Language name and locationː Maco, Amazonas state, Venezuela [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 马科语, 委内瑞拉

1. bakw-CL

2. d-CL-latahi

3. wap-CL-kwa

4. ɨˀwehemu hawa-cl

5. bãkwamu hawa-cl

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada, Department of French Studies and Linguistics, University of Western Ontario, Canada,

Consultant: Eliseo Gonzalez, February 7, 2013.

提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada, 2013 年 2 月 7 日

Other comments: Maco or Mako is spoken by approximately 1,100 speakers in 

Amazonas state: Mariche, Marueta, Morocoto, Porvenir, Tavi-Tavi, and Wapuchi villages; Marueta, Paru, Wapuchi, and Yureba rivers, Ventuari river tributaries, Venezuela.

Mako or Maco have a quinary (base-5) show agreement in noun class. With Body Parts Terms

Note: nouns denoting body parts are inalienably possessed and the citation form I am giving here have the 3pl prefix [tʰ(V)-].

Noun: [tʰɨbahale] 3pl.eye.cl

1 tʰɨbahale bakwale

2 tʰɨbahale dɨlelatahi  

3 tʰɨbahale wãpũlekwa

4 tʰɨbahale ɨˀwehemu hawɨle

5 bãkwamu hawɨle tʰɨbahale

Noun: tʰaa 3pl.mouth

1 tʰaa bakwaʤa

2 tʰaa dɨʤilatahi

3 tʰaa wãpũʤakwa

4 tʰaa ɨˀwehemu hawajiʤa

5 tʰaa bãkwamu hawajiʤa

Noun: tʰũlũmẽʔã 3pl.neck.cl

1 tʰũlũmẽʔã bãkwãʔã

2 tʰũlũmẽʔã dɨ̃ʔĩlatahi

3 tʰũlũmẽʔã wãpẽʔãkwa

4 tʰũlũmẽʔã ɨ̃ˀwẽhẽmu hãwã(j)ʔã

5 tʰũlũmẽʔã bãkwamu hãwã(j)ʔã

Noun: tʰomuko 3pl.chest.cl

1 tʰomuko bakwako

2 tʰomuko dokulatahi

3 tʰomuko wapukokwa

4 tʰomuko ɨˀwehemu hawako

5 tʰomuko bãkwamu hawako

So, summing up and if I had to give citation forms, I would say that the numerals are:

1 bakw-cl

2 d-cl-latahi

3 wap-cl-kwa

4 ɨˀwehemu hawa-cl

5 bãkwamu hawa-cl

In numerals 4 and 5, if I am not mistaken there is some reference being made to hand -mu being the classifier for hand. More specifically, 5 would mean ‘one hand’ since bãkw-amu ‘one-cl.hand’. However, for numeral 4 I think I recognize ɨˀwehe as being ‘finger’ and a –mu classifier is being added.

For humans and some animate nouns

1        bakwõ      -õ for masculine

          bakwuhu    -uhu for feminine

2        duhutaha    for both masculine and feminine

3        wamedukwa   for both masculine and feminine

4        (sorry, don’t have the info)

5        (sorry, don’t have the info)