{{Short description|Northern Je language spoken in Brazil}} {{Infobox language | name = Mẽbêngôkre | nativename = {{lang|txu|Mẽbêngôkre kabẽn}} | pronunciation = {{IPA|txu|mẽbeŋoˈkɾɛ kaˈbɛ̃n|}} | states = Brazil | region = Pará, Mato Grosso | ethnicity = Kayapó, Xikrin, formerly also Irã'ãmrãnhre | speakers = 8,638 | date = 2010 | ref = e18 | familycolor = macro-je | fontcolor = white | fam1 = Macro-Jê | fam2 = Jê | fam3 = Cerrado | fam4 = Jê of Goyaz | fam5 = Northern Jê | fam6 = Trans-Tocantins | fam7 = Trans-Araguaia | dia1 = Kayapó | dia2 = Xikrin | iso3 = txu | glotto = kaya1330 | glottorefname = Kayapo | altname = Kayapó }}
'''Mẽbêngôkre''' ({{langx|txu|label=endonym|Mẽbêngôkre kabẽn}} {{IPA|txu|mẽbeŋoˈkɾɛ kaˈbɛ̃n|}}), sometimes referred to as '''Kayapó''', is a Northern Jê language (Jê, Macro-Jê) spoken by the Kayapó and the Xikrin people in the north of Mato Grosso and Pará in Brazil.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~asalanov/mebengokre.html|title=Mebengokre|last=Salanova|first=Andres|access-date=30 September 2016|archive-date=26 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026202430/http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~asalanov/mebengokre.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are around 8,600 native speakers since 2010 based on the 2015 Ethnologue 18th edition. Due to the number of speakers and the influence of Portuguese speakers, the language stands at a sixth level of endangerment; in which the materials for literacy and education in Mẽbêngôkre are very limited.
== Ethnography == The Mẽbêngôkre language is currently spoken by two ethnic groups, the Kayapó and the Xikrin, which, besides sharing a language in common, both use the endonym ''Mẽbêngôkre'' (literally “those from the hole of the water”<ref name=":1">Verswijver, Gustaff. "Kayapó." ''Enciclopédia dos Povos Indígenas no Brasil''. 2002. https://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/Kayapô/print{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} Accessed 30 September 2016.</ref> "Although there are differences between the dialects spoken among the various ethnic groups, all recognize themselves as participants in a common culture."<ref>“Kayapô/Mebengokre” Encontro Do Culturas. 2012.
http://www.encontrodeculturas.com.br/2012/artista/Kayapô-mebengokre{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} Accessed 30 September 2016.</ref>) to refer to themselves and to their language.<ref name="MbgHist">{{cite journal |last1=Salanova |first1=Andrés Pablo |last2=Nikulin |first2=Andrey |title=A história que conta o léxico Mẽbêngôkre |journal=Revista de Letras Norte@mentos |date=2020 |volume=13 |issue=33 |pages=52–106 |url=http://sinop.unemat.br/projetos/revista/index.php/norteamentos/article/view/4228/2859 |archive-date=2022-02-05 |access-date=2020-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205012131/http://sinop.unemat.br/projetos/revista/index.php/norteamentos/article/view/4228/2859 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{rp|53}} They are also sometimes regarded as major subdivisions of a single ethnic group, the Mẽbêngôkre.
The label ''Kayapó'' (also spelled ''Caiapó'' or ''Kayapô'') has at times been used synonymously with ''Mẽbêngôkre'' in the literature — that is, it has been taken to refer both to the Kayapó (stricto sensu) and to the Xikrin, as well as to the linguistic varieties spoken by these groups. In order to avoid ambiguity (and further confusion with the Southern Kayapó, yet another ethnic group which spoke a not very closely related language of the Jê family), the term ''Mẽbêngôkre'' is preferred in this article (unless a reference is made to the Kayapó as opposed to the Xikrin). The term ''Kayapó'', whose original reference was restricted to the aforementioned Southern Kayapó, is an exonym of unknown origin. It has been sometimes etymologized as a Tupi-Guarani word meaning “those who look like monkeys”,<ref>Turner, Terence. “Os Mebengokre Kayapô: Historia E Mudança Social, De comunidades autónomas para a coexistência interétnica.” 1992. Translated by Beatriz Moises. http://etnolinguistica.wdfiles.com/local--files/hist%3Ap311-338/p311-338_Turner_Os_Mebengokre_Kayapô.pdf Accessed 30 September 2016.</ref> but this has been disputed.<ref name="MbgHist"></ref>{{rp|91, fn. 41}}
The first historical records of the Mẽbêngôkre language and culture made by Westerners date back to the end of the 19th century, when the French explorer Henri Coudreau came in contact with the Mẽbêngôkre-speaking Irã'ãmrãnhre group. Some records were made by the missionaries who arrived to Brazil later in the century to Christianize the indigenous people. Known authors of that period include Father Sebastião and Reverend Horace Banner, who lived among another Mẽbêngôkre (Kayapó) group known as Gorotire between 1937 and 1951.<ref name=":1" /> Although, “the Mebengokre [have been in] permanent contact with the surrounding non-indigenous population at various times, in most cases [there have been] catastrophic consequences.<ref name=":0" /> The Irã'ãmrãnhre are now extinct, and the population of the Gorotire group decreased by 80% during the first years of contact. Following such brutal experiences, some small groups refused to be approached by investigators and remain uncontacted around the Xingu and Curuá rivers.
Since the exploration period, academic linguists and anthropologists have investigated the Mẽbêngôkre and have successfully acquired a body of knowledge about this indigenous group. Since the early writings on the grammar of Mẽbêngôkre by the Summer Institute of Linguistics missionaries Stout and Thomson (1974), multiple academic researchers have worked on the language, including Marília Ferreira,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ferreira Borges |first1=Marília |title=Aspectos morfossintáticos das relações genitivas na língua Kayapó |journal=Moara |date=1995 |volume=4 |pages=77–82 |url=https://periodicos.ufpa.br/index.php/moara/article/view/3538/3528}}</ref> Maria Amélia Reis Silva, Andrés Pablo Salanova, Lucivaldo Silva da Costa, and Edson de Freitas Gomes. A translation of the New Testament into Mẽbêngôkre was published in 1996, and there are literary works including myth and ritual stories and descriptions of the Mẽbêngôkre speaking communities.
