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Vol. 40, no. 3 (Fall 1998)

Contents

Abstracts

A Case of Taboo-Motivated Lexical Replacement in the Indigenous Languages of the Caucasus

Kevin Tuite
Universit� de Montr�al

Wolfgang Schulze
Universit�t M�nchen

Abstract. A large number of indigenous languages of the Caucasus employ a lexeme of Indo-European origin to designate the daughter-in-law. In this article, the authors examine the likely Indo-European sources of the word, its reflexes in the Caucasian languages, and the social factors that conditioned its borrowing and spread in the region. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the relevance of this case study for the analysis of the distribution of kin terms in other parts of the world.

The Barbacoan Languages of Colombia and Ecuador

Timothy Jowan Curnow and Anthony J. Liddicoat
Australian National University

Abstract. This article applies the comparative method to show that there is a genetic relationship between the Colombian and Ecuadorian indigenous languages Guambiano, Totor�, Awa Pit (Cuaiquer), Champalaachi (Cayapa), and Tsafiqui (Colorado). These five languages form the Barbacoan group. This family does not contain Paez, although that language is often grouped with (some of) the Barbacoan languages. In addition, Moore's (1962) analysis of the South Barbacoan languages (Champalaachi and Tsafiqui) is reexamined, and it is shown that by correcting his data, Proto-South Barbacoan can be reconstructed without a palatal series of consonants.

Language Maintenance on the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation

Helena Halmari
Sam Houston State University

Abstract. This article presents the results of a survey carried out on the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation in Polk County, Texas, in 1996. Approximately one hundred members of the Alabama and Coushatta tribes participated. While it is clear that the Alabama and Coushatta languages are acquired and maintained less and less by the younger members of the tribes, these languages are still widely spoken. The overall attitude towards maintaining competence in these languages is positive, and there is a considerable number of young people who are still fluent. This survey underlines the role of the home in the language maintenance process.

Palikur and the Typology of Classifiers

Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
Australian National University

Diana Green
Summer Institute of Linguistics, Brazil

Abstract. This article describes an unusual and complicated system of genders and classifiers in Palikur, a northern Arawak language spoken in Brazil and French Guiana. Palikur has three genders (masculine, neuter, and feminine); gender assignment is based on a combination of semantic features (humanness, animacy, size, and shape). There are two or three gender choices depending on construction type. There are also four distinct types of classifiers: numeral classifiers, verbal classifiers (with two subsets--those occurring on stative verbs, which are frequently used as modifiers in noun phrases, and those occurring on transitive verbs), locative classifiers (used as adpositions), and possessive classifiers (generic nouns used in possessive constructions with certain alienably possessed nouns). Different noun classification devices have different functions and scope; all, except possessive classifiers, overlap in their semantics. Classifiers provide cross-categorization of nouns and help the language to structure concepts. Throughout the article, Palikur gender and classifiers are placed in typological perspective.

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