Associative and argumentative particles in Wari’ (Txapakura): the role of gender and number grammatical features

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the argument structure of verbal phrases in two varieties of Wari’ (Pakaa Nova/Txapakura), Oro Waram and Oro Waram Xiyein (Rondônia – Brazil). The data was collected from traditional narratives and from elicited sentences, in which syntactic and semantic tests were applied. As a result, two sets of particles were identified, one that behaves as associative particles, which coordinate nominal phrases, and argumentative particles that introduce non-core arguments in the structure. These two groups of particles present gender and number variation that denote an agreement system, which is sensible to these grammatical properties. Additionally, they are in an agreement relation with the nearest noun phrase. Therefore, the discussion presented in this paper aims to contribute to a broader knowledge of natural languages, as Wari’ is part of the group of languages that present grammatical gender and number features relevant to the behavior of these associative and argumentative particles.

Keywords

• línguas indígenas
• txapakura
• wari’
• gênero gramatical
• partículas argumentativas e associativas.