Editing Ticuna language

{{Short description|Ticuna–Yuri language spoken in Amazon Basin}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Tïcuna
| nativename       = {{lang|tca|Duüxügu}}
| states           = [[Brazil]], [[Colombia]], [[Peru]]
| region           = West Amazonas. Also spoken in Colombia, Peru.
| coordinates      = {{coord|3|15|S|68|35|W|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| ethnicity        = [[Ticuna people]]
| speakers         = 63,000
| date             = 2021
| familycolor      = American
| fam1             = [[Ticuna–Yuri languages|Tïcuna–Yuri]] ?
| iso3             = tca
| glotto           = ticu1245
| glottorefname    = Ticuna
| map              = Ticuna.png
| mapcaption       = Distribution of speakers of the Ticuna language
| ref              = {{citation needed|date=January 2023}}
}}

'''Ticuna''', '''Tikuna''', '''Tucuna''' or '''Tukuna''' is a language spoken by approximately 50,000 people in the [[Amazon basin|Amazon Basin]], including the countries of [[Brazil]], [[Peru]], and [[Colombia]]. It is the native language of the [[Ticuna people]] and is considered "stable" by ethnologue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Size and vitality of Ticuna |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/size-and-vitality/tca |access-date=2022-11-28 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref> Ticuna is generally classified as a [[language isolate]], but may be related to the extinct [[Yuri language (Amazon)|Yuri language]] (see [[Ticuna-Yuri languages|Tïcuna-Yuri]]) and there has been some research indicating similarities between Ticuna and [[Carabayo language|Carabayo]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.plos.org/everyone/2014/04/28/linking-isolated-languages-linguistic-relationships-carabayo/|title=Linking Isolated Languages: Linguistic Relationships of the Carabayo|date=28 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Seifart|first1=Frank|last2=Echeverri|first2=Juan Alvaro|date=2014-04-16|title=Evidence for the Identification of Carabayo, the Language of an Uncontacted People of the Colombian Amazon, as Belonging to the Tikuna-Yurí Linguistic Family|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=4|pages=e94814|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0094814|issn=1932-6203|pmc=3989239|pmid=24739948|bibcode=2014PLoSO...994814S|doi-access=free}}</ref>  It is a [[Tonal Language|tonal language]], and therefore the meaning of words with the same phonemes can vary greatly simply by changing the tone used to pronounce them.

Tïcuna is also known as Magta, Maguta, Tucuna/Tukuna, and Tukna.

== Classification ==
Some have tentatively associated the Ticuna language within the proposals of the [[Macro-Arawakan languages|macro-arawakano]] or with [[Macro-Tucanoan|macro-tukano]] stocks, although these classifications are highly speculative given the lack of evidence. A more recent hypothesis has linked Yuri-Ticuna with the [[Saliban languages|Saliban]] and [[Hoti language|Hoti]] languages in the [[Duho languages|Duho stock]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Jolkesky |first=Marcelo |title=Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas. |date=2016 |journal=Title in English: An Archaeo-Ecolinguistic Study of the South American Tropics. The Downloadable Version (1.2) is the 2nd Update of My Original PhD Dissertation (Original Version: February 2016; 2nd Update Publication Date: October 2017) |url=https://www.academia.edu/27105400 |publisher=Brasilia: UnB. PhD Dissertation.}}</ref> However, the linguistic consensus is that Ticuna may actually be considered a [[language isolate]] in its present-day situation, since Yuri is extinct.

== Sociolinguistic situation ==

=== Brazil ===
Ticuna is the Indigenous language most widely spoken in Brazil.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Skilton|first=Amalia|date=2021|title=Ticuna (tca) language documentation: A guide to materials in the California Language Archive|url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/24972|journal=Language Documentation & Conservation|language=en-US|volume=15|pages=153–189|hdl=10125/24972|issn=1934-5275}}</ref>

Despite being home to more than 50% of the Ticunas, Brazil has only recently started to invest in native language education. Brazilian Ticunas now have a written literature and an education provided by the Brazilian [[Fundação Nacional do Índio|National Foundation for the Indian]] (FUNAI) and the [[Ministry of Education (Brazil)|Ministry of Education]]. Textbooks in Ticuna are used by native teachers trained in both Portuguese and Ticuna to teach the language to the children. A large-scale project has been recording traditional narrations and writing them down to provide the literate Ticunas with some literature to practice with.

