Language name and locationː Chamacoco, Paraguay [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 查马科科语, 巴拉圭西北部上巴拉圭省

1. sohmɨ̃ra [tsom̥ɨ'ɹa] or nohmɨra [nom̥ɨ'ɹa]

2. osiyer [osi'jeɹ]

3. arĩ toho *

4. arĩ sharĩ toho

5. arĩ sharĩ toho

6. arĩ sharĩ sharĩ

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Luca Ciucci, Scuola Normale Superiore, (General Linguistics at Scuola Normale Superiore), Pisa, Italy, December 18, 2010.

提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Luca Ciucci, 2010 年 12 月 18 日.

Other comments: Chamacoco or Ishiro, Yshyro ahwoso is spoken by approximately  2,000 speakers in Alto Paraguay department: (Tomárãho) Pitiantuta and Puerto María Elena, (Ybytoso) Inihta, Karchabalut, Misión Santa Teresita, Puerto Caballo, Puerto Diana, Puerto Esperanza, Paraguay. The only two numbers which the present day Chamacocos still used in their language are one and two. The main problem about Chamacoco is that my new data are too new to say more about Chamacoco numeral system. I mean that nowadays they use their only Spanish numbers; the native numbers survive only for numers 'one' and 'two', as you can see in Ulrich & Ulrich (2000). Unfortunately, in my field-research activity this information has been confirmed.

I provide you the numbers in Chamacoco transcription by Ulrich & Ulrich and in IPA (from my field-work). sohmɨ̃ra [tsom̥ɨ'ɹa] or nohmɨra [nom̥ɨ'ɹa], there is no difference between sohmɨ̃ra and nohmɨra), osiyer 'two' [osi'je?] (this is the unmarked form they use to count and it is also the form used to refer to a masculin noun, if they refer to a feminine noun, they will use otiyer [oti'jeɹ]. Number ‘one’ has a rich morphological inflection.

Only (very) old people remember the original number system, which is very similar to that attested in Baldus (1932: 394).1 Apart from still surviving sohmɨ̃ra and osiyer, numbers up than two were formed from the combination of three elements: toho ‘one’, arĩ ‘two’ and sharĩ ‘two’; the numeral system was indeed based on the addition of ‘two’ and ‘one’. For instance, three was arĩ toho (literally ‘two-one’); ‘four’ was arĩ sharĩ (literally ‘two-two’). These elements seem to have a rigid order: arĩ is used only at the beginning of a series, while in all the other cases sharĩ is used; if the number is odd,

the last element is obligatorily toho ‘one’. In (a) the original number system is reported.

Phonetic transcription: arĩ [ã'ɹĩ], sharĩ [ʃã'ɹĩ], toho ['tɔho].

There is then a remarkable difference among Chamacoco and Ayoreo in number system (especially in the surviving of the numer system) although they are in the same linguist family.

Here I have to point out that Ayoreo were first contacted in the 40's of the XX century and there are still few Ayoreo who have never been contacted; on the other hand, Chamacoco were contacted at the turn of the XIX century, so that this language has already lost many of the original elements of the Zamucoan family.

Essential bibliography

Baldus, Herbert 1932. Beiträge zur Sprachenkunde der Samuko-Gruppe. Anthropos 27. 361-416.

Ciucci, Luca 2009. Field-notess (Ayoreo, Chamacoco), 4 voll. (ms.).

Ulrich Matthew & Rosemary Ulrich 2000. Diccionario ɨshɨro (chamacoco) - español, español - ɨshɪro (chamacoco). Asunción: Misión a Nuevas Tribus.

Language name and locationː Chamacoco, Paraguay [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 查马科科语, 巴拉圭西北部上巴拉圭省

1. sohmɨ̃ra ( feminine) / sohmet ( masculine )

2. otiyer ( feminine ) / osiyer ( masculine )

3. areniktoho pelpe

4. arine čahrie

5. areni čahrie taho

.  kɨhniya (litː many), haabo (a few)

Linguist providing data and dateː Mr. & Mrs. John Carol Pierce, NTM (New Tribes Missions), April 5, 1992.

提供资料的语言学家: Mr. & Mrs. John Carol Pierce, 1992 年 4 月 5 日

Other comments: Chamacoco or Ishiro, Yshyro ahwoso is spoken by approximately  2,000 speakers in Alto Paraguay department, Paraguay.

The only two numbers which the present day Chamacocos still used in their language are one and two. These have both feminine and masculine forms. In practical every day life they use Spanish numbers for every number above two if they have o specific about an amount. The old archaic Chamacoco numeral system does not seem to have employed a repetition of basic words.