Affiliation:
1. Universidad Nacional de Colombia
2. Université de Paris
3. University of Warsaw
Abstract
Abstract
This paper aims to describe the morphosyntax and semantics of postpositions in Karijona, a Cariban language from
Northwest Amazonia. The data, collected in the Karijona settlement of Puerto Nare (Colombia), were analyzed according to Basic
Linguistic Theory and Cognitive Semantics. Like other Cariban languages, Karijona has a typologically unusual system of
postpositions, which can cross-reference person and number, and form complex stems consisting of locative roots and locative
suffixes. In terms of their semantics, the system distinguishes among spatial, relational, and ‘mental state’ postpositions. The
first type encodes noun classification, orientation, and distance. While the second type has prototypical relational meanings, the
third refers to cognitive and emotional states. This paper presents the first systematic description of the Karijona
postpositions.
Publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Subject
Linguistics and Language,Communication,Language and Linguistics
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