Furthermore, the Brazilian organization ProDocult began a documentation project of the Kayapó language and culture in April 2009 and thus far have produced "150 hours of video recording, 15 hours of audio recording and more than 6,000 digital photos, in addition to ... films [containing] records of "culture" Mebengokre, and how could it be ... highly dynamic [in its] creative aspect."<ref>Kayapó." ProDocult. 2015.http://prodocult.museudoindio.gov.br/etnias/Kayapô/projeto Accessed 30 September 2016.</ref>
==Phonology== The phonological inventory of Mẽbêngôkre is composed of 16 consonants and 17 vowels,<ref name="Salanova-2001"/> including oral and nasal vowels. Mẽbêngokre has a series of voiced oral stops, which makes it unique among the Northern Jê languages in employing the feature [voice] for establishing phonological oppositions. All other Northern Jê languages lost Proto-Northern Jê voiced obstruents through devoicing.<ref name="Nikulin-2020">{{cite thesis|last=Nikulin |first=Andrey |date=2020 |url=http://etnolinguistica.wdfiles.com/local--files/tese%3Anikulin-2020/Nikulin_2020_Proto-Macro-Je.pdf |title=Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo |type=Ph.D. dissertation |location=Brasília |publisher=Universidade de Brasília}}</ref>{{rp|85}}
=== Consonants === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan=2| !Labial !Alveolar !Palatal !Velar !Glottal |- !rowspan=2|Stop !{{small|voiceless}} |{{IPAlink|p}} {{grapheme|p}} |{{IPAlink|t}} {{grapheme|t}} |{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}} {{grapheme|x}} |{{IPAlink|k}} {{grapheme|k}} |rowspan=2|{{IPAlink|ʔ}} {{grapheme|’}} |- !{{small|voiced}} |{{IPAlink|b}} {{grapheme|b}} |{{IPAlink|d}} {{grapheme|d}} |{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}} {{grapheme|dj}} |{{IPAlink|g}} {{grapheme|g}} |- !colspan=2|Nasal |{{IPAlink|m}} {{grapheme|m}} |{{IPAlink|n}} {{grapheme|n}} |{{IPAlink|ɲ}} {{grapheme|nh}} |{{IPAlink|ŋ}} {{grapheme|ng}} | |- !colspan=2|Liquid |{{IPAlink|w}} {{grapheme|w}} |{{IPAlink|ɾ}} {{grapheme|r}} |{{IPAlink|j}} {{grapheme|j}} | | |}
The consonant /d/ (as in {{lang|txu|jaduj}} 'short', {{lang|txu|krwỳdy}} 'beak') is exceedingly rare; /t͡ʃ/ (as in {{lang|txu|xãn}} 'cat', {{lang|txu|jaxwe}} 'naughtly') is rare in the onset position. The consonant /ɾ/ in the coda position is always followed by an epenthetic echo vowel, which may be an exact copy of the preceding vowel or [i] (if the preceding vowel is /a/ or sometimes /ɔ ʌ/). That way, the words /paɾ/ 'his/her foot' and /puɾ/ 'garden' are pronounced [ˈpaɾi], [ˈpuɾu] (and written {{lang|txu|pari, puru}}).
=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" ! colspan="3" |Oral ! colspan="3" |Nasal |- |{{IPAlink|i}} {{grapheme|i}} |{{IPAlink|ɯ}} {{grapheme|y}} |{{IPAlink|u}} {{grapheme|u}} |{{IPAlink|ĩ}} {{grapheme|ĩ}} |{{IPAlink|ɯ̃}} {{grapheme|ỹ}} |{{IPAlink|ũ}} {{grapheme|ũ}} |- |{{IPAlink|e}} {{grapheme|ê}} |{{IPAlink|ɤ}} {{grapheme|ỳ}} |{{IPAlink|o}} {{grapheme|ô}} |{{IPAlink|ẽ}} {{grapheme|ẽ}} | |{{IPAlink|õ}} {{grapheme|õ}} |- |{{IPAlink|ɛ}} {{grapheme|e}} |{{IPAlink|ʌ}} {{grapheme|à}} |{{IPAlink|ɔ}} {{grapheme|o}} | |{{IPAlink|ʌ̃}} {{grapheme|ã}} | |- | |{{IPAlink|a}} {{grapheme|a}} | | |{{IPAlink|ã}} {{grapheme|ã}} | |}
The vowels /ã/ (as in {{lang|txu|mrã}} 'to walk', {{lang|txu|xãn}} 'cat') and /ũ/ (as in {{lang|txu|tũm}} 'old') are rare and mostly go back to earlier oral vowels /a/ and /u/ in certain environments. The vowel /ɯ̃/ (as in {{lang|txu|nhỹ}} 'to sit') is also somewhat rare.
In some analyses, Mẽbêngôkre has five diphthongs which occur word-finally only: {{lang|txu|uwa}} /uᵊ/, {{lang|txu|ija}} /iᵊ/, {{lang|txu|eje}} /ɛᵊ/, {{lang|txu|ôwa}} /oᵊ/, {{lang|txu|ĩja}} /ĩᵊ/. These are realized phonetically as [ˈuwa], [ˈija], [ˈɛjɛ], [ˈowa], [ˈĩj̃ã].<ref name="MbgHist"></ref>{{rp|69}} Other authors analyze them as monophthongs followed by a glide (/w/ or /j/) in the coda position, which is followed by an epenthetic echo vowel. Some examples follow.