Ticuna education is not a privilege, but part of a wider project carried on by the Brazilian government to provide all significant minorities with education in their own language.

In 2012, the Brazilian government launched an educational campaign for the prevention of [[Prevention of HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] and [[violence against women]], the first such campaign in Brazil ever conducted in an indigenous language.<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Associated Press
| title = Brazilian government uses indigenous language for the first time in anti-AIDS campaign
| newspaper = The Washington Post
| access-date = 2012-10-21
| date = 2012-10-11
| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazilian-government-uses-indigenous-language-for-the-first-time-in-anti-aids-campaign/2012/10/11/e756f500-13ed-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220705201616/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazilian-government-uses-indigenous-language-for-the-first-time-in-anti-aids-campaign/2012/10/11/e756f500-13ed-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = July 5, 2022
}}</ref>

=== Peru ===
Ticunas in Peru have had native language education at least since the 1960s. They use a writing system that was, apparently, the base for the development of the Brazilian one. However, much of the literature available to Peruvian Ticunas comprise standard textbooks.

=== Colombia ===
Colombian Ticunas are taught in Spanish, when they have access to school at all. Since the establishment of Ticuna schools in Brazil some have ventured to attend them {{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}.

=== Christian Ministries ===
A number of Christian ministries have reached the Ticuna people. These ministries have translated the bible into the native Ticuna language and even have a weekday radio show that is broadcast in Ticuna, Portuguese, and Spanish by the Latin American Ministries (LAM).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.latinamericanministries.net/ticuna/ucb-lam|title=Latin American Ministries – Project Ticuna}}</ref>

=== Literacy ===
Besides its use at the Ticuna schools, the language has a dozen books published every year, both in Brazil and Peru. Those books employ a specially devised phonetic writing system using conventions similar to those found in Portuguese (except for K instead of C and the letter Ñ instead of NH) instead of the more complex scientific notation found, for instance, at the [[Language Museum]].

In school Ticuna is taught formally. Children in schools typically in areas of Catholic Missionaries are also taught either Portuguese or Spanish as well.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://xapiri.com/pages/ticuna|title=Ticuna Indigenous Trive in Brazil and Colombia|access-date=2017-07-30|archive-date=2017-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730065656/https://xapiri.com/pages/ticuna|url-status=usurped}}</ref> 

== Phonology ==

=== Vowels ===
Vowels qualities are {{IPA|/a e i ɨ u o/}}. Vowels may be nasalized and/or show creaky voice, under which tones are lowered.<ref name=":0">Anderson, Doris, ''Conversational Ticuna'', Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1962</ref> There are diphthongs {{IPA|/ai̯/}} and {{IPA|/au̯/}} that carry a single tone, contrasting with vowel sequences {{IPA|/ai/}} and {{IPA|/au/}} that carry two tones.

The six vowels may be nasal or laryngealized. The sixth vowel is spelled ''ü''.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|oral}} || {{small|nasal}}
! {{small|oral}} || {{small|nasal}}
! {{small|oral}} || {{small|nasal}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Close vowel|Close]]
!{{small|plain}}
| {{IPA link|i}} || {{IPA link|ĩ}}
| {{IPA link|ɨ}} || {{IPA link|ɨ̃}}
| {{IPA link|u}} || {{IPA link|ũ}}
|-
!{{small|creaky}}
| {{IPA link|ḭ}} || {{IPA link|ḭ̃}}
| {{IPA link|ɨ̰}} || {{IPA link|ɨ̰̃}}
| {{IPA link|ṵ}} || {{IPA link|ṵ̃}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
!{{small|plain}}
| {{IPA link|e}} || {{IPA link|ẽ}}
| ||
| {{IPA link|o}} || {{IPA link|õ}}
|-
!{{small|creaky}}
| {{IPA link|ḛ}} || {{IPA link|ḛ̃}}
| ||
| {{IPA link|o̰}} || {{IPA link|õ̰}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Open vowel|Open]]
!{{small|plain}}
| ||
| {{IPA link|a}} || {{IPA link|ã}}
| ||
|-
!{{small|creaky}}
| ||
| {{IPA link|a̰}} || {{IPA link|ã̰}}
| ||
|}

