Morphosyntactic Aspects of Ocaina: Between Genetic Features (Witotoan family) and Areal Influences

• Main Authors: Doris Fagua Rincón, Frank Seifart
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2010-02-01
• Series: Mundo Amazónico
• Subjects: ocaina, lenguas Witoto, lenguas Bora, morfosintaxis, difusión areal
• Online Access: http://www.revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/imanimundo/article/view/10695

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; mso-line-height-alt: 7.0pt;"><span style="font-family: " lang="EN-US">This paper presents some morphosyntactic features of Ocaina, a seriously endangered, underdescribed language of the Colombian-Peruvian Amazon region. Ocaina has an extensive nominal classification system and number markers—dual<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>and plural—suffixed to both nouns and person markers on verbs. Grammatical relations follow a nominative-accusative pattern and are coded by a relatively rigid constituent order SOV (Subject-Object-Verb); by verbal prefixes (o-s-V) and enclitics (o-V=s), with just one prefix for objects of monotransitive and ditransitive verbs; and by the marking of oblique objects of certain verbs by case suffixes and postpositions. Most of the Ocaina features described are shared with Uitoto of the Witotoan family; many are also shared with Bora (Boran family), whose genetic link to the Witotoan family is still hypothetical. All these languages share certain features with neighboring languages, such as those of the Vaupés region, e.g. nominal classification and nominative-accusative alignment. We suggest that some aspects of Ocaina morphosyntax are probably inherited from the Witotoan family while others are better explained by areal diffusion.</span></p>