{| class="wikitable" |+ Diphthongs alternatively analyzed as sequences of vowels and glides |- ! spelling !! pronunciation !! diphthong analysis !! vowel + glide analysis !! translation |- | {{lang|txu|muwa}} || {{IPA|[ˈmuwa]}} || /muᵊ/ || /muw/ || to cry |- | {{lang|txu|kruwa}} || {{IPA|[ˈkɾuwa]}} || /kɾuᵊ/ || /kɾuw/ || arrow |- | {{lang|txu|krija}} || {{IPA|[ˈkɾija]}} || /kɾiᵊ/ || /kɾij/ || to raise (pets) |- | {{lang|txu|ngija}} || {{IPA|[ˈŋija]}} || /ŋiᵊ/ || /ŋij/ || large American opossum |- | {{lang|txu|jabeje}} || {{IPA|[jaˈbɛjɛ]}} || /jabɛᵊ/ || /jabɛj/ || to look for |- | {{lang|txu|ngrôwa}} || {{IPA|[ˈŋɾowa]}} || /ŋɾoᵊ/ || /ŋɾow/ || moriche palm |- | {{lang|txu|wapĩja}} || {{IPA|[waˈpĩj̃ã]}} || /wapĩᵊ/ || /wapĩj/ || black caracara |- | {{lang|txu|onĩja}} or {{lang|txu|nĩjari}} || {{IPA|[ɔˈnĩj̃ã]}}, {{IPA|[ˈnĩj̃ãɾi]}} || /ɔ=nĩᵊ/, /nĩᵊ-ɾi/ || /ɔ=nĩj/, /nĩj-ɾi/ || far (Kayapó dialect) |}
=== Syllable structure === The maximal syllable structure of Mẽbêngôkre is /CCCVC/. Any consonant may occur as a simple onset. Complex onsets may by formed by a combination of one of /p b m k ŋ/ and one of /ɾ j/ (''pr-, br-, mr-, kr-, ngr-, pj-, mj-, bj-, kj-, ngj-''); /t n ɾ t͡ʃ d͡ʒ ɲ k ŋ kɾ ŋɾ/ can also combine with /w/ (''tw-, nw-, rw-, xw-, djw-, nhw-, kw-, ngw-, krw-, ngrw-''). The coda may be any of /p t t͡ʃ k m n ɲ ɾ j/ (in analyses which do not recognize the existence of diphthongs, also /w/).
== Stress == In Mẽbêngôkre, the stress is fixed on the final underlying syllable. Epenthetic vowels (echo vowels) are absent from the phonological representation and are thus unstressed (as in {{lang|txu|pari}} /paɾ/ [ˈpaɾi] 'his/her foot'). In diphthongs, the leftmost element is stressed (as in {{lang|txu|ngija}} /ŋiᵊ/ [ˈŋija] 'skunk'). The diminutive clitic {{lang|txu|-re}} is unstressed, as in {{lang|txu|ngôre}} [ˈŋoɾɛ] 'his/her louse'.
==Morphology== ===Finiteness morphology=== As in all other Northern Jê languages, Mẽbêngôkre verbs inflect for finiteness and thus have a basic opposition between a ''finite'' form and a ''nonfinite form''. Finite forms are used in matrix clauses only, whereas nonfinite forms are used in all types of subordinate clauses as well as in some matrix clauses (with a particular aspectual interpretation). The morphology associated with the finite/nonfinite distinction includes suffixation and/or prefix substitution.<ref name="Salanova-2001">{{cite thesis |last=Salanova |first=Andrés Pablo |date=May 2001 |url=http://repositorio.unicamp.br/jspui/bitstream/REPOSIP/270926/1/Salanova_AndresPablo_M.pdf |title=A nasalidade em Mebengokre e Apinayé: O limite do vozeamento soante |type=MA thesis |location=Campinas |publisher=Universidade Estadual de Campinas |archive-date=2021-08-15 |access-date=2020-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815022740/http://repositorio.unicamp.br/jspui/bitstream/REPOSIP/270926/1/Salanova_AndresPablo_M.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some verbs lack an overt finiteness distinction.
The following nonfinite suffixes occur in the language: ''-rV'' (the most common option, found in many transitive and intransitive verbs) and its allomorph ''-n'' (following front nasal vowels), ''-nh'' (found chiefly in transitive verbs), as well as ''-k'', ''-m'', and ''-x'' (found in a handful of intransitive verbs).