=== Tones ===
{{Expand section|date=March 2025}}
Ticuna is an unusually tonal language for South America, with over 10 mostly contour tones. Ticuna has one of the largest tone inventories in the world with 8–12 phonemic tones depending on the dialect.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} Tones are only indicated orthographically, with diacritics, when confusion is likely.

Research has indicated isolated tonal languages with complex tones are more likely to occur in regions of higher humidity and higher mean average temperature because it is believed the vocal folds can produce less consistent tones in colder, drier air. Ticuna was one of the languages of focus in this study due to its prevalence—and complexity—of tones.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Everett |first=Caleb |display-authors=etal |date=February 3, 2015 |title=Climate, vocal folds, and tonal languages: Connecting the physiological and geographic dots |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=112 |issue=5 |pages=1322–7 |bibcode=2015PNAS..112.1322E |doi=10.1073/pnas.1417413112 |pmc=4321236 |pmid=25605876 |s2cid=1678719 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Consonants ===
The consonants of Ticuna consist of the following phonemes:<ref name=":0" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! colspan="2" |
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
!{{small|voiceless}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| ({{IPA link|ɟ}})
| {{IPA link|k}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
!{{small|voiced}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|dʒ}}
| {{IPA link|g}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Liquid consonant|Liquid]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɾ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Glide consonant|Glide]]
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|}
Natively, Ticuna has no lateral or uvular consonants,<ref name=":0" /> although /l/ is found in some Spanish loanwords.

The affricate {{IPA|/dʒ/}} (spelled "y") may be pronounced as {{IPA|/ɟ/}},<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lengua ticuna: resultados de fonología y sintaxis|last=Montes Rodríguez|first=María Emilia|year=2004}}</ref> and also {{IPA|/j/}}, but only before the vowel {{IPA|/a/}}. A central {{IPA|/ɨ/}} vowel sound may also be pronounced as a back {{IPA|[ɯ]}} sound. Other sounds, {{IPA|/f s x l/}} are found in Spanish loans. 

Consonants may also be glottalized. Glottal stop is spelled ''x.''

== Orthography ==
The letters of the Ticuna alphabet are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Ticuna alphabet
|a
|b
|c
|ch
|d
|e
|g
|i
|-
|m
|n
|ng
|ñ
|o
|p
|q
|r
|-
|t
|u
|ü
|w
|x
|y
|
|
|}
Letters f, j, k, l, s, v, z are used in Spanish loanwords.

Nasalization is indicated with a tilde, and laryngeal vowels with a macron below.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diccionario ticuna – castellano |url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/90/20/51/90205190508691852389084667097660892450/tca_Ticuna_Dictionary_2016_web.pdf |website=www.sil.org}}</ref>

== Morphology ==
Ticuna is a fairly [[Analytic language|isolating]] language morphologically, meaning that most words consist of just one morpheme. However, Ticuna words usually have more than one syllable, unlike isolating languages such as [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]. Typologically, Ticuna word order is [[subject–verb–object]] (SVO), though unusually this can vary within the language.

== Syntax ==
Ticuna displays [[Nominative–accusative alignment|nominative/accusative alignment]], with person, number, noun class, and clause type indexed on the verb via proclitics. Transitive and unergative verbs tend to favor an Subject-(Object)-Verb word order, while unaccusative verbs show a preference for Verb-Subject word order.<ref name=":3" />

