dodo i̱ne: castellano - jodï = diccionario básico |date=2008 |publisher=Eds. IVIC, Inst. Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas |isbn=978-980-261-096-9 |editor-last=Quatra |editor-first=Miguel Marcelo |location=Caracas |editor-last2=Liye |editor-first2=Jhonny |editor-last3=Liye |editor-first3=Vilma María |editor-last4=Jono |editor-first4=Tito}}

References

{{Reflist}}