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Nonfinite suffixes in Mẽbêngôkre |- ! finite !! nonfinite !! gloss |- | colspan="3" | suffix ''-rV'' |- | {{lang|txu|mõ}} || {{lang|txu|mõ'''rõ'''}} || to go ({{gcl|PL}}) |- | {{lang|txu|karê}} || {{lang|txu|karê'''rê'''}} || to weed |- | {{lang|txu|kuno}} || {{lang|txu|kuno'''ro'''}} || to chase |- | {{lang|txu|kato}} || {{lang|txu|kato'''ro'''}} || to exit |- | {{lang|txu|muwa}} || {{lang|txu|mỳ'''rỳ'''}} || to cry |- | colspan="3" | suffix {{lang|txu|-n}} |- | {{lang|txu|krẽ}} || {{lang|txu|krẽ'''n'''}} || to eat ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | {{lang|txu|bĩ}} || {{lang|txu|bĩ'''n'''}} || to kill ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | colspan="3" | suffix {{lang|txu|-nh}} |- | {{lang|txu|mrã}} || {{lang|txu|mrã'''nh'''}} || to walk |- | {{lang|txu|djumjã}} || {{lang|txu|djumjã'''nh'''}} || to chew |- | {{lang|txu|kwỹrỹ}} || {{lang|txu|kwỹ'''nh'''}} || to break |- | {{lang|txu|nhu}} || {{lang|txu|nhu'''nh'''}} || to dry in the sun |- | {{lang|txu|kadjô}} || {{lang|txu|kadjô'''nh'''}} || to tear |- | colspan="3" | suffix {{lang|txu|-k}} |- | {{lang|txu|ty}} || {{lang|txu|ty'''k'''}} || to die |- | {{lang|txu|ruwa ~ rwỳ}} || {{lang|txu|rwỳ'''k'''}} || to descend |- | colspan="3" | suffix {{lang|txu|-m}} |- | {{lang|txu|tẽ}} || {{lang|txu|tẽ'''m'''}} || to go ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | {{lang|txu|ikõ}} || {{lang|txu|kõ'''m'''}} || to drink |- | {{lang|txu|dja}} || {{lang|txu|djã'''m'''}} || to stand ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | colspan="3" | suffix {{lang|txu|-x}} |- | {{lang|txu|wangija}} || {{lang|txu|ŋgjê'''x'''}} || to enter ({{gcl|PL}}) |}
In a handful of verbs, all of which end in an underlying stop, the nonfinite form does not receive any overt suffixes, but it is nevertheless distinct from the finite form because the latter lenites the stem-final consonant (''-t'', ''-k'' → ''-rV'', ''-rV'').<ref name="Nikulin-Salanova-2019">{{cite journal |last1=Nikulin |first1=Andrey |last2=Salanova |first2=Andrés Pablo |title=Northern Jê Verb Morphology and the Reconstruction of Finiteness Alternations |journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |date=October 2019 |volume=85 |issue=4 |pages=533–567 |doi=10.1086/704565|s2cid=204369114 }}</ref>{{rp|544}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Nonfinite suffixes in Mẽbêngôkre |- ! finite !! nonfinite !! gloss |- | {{lang|txu|xê'''rê'''}} || {{lang|txu|xêt}} || to burn |- | {{lang|txu|ngõ'''rõ'''}} || {{lang|txu|nhõt}} || to sleep |- | {{lang|txu|ka'''ri'''}} || {{lang|txu|kak}} || to cough |- | {{lang|txu|djukra'''ri'''}} || {{lang|txu|djukrak}} || to belch |- | {{lang|txu|pô'''rô'''}} || {{lang|txu|pôk}} || to burn, to ignite |- | {{lang|txu|ajkjê'''rê'''}} || {{lang|txu|jajkjêk}} || to yawn |}
====Erstwhile palatalizing prefix==== A small set of verbs form their nonfinite forms by employing one of the aforementioned processes '''and''' a morphophonological process whereby the onset of the stressed syllable changes to {{lang|txu|dj, ’}}, or is deleted, whereas the nucleus of the stressed syllable is raised (if possible). This has been attributed to the influence of an underlying palatalizing nonfinite prefix in Proto-Northern Jê.<ref name="Nikulin-Salanova-2019"/>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Erstwhile palatalizing prefix in Mẽbêngôkre |- ! finite !! nonfinite !! gloss |- | {{lang|txu|kaba}} || {{lang|txu|ka'''djà'''rà}} || to extract ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | {{lang|txu|ga}} || {{lang|txu|'''djà'''rà}} || to roast ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | {{lang|txu|kuto}} ({{gcl|PL}} {{lang|txu|jato}}) || {{lang|txu|ku'''ô'''nh}} ({{gcl|PL}} {{lang|txu|ja'''ô'''nh}}) || to ignite |- | {{lang|txu|katwỳ}} || {{lang|txu|ka'''’u'''k}} || to grind, to pound |- | {{lang|txu|kate}} || {{lang|txu|ka'''’ê'''k}} || to break into pieces |- | {{lang|txu|kujate}} || {{lang|txu|kuja'''ê'''k}} || to push, to move away |- | {{lang|txu|ngõrõ}} || {{lang|txu|'''nhõ'''t}} || to sleep |- | {{lang|txu|ngã}} || {{lang|txu|'''nhõ'''rõ}} (Kayapó), {{lang|txu|'''nhã'''rã}} (Xikrin) || to give |- | {{lang|txu|(krã)ta}} || {{lang|txu|(krã)'''y'''ry}} || to cut off ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | {{lang|txu|anẽ}} || {{lang|txu|a'''nhỹ'''rỹ}} || to do so, to say so |}
====Prefix substitution or loss==== In addition to the aforementioned processes, the finiteness inflection may involve prefix substitution or loss. For example, the valency-reducing prefixes are {{lang|txu|a(j)-}} (anticausative) and {{lang|txu|a-}} (antipassive) in finite verb forms, but {{lang|txu|bi-}} and {{lang|txu|djà-/dju-}}, respectively, in the nonfinite forms.<ref name="Salanova-2001"/>{{rp|54–5}} In addition, some verbs which denote physiological activities or movement have a prefix ({{lang|txu|i-}} and {{lang|txu|wa-}}, respectively) in their finite forms but not in the nonfinite form.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Finiteness and prefix alternations<br>in Mẽbêngôkre |- ! finite !! nonfinite !! gloss |- | colspan="3" | anticausatives |- | {{lang|txu|'''aj'''kadjô}} || {{lang|txu|'''bi'''kadjônh}} || to tear ({{gcl|ANTIC}}) |- | {{lang|txu|'''a'''bdju}} || {{lang|txu|'''bi'''bdjuru}} || to hide ({{gcl|ANTIC}}) |- | {{lang|txu|'''a'''kuno}} || {{lang|txu|'''bi'''knoro}} || to get lost |- | colspan="3" | antipassives |- | {{lang|txu|'''a'''ptà}} || {{lang|txu|'''djà'''ptàrà}} || to block |- | {{lang|txu|'''a'''bô}} || {{lang|txu|'''djà'''bôrô}} || to whistle |- | {{lang|txu|'''a'''jarẽ}} || {{lang|txu|'''dju'''jarẽnh}} || to tell, to narrate |- | colspan="3" | physiological verbs |- | {{lang|txu|'''i'''kõ}} || {{lang|txu|kõm}} || to drink |- | {{lang|txu|'''i'''tu}} || {{lang|txu|turu}} || to urinate |- | {{lang|txu|'''i'''kuwa}} || {{lang|txu|kwỳrỳ}} || to defecate |- | {{lang|txu|'''i'''pê}} || {{lang|txu|pêk}} || to fart |- | colspan="3" | movement verbs |- | {{lang|txu|'''wa'''jêt}} || {{lang|txu|jêt}} || to hang ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | {{lang|txu|'''wa'''djà}} || {{lang|txu|djàrà}} || to enter ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | {{lang|txu|'''wa'''ngija}} || {{lang|txu|ngjêx}} || to enter ({{gcl|PL}}) |}
===Person inflection and case=== In Mẽbêngôkre, postpositions, and relational nouns inflect for person of their internal argument by taking absolutive or accusative person prefixes. The accusative series is required by a subclass of transitive verbs (in finite clauses only) as well as by some postpositions; the absolutive series is the default one and is found with most transitive and all intransitive verbs in finite clauses, with all verbs in nonfinite clauses, with all relational nouns, and with some postpositions. External arguments of verbs are not indexed by person prefixes but are rather encoded by nominative (unmarked) noun phrases (including personal pronouns) in finite clauses, or by ergative phrases in nonfinite clauses. In nouns, nominative, absolutive and accusative are unmarked, whereas the ergative case is marked by the ergative postposition {{lang|txu|te}}.
