Comparative studies on the Arawak lexicon of fauna and flora

Abstract

Apurinã, Piro and Iñapari, members of the Arawak linguistic family, are initially compared on the basis of the data used by Payne (1991) for the Arawak linguistic reconstruction, and of the phonological correspondences presented in Facundes (2000, 2002). Based on the evidence of subgrouping that emerges from this comparison, cognates pertinent to the semantic field of fauna and flora are established. The results are then used to examine three issues: what do lexical retentions say about the internal classification of these languages in the family? What cognates are likely to be reconstructable to an earlier stage in the evolution of these languages? And, finally, what inferences can be made about the past of these peoples on the basis of the reconstructable semantics of fauna and flora?

Keywords

• Arawak
• Apurinã
• Piro
• Iñapari
• Fauna
• Flora