De l’ojibwa au dakota : pour une analyse transformationnelle des langues amérindiennes

Abstract

From Ojibwa to Dakota: the analysis of North American Indian languages according to concept of transformation. Since linguists tried to classify the languages of the New World they were using the same genetical model which lays at the base of the classification of Indo-European languages. Recent works have pointed out the limitations of this perspective by seriously challenging previous assumptions about the so-called « consensus » classification of North American languages. The aim of this paper is to propose a radical new typological approach to the diversity of Native languages, which is directly inspired by Lévi-Strauss’ Mythologiques and his concept of transformation. As with mythology, the semantical dimension of phenomena prevails. A comparison between the grammars of an Algonquian and a Siouan languages will serve as a first illustration of the logical transformations linking two language families which so far have been considered to be fundamentally distinct. A parallel appears between the results obtained and those stemming from a comparison between the main ritualistic manifestations of Sioux culture, on one hand, and Subarctic Algonquian culture, on the other one.

Keywords

• Lévi-Strauss (Claude)
• Sapir (Edward)
• grammars
• hierarchy of persons
• hyper-transitivity
• languages’ classification