The person prefixes which index the internal argument of verbs, postpositions, and nouns are as follows.<ref name="Reis Silva-2001">{{cite thesis|last=Reis Silva |first=Maria Amélia |date=August 2001 |url=http://etnolinguistica.wdfiles.com/local--files/tese%3Asilva-2001/Silva_MariaAmeliaReis_M.pdf |title=Pronomes, ordem e ergatividade em Mebengokre (Kayapó) |type=MA thesis |location=Campinas |publisher=Universidade Estadual de Campinas}}</ref>{{rp|41}}
{| class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ! colspan="3" | Absolutive ! colspan="3" | Accusative |- ! singular || paucal || plural ! singular || paucal || plural |- ! rowspan="2" | 1st person ! exclusive |{{lang|txu|i-}} |{{lang|txu|ari i-}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ i-}} |{{lang|txu|i-}} |{{lang|txu|ari i-}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ i-}} |- ! inclusive |{{lang|txu|ɡu ba-}} |{{lang|txu|ɡuaj ba-}} |{{lang|txu|(gu) mẽ ba-}} |{{lang|txu|ɡu ba-}} |{{lang|txu|ɡuaj ba-}} |{{lang|txu|(gu) mẽ ba-}} |- ! colspan="2" | 2nd person |{{lang|txu|a-}} |{{lang|txu|ari a-}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ a-}} |{{lang|txu|a-}} |{{lang|txu|ari a-}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ a-}} |- ! colspan="2" | 3rd person |{{lang|txu|Ø-}} (+ elision of a stem-initial {{lang|txu|dj-/j-/nh-}}) |{{lang|txu|ari Ø-}} (+ elision of a stem-initial {{lang|txu|dj-/j-/nh-}}) |{{lang|txu|mẽ Ø-}} (+ elision of a stem-initial {{lang|txu|dj-/j-/nh-}}) |{{lang|txu|ku-}} |{{lang|txu|ari ku-}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ ku-}} |}
The nominative and ergative forms of the pronouns are as follows.<ref name="Reis Silva-2001" />{{rp|40–1}}
{| class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ! colspan="3"| Nominative ! colspan="3"| Ergative |- ! singular || paucal || plural ! singular || paucal || plural |- ! rowspan="2" | 1st person ! exclusive |{{lang|txu|ba}} |{{lang|txu|ba ari}} |{{lang|txu|ba mẽ}} |{{lang|txu|ije}} |{{lang|txu|ari ije}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ ije}} |- ! inclusive |{{lang|txu|ɡu}} |{{lang|txu|ɡuaj}} |{{lang|txu|ɡu mẽ}} |{{lang|txu|ɡu baje}} |{{lang|txu|ɡuaj baje}} |{{lang|txu|(gu) mẽ baje}} |- ! colspan="2" | 2nd person |{{lang|txu|ɡa}} |{{lang|txu|ɡa ari}} |{{lang|txu|ɡa mẽ}} |{{lang|txu|aje}} |{{lang|txu|ari aje}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ aje}} |- ! colspan="2" | 3rd person |{{lang|txu|Ø}} |{{lang|txu|ari}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ}} |{{lang|txu|kute}} |{{lang|txu|ari kute}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ kute}} |}
The pronouns have also an emphatic form, which is used when a pronoun is focalized and can also be considered a grammatical case on its own.
{| class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ! colspan="3" | Emphatic |- ! singular || paucal || plural |- ! rowspan="2" | 1st person ! exclusive |{{lang|txu|ba}} |{{lang|txu|ari ba}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ ba}} |- ! inclusive |{{lang|txu|ɡu ba}} |{{lang|txu|ɡuaj ba}} |{{lang|txu|ɡu mẽ ba}} |- ! colspan="2" | 2nd person |{{lang|txu|ɡa}} |{{lang|txu|ari ɡa}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ ɡa}} |- ! colspan="2" | 3rd person |{{lang|txu|Ø}} |{{lang|txu|ari}} |{{lang|txu|mẽ}} |}
====Nominative case==== The nominative case expresses the subject of a transitive or intransitive verb.
{{interlinear|indent=2|glossing=link |Arỳm nẽ '''ba''' ari i-tẽ-m mã. |Already NFUT 1.NOM PAUC 1.ABS-go.SG-NF DAT |‘We are leaving.’}}
====Ergative case====
The ergative case marks the agent of a transitive verb in a nonfinite form and may cooccur with a nominative pronoun expressing the same participant.