== Vocabulary ==
<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.native-languages.org/ticuna_words.htm|title=Vocabularin in Native American Languages: Ticuna Words|website=Native Languages}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Ticuna Word
!Meaning
|-
|Wüxi
|One
|-
|Taxre
|Two
|-
|Tomaxixpü
|Three
|-
|Ãgümücü
|Four
|-
|Wüxi mixepüx
|Five
|-
|Naixmixwa rü wüxi
|Six
|-
|Naixmixwa rü taxre
|Seven
|-
|Naixmixwa rü tomaxixpü
|Eight
|-
|Naixmixwa rü ãgümücü
|Nine
|-
|Guxmixepüx
|Ten
|-
|Chatü
|Man
|-
|Ngexüi
|Woman
|-
|Airu
|Dog
|-
|Iake
|Sun
|-
|Tawēmake
|Moon
|-
|Dexá
|Water
|}
The counting words in Ticuna imply a base five system of counting as the word for five is the combination of "one five". Six through nine all contain the same beginning "naixmixwa rü" and then append the values for one through four respectively (such that six is "naixmixwa rü" and "wüxi" meaning one).<ref name=":2" />

=== Examples of spoken language ===
An example of spoken Ticuna can be found [http://files.globalrecordings.net/audio/language/mp3/sample-1675.mp3 here].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://globalrecordings.net/en/language/1675|title=Global Recordings – Ticuna Language}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!Phrase<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://users.elite.net/runner/jennifers/Greetings%20T.htm#Ticuna|title=Greetings in more than 3000 languages}}</ref>
!Meaning
|-
|Nuxmaxē pa corix
|general greeting spoken to a man ("sir")
|-
|Nuxmaxē pa chiurax
|general greeting spoken to a woman ("madam")
|-
|Nuxmaxē pa yimax
|general greeting spoken to a man ("fellow")
|-
|Nuxmaxē pa woxrecü
|general greeting spoken to a woman ("girl")
|-
|Nuxmaxē pa pacüx
|general greeting spoken to a young woman ("miss")
|-
|Nuxmaxē pa chomücüx
|general greeting spoken to a friend
|-
|Nuxmax
|general greeting spoken to a stranger
|-
|Ngexta cuxū?
|Where are you going? (spoken to one person)
|-
|Ngexta pexī?
|Where are you going? (spoken to a group)
|-
|Ngexta ne cuxū?
|Where are you coming from? (spoken to one person)
|-
|Ngexta ne pexī?
|Where are you coming from? (spoken to a group)
|}

===Vocabulary (Loukotka 1968)===
[[Čestmír Loukotka|Loukotka]] (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.<ref name="Loukotka">{{cite book |last=Loukotka |first=Čestmír |author-link=Čestmír Loukotka |title=Classification of South American Indian languages |url=https://archive.org/details/classificationof0007louk |url-access=registration |publisher=UCLA Latin American Center |year=1968 |location=Los Angeles}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! gloss !! Tucuna
|-
| one || wöi
|-
| two || tádi
|-
| three || tamaípo
|-
| head || na-eró
|-
| ear || na-chin
|-
| tooth || ná-puita
|-
| man || yáte
|-
| fire || öo
|-
| sun || öake
|-
| earth || náni
|-
| maize || cháwue
|-
| tapir || náke
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{sister project |project=wiktionary |text=[[Wiktionary]] has a word list at '''''[[Wiktionary:Appendix:Ticuna word list|Appendix:Ticuna word list]]'''''}}
*[https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/30245 "Conversational Tikuna"] – Ticuna course and grammar at the Summer Institute of Linguistics
*[https://www.sil.org/resources/search/language/tca/online/1 Ticuna publications for download]
*[http://www.language-archives.org/language/tca OLAC resources in and about the Ticuna language]
*[[hdl:10125/24972|Ticuna (tca) language documentation: A guide to materials in the California Language Archive (Skilton 2021)]]

{{Languages of Brazil}}
{{Languages of Colombia}}
{{Languages of Peru}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ticuna Language}}
[[Category:Ticuna–Yuri languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Western Amazonia]]
[[Category:Languages of Peru]]
[[Category:Languages of Colombia]]
[[Category:Languages of Brazil]]
[[Category:Tonal languages]]
[[Category:Isolating languages]]
[[Category:Subject–verb–object languages]]

[[hr:Tucuna]]
[[it:Ticuna]]