{{interlinear|indent=2|glossing=link |Djàm nẽ ga '''aje''' ∅-omũ-nh kêt? |INT NFUT 2.NOM 2.ERG 3.ABS-see-NF NEG |‘Don’t you see it?’}}
==== Absolutive case ==== In nonfinite clauses, the absolutive case encodes the sole participant (subject) in intransitive verbs and the patient in transitive verbs.
{{interlinear|indent=2|glossing=link |∅-Wỳ-rỳ mã nẽ tẽ. |3.ABS-bathe-NF DAT NFUT go.SG.F |‘She/he is bathing / going to bathe.’}}
It is also used to encode the patient of some transitive verbs in their finite form (except for monosyllabic verbs compatible with overt nonfiniteness morphology, which take accusative objects), as well as the possessors of nouns and the complements of some postpositions.
==== Accusative case ==== The accusative case encodes the patient of monosyllabic transitive verbs compatible with overt nonfiniteness morphology in finite clauses.
{{interlinear|indent=2|glossing=link |Arỳm nẽ ba ku-ma. |already NFUT 1.NOM 3.ACC-listen/hear.F |‘I heard it already.’}}
===Voice=== In Mẽbêngôkre, transitive verbs may be detransitivized by means of an anticausative or an antipassive derivation. The anticausative marker is the prefix {{lang|txu|a(j)-}} in the finite form and the prefix {{lang|txu|bi-}} in the nonfinite form of the verb. The antipassive derivation is achieved by means of the prefix {{lang|txu|a-}} in the finite form and the prefix {{lang|txu|djà-}} or {{lang|txu|dju-}} in the nonfinite form of the verb.<ref name="redup"/>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Voice alternations in Mẽbêngôkre |- ! transitive !! intransitivized !! gloss |- | colspan="3" | anticausatives |- | {{lang|txu|pudju}} || {{lang|txu|'''a'''bdju / '''bi'''bdjuru}} || to hide ({{gcl|TR}}) → to hide ({{gcl|ANTIC}}) |- | {{lang|txu|kamẽ}} || {{lang|txu|'''aj'''kamẽ / '''bi'''kamẽnh}} || to push → to move away |- | {{lang|txu|kuno}} || {{lang|txu|'''a'''kuno / '''bi'''knoro}} || to chase → to get lost |- | colspan="3" | antipassives |- | {{lang|txu|jarẽ}} || {{lang|txu|'''a'''jarẽ / '''dju'''jarẽnh}} || to say → to narrate |- | {{lang|txu|ku}} || {{lang|txu|'''a'''ku / '''djà'''kuru}} || to eat.{{gcl|PL}} → to eat.{{gcl|ANTIP}} |- | {{lang|txu|ma}} || {{lang|txu|— / '''dju'''mari}} || to hear (something) → to listen |}
===Derivational morphology=== ====Diminutive and augmentative==== Mẽbêngôkre makes use of a diminutive suffix {{lang|txu|-re}} (which is always unstressed; after {{lang|txu|-t}} it has the allomorph {{lang|txu|-e}}, and after nasals it surfaces as {{lang|txu|-ne}}) and of an augmentative suffix {{lang|txu|-ti}} (which is always stressed). These attach to nouns and abundantly occur in the names of animal and plant species. The combination of {{lang|txu|-ti}} and {{lang|txu|-re}} is used in a number of nouns which denote human collectives, such as {{lang|txu|Gorotire}} and {{lang|txu|Mẽtyktire}} (names of Mẽbêngôkre subdivisions).
====Non-productive affixes==== In Mẽbêngôkre, many predicates appear to contain fossilized prefixes of different shapes (such as {{lang|txu|ka-}}, {{lang|txu|nhõ-}}, {{lang|txu|ku-}}, {{lang|txu|py-/pu-}}, {{lang|txu|ja-}}, {{lang|txu|dju-}}, {{lang|txu|nhĩ-}}), whose semantic contribution is not always straightforward. These have been variously referred to as ''classifiers''<ref name="Salanova-thesis"/>{{rp|100}} or ''transitivity prefixes''.<ref name="Nikulin-Salanova-2019" />{{rp|539–40}}
===Reduplication=== Reduplication may be used to convey repeated action and possibly transitivity, as in the following examples:<ref name="redup">{{cite book |last1=Salanova |first1=Andrés Pablo |editor1-last=Gómez |editor1-first=Gale Goodwin |editor2-last=van der Voort |editor2-first=Hein |title=Reduplication in Indigenous Languages of South America |date=2014 |publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-27240-8 |pages=247–272 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004272415/B9789004272415_011.xml |chapter=Reduplication and verbal number in Mẽbengokre}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" | {{lang|txu|totyktyk}} ‘to strike repeatedly’ | {{lang|txu|totyk}} ‘to strike’ |- | {{lang|txu|kyjkyj}} ‘to make many scratches’ | {{lang|txu|kyj}} ‘a scratch or cut’ |- | {{lang|txu|krãkrãk}} ‘to swallow’ | {{lang|txu|tokrãk}} ‘to swallow at once’ |} In some verbs, such as {{lang|txu|prõrprõt}} ‘to float up and down’, the final consonant of the reduplicated base changes from a stop /t/ to a rhotic /ɾ/.
==Syntax== Mẽbêngôkre is a head-final language.
===Morphosyntactic alignment=== Prototypically, finite matrix clauses in Mẽbêngôkre have a nominative–accusative alignment pattern, whereby the agents of transitive verbs (A) and the sole arguments of intransitive verbs (S) receive the nominative case, whereas the patients of transitive verbs (P) receive the absolutive or the accusative case, which has been described as an instance of a split-P alignment.<ref name="Nikulin-2020"/>{{rp|272}} There are only several dozen of transitive verbs which take an accusative patient, all of which are monosyllabic<ref name="Salanova-thesis"/>{{rp|30–2}} and have distinct finite and nonfinite forms. It has been suggested that all transitive verbs which satisfy both conditions (monosyllabicity and a formal finiteness distinction), and only them, select for accusative patients,<ref name="Nikulin-Salanova-2019"/>{{rp|538}} while all remaining transitive verbs take absolutive patients in Mẽbêngôkre and other Northern Jê languages.
Nonfinite clauses (including all embedded clauses) are headed by nonfinite verbs and are ergatively organized: the agents of transitive verbs (A) are encoded by ergative postpositional phrases, whereas the patients of transitive verbs (P) and the sole arguments of all intransitive predicates (S) receive the absolutive case.<ref name="Salanova-thesis"/><ref name="Salanova-Amerindia">{{cite journal |last1=Salanova |first1=Andrés Pablo |title=Uma análise unificada das construções ergativas do Mẽbengokre |journal=Amerindia |date=2008 |volume=33 |pages=109–34 |url=https://amerindias.github.io/referencias/sal08ergativomebengokre.pdf}}</ref>
===Classes of predicates=== The following table summarizes the proposed classes of predicates in Mẽbêngôkre.<ref name="Salanova-Amerindia"/> {| class="wikitable" ! argument structure<br> in finite clauses !! type !! examples |- | A<sup>NOM</sup> P<sup>ACC</sup> || transitive verb (''ku''-class) || {{lang|txu|krẽ}} ‘to eat’ ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | A<sup>NOM</sup> P<sup>ABS</sup> || transitive verb (default) || {{lang|txu|’ôk}} ‘to paint’ |- | S<sup>NOM</sup> || intransitive verb || {{lang|txu|tẽ}} ‘to go’ ({{gcl|SG}}) |- | S<sup>ABS</sup> || relational noun || {{lang|txu|ngryk}} ‘angry’ |- | Exp<sup>DAT</sup> || absolute noun + dative experiencer || {{lang|txu|prãm}} ‘to be hungry’ |- | Exp<sup>DAT</sup> Stimulus<sup>ABS</sup> || relational noun + dative experiencer || {{lang|txu|kĩnh}} ‘to like’ |}
====Transitive verbs==== In Mẽbêngôkre, transitive verbs take accusative or absolutive patients in finite clauses, depending on the verb class. In nonfinite clauses, all transitive verbs take absolutive patients. Note that nouns do not receive any overt marking either in the accusative or in the absolutive case; the difference between these two cases is seen in the third person index, which takes the form {{lang|txu|ku-}} in the accusative case and {{lang|txu|∅-}} in the absolutive case.
The transitive verbs which index their patient in the accusative case (in finite clauses) are known as {{lang|txu|ku-}}verbs. All {{lang|txu|ku-}}verbs are monosyllabic and have distinct finite and nonfinite forms. The remaining transitive verbs index their patient in the absolutive case. All verbs that belong to this class satisfy at least one of the following conditions: *they contain at least two syllables (for example, {{lang|txu|pumũ}} ‘to see’, {{lang|txu|kaô}} ‘to suck’, {{lang|txu|ku’õ}} ‘to wash (solid objects)’), *their finite and nonfinite forms are identical (for example, {{lang|txu|’ôk}} ‘to paint’, {{lang|txu|kre}} ‘to plant’, {{lang|txu|djũn}} ‘to insult’).
Finite {{lang|txu|ku-}} verbs further differ from all other transitive verbs in that under certain circumstances they index their agent (rather than patient) on the verb. This happens when a second-person agent acts over a third-person patient:<ref name="Reis Silva-2001" />{{rp|55–6}}
{{interlinear|indent=2|glossing=link |Ga a-bĩ. |2.NOM 2.ACC-kill.SG.F |‘You killed it.’}}
====Intransitive verbs==== {{Empty section|date=November 2020|section= }}
==Semantics== ===Instruments, locations, and prototypical agents=== Mẽbêngôkre extensively uses the nouns {{lang|txu|djà}} ‘container’ and {{lang|txu|djwỳnh}} ‘owner, master’ to denote instruments (or locations) and prototypical agents, respectively, as in {{lang|txu|idjàkuru djà}} ‘eating utensils; eating place; food’ (literally ‘the container of my eating’) or {{lang|txu|pi’ôk jarẽnh djwỳnh}} ‘teacher’ (literally ‘the owner of the telling of the book’). These nouns attach to the nonfinite (nominal) forms of verbs or to other nouns, and express meanings that in other languages are frequently conveyed by special kinds of nominalizations.<ref name="Salanova-thesis">{{cite thesis|last=Salanova |first=Andrés Pablo |date=2007 |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/41697 |title=Nominalizations and aspect |type=Ph.D. dissertation |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy|hdl=1721.1/41697 }}</ref>{{rp|88}}
===Tense and aspect=== In Mẽbêngôkre, there is no morphological distinction between present and past, the completion or continuation of an action is determined by the narrative context. Aspectual distinctions may be conveyed by auxiliaries or by using a nonfinite form of a verb in an unembedded clause. The following sentence shows the role of verbal finiteness when determining aspect:<ref name="Salanova-thesis" />{{rp|89–90}}
{{interlinear|indent=2|glossing=link |Krwỳj jã nẽ môp krẽ. |parakeet DEM NFUT yam eat.SG.F |‘This parakeet eats/ate (the) yam.’}} {{interlinear|indent=2|glossing=link |Krwỳj jã nẽ ku-te môp krẽn. |parakeet DEM NFUT 3-ERG yam eat.SG.NF |‘This parakeet has eaten yam (at least once in its life).’}}
In the semantic interpretation of the first example, the position of the event with respect to the time of the utterance can only be determined by narrative context. In contrast, the occurrence of the nonfinite form of the verb in the second example makes the event not "anaphoric to discourse, but rather coterminous with the subject's lifespan (mutatis mutandis for inanimate subjects). This interpretation has been variously described as “stative” or “subject-oriented” (in the sense that it ascribes a property to the subject, rather than focusing on the event itself) in the descriptive literature.”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salanova |first1=Andrés Pablo |editor1-last=Deal |editor1-first=Amy Rose |title=Proceedings of Semantics of Under-represented languages of the Americas (SULA) IV |publisher=GLSA |location=Amherst |pages=215–29 |url=http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~asalanov/Docs/meb-aspect.pdf |chapter=The building blocks of aspectual interpretation}}</ref>
==Vocabulary== ===Kinship terms=== Mẽbêngôkre has triadic kinship terms, which express at the same time the relation of a given referent both to the speaker and the addressee.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lea |first1=Vanessa |title=Aguçando o entendimento dos ter mos triádicos Mẽbengôkre via aborígenes australianos: dialogando com Merlan e outros |journal=LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas |date=14 March 2012 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=29 |doi=10.20396/liames.v4i1.1421 |url=https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/liames/article/view/1421|doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Loanwords=== Mẽbêngôkre has been in contact with the distantly related Karajá language, as evidence by a number of Karajá loanwords in Mẽbêngôkre, especially in the dialect spoken by the Xikrin group; the source of these loanwords is thought to be the Xambioá dialect. There are also loans from the Tupian languages Yudjá (Jurunan group) and Língua Geral Amazônica (Tupi-Guarani group), as well as from a hypothetical extinct Northern Jê language. More recently, lexical borrowings have been adopted from Brazilian Portuguese. Examples include:<ref name="Ribeiro-Karajá">{{cite thesis|last=Ribeiro |first=Eduardo Rivail |date=2012 |title=A grammar of Karajá |type=Ph.D. dissertation |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago}}</ref>{{rp|13}}<ref name="MbgHist"/>
{| class="wikitable" |+ Loanwords in Mẽbêngôkre |- ! Mẽbêngôkre word !! gloss !! source form !! gloss |- | colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | '''Loans from Karajá''' |- | ''warikoko'' (Kayapó dialect)<br>''watkoko'' (Xikrin dialect) || tobacco pipe || ''werikòkò'' (''wèrikòkò'', ''warikòkò'') (female speech) || tobacco pipe |- | ''rara'' || kind of basket || ''lala'' || kind of basket |- | ''wiwi'' || song, chant || ''wii'' (Xambioá and North Karajá dialects, male speech) || Example |- | ''bikwa'' || relative, friend || ''bikòwa'' (female speech) || relative, friend |- | ''bero'' || ''puba'' flour || ''bèrò'' || ''puba'' flour |- | ''rorirori'' || kind of headdress || ''lòrilòri'' || kind of headdress |- | ''warabaê'' || kind of basket || ''wrabahu ~ wrabahi ~ wrabahy'' || kind of basket |- | ''waxi'' (Xikrin dialect) || fishing line || ''waxi'' || fishhook |- | ''benorã'' (Xikrin dialect)|| Cichla monoculus || ''bènora'' || Cichla monoculus |- | ''awo'' || tree sp. (Xikrin dialect)<br>''ubá'' boat (Irã'ãmrãnhre dialect) || ''awò'' (Xambioá dialect, male speech) || canoe |- | ''ixe'' (Kayapó dialect)<br>''ixere'' (Xikrin dialect) || mirror || ''itxèrèna'' || mirror |- | colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | '''Loans from Yudjá''' |- | ''karaxu'' || spoon || ''karaxu'' || spoon |- | ''awa'' || bird sp. (Troglodytidae) || ''uxixi auahanu'' || Campylorhynchus turdinus |- | colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | '''Loans from Língua Geral Amazônica''' |- | ''môtôbi’y'' (Xikrin dialect) || peanut || ''mũnduβi'' || peanut |- | ''xãn'' || domestic cat || ''piʃãna'' || domestic cat |- | ''mokà'' || bag made of ''tucum'' fiber || ''#mboko'' || kind of bag |- | ''xoko'' || rufescent tiger heron || ''soko'' || heron |- | colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | '''Loans from an unidentified Tupi-Guarani language''' (dubious) |- | ''’ôkti'', ''’ôkre'' || kind of potato || ''#ʔok'' || tuber |- | ''jaduj'' || short || ''#jatu-ʔi'' || short (diminutive) |- | colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | '''Loans from a hypothetical extinct Northern Jê language''' |- | ''karinhô'' || tobacco || ''#kariɲo'' (< *karên-cô) || tobacco leaf |- | ''xururu'' || black-fronted nunbird || ''#tʃuɾuɾ'' (< *ĵôrôr) || black-fronted nunbird |- | colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | '''Loans from Brazilian Portuguese''' |- | ''kape'' || coffee || ''café'' || coffee |- | ''kaĩ'' || wheelbarrow || ''carrinho'' || wheelbarrow, cart |- | ''kratô'' || tractor || ''trator'' || tractor |- | ''kubẽta'' || blanket || ''coberta'' || blanket |- | ''xibôrô'' || onion || ''cebola'' || onion |- | ''mukutêru'' || mosquito net || ''mosquiteiro'' || mosquito net |- | ''mikrôni'' || minivan || ''micro-ônibus'' || minivan |- | ''mãmãj'' || mother || ''mamãe'' || mom |- | ''papaj'' || father || ''papai'' || dad |- | ''wowo'' || grandmother || ''vovó'' || grandma |- | ''wôwô'' || grandfather || ''vovô'' || grandpa |- | ''xiw'' || uncle || ''tio'' || uncle |- | ''xija'' || aunt || ''tia'' || aunt |- | ''paku'' (Kayapó dialect) || pacu || ''pacu'' || pacu |}
== References == {{Reflist}} <section begin="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/><div style="display:none;"> NFUT:nonfuture tense:Nonfuture tense PAUC:paucal number:Paucal number INT:interrogative particle:Interrogative particle F:finite verb:Finite verb </div><section end="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/>
== See also == * Kayapo people
{{Languages of Brazil}} {{Macro-Jê languages}}
Category:Jê languages Category:Languages of Brazil Category:Kayapo