[3] This has to do with many factors, including the fact that in some communities, for example those living on the Terra Indígena Rio Guaporé, intergenerational transmission has ceased entirely due to a complete shift to Portuguese.
Major contributions to the literature include that of Franz Caspar, mentioned above, who wrote extensively from an ethnographic point of view in the mid 20th century.
[2]: 1 As well, Singerman also worked to create a literacy workbook, Wan Tupari Ema’en Nika!
This research was due to the Swiss ethnographer and explorer, Franz Caspar, who took many field-notes in the 1940s and the 1950s, as he lived within the community.
[2] Caspar's notes were passed on to Aryon Dall’Igna Rodrigues, a Brazilian linguist who wrote his dissertation in German on Tupinambá at the University of Hamburg.
[2]: 7–8 Even though the description of the Tuparí language prior to that done by Singerman was fairly limited, the cultural documentation was among the best in the region.
With that being said, the Tuparí people are also currently experiencing a loss of that culture through a language shift, due to the overwhelming modern pressure for them to switch to Portuguese.
Examples of speakers using strong pronouns: Otero’omo-tet-ro-’om1SG-go.SG-NMZro-NEG’on.’on1SGOtero’om ’on.o-tet-ro-’om ’on1SG-go.SG-NMZro-NEG 1SG‘I have not gone there.’ [2]: 26 Wapsitkaraw-apsitkat-a1SG-think-TH’on’on1SGẽrõ,en-o,2SG-INSma’a∅-ma’ẽ-a[3-speak-TH’en’en2SGherõwapherõwapyesterday]hem.hemHÈ.INSWapsitkara ’on ẽrõ, ma’a ’en herõwap hem.w-apsitkat-a ’on en-o, ∅-ma’ẽ-a ’en herõwap hem1SG-think-TH 1SG 2SG-INS [3-speak-TH 2SG yesterday] HÈ.INS‘I thought about you, about the thing that you said yesterday.’ [2]: 27 Examples of weak nominative enclitics: Watoaw-ato-a1SG-bathe-THkokoPOLITE.FUT’on’on1SGirik’enerõpe.irik’e-nẽ-ro-pework-VBZnẽ-NMZro-LOCWatoa ko ’on irik’enerõpe.w-ato-a ko ’on irik’e-nẽ-ro-pe1SG-bathe-TH POLITE.FUT 1SG work-VBZnẽ-NMZro-LOC‘Let me bathe before working.’ / ‘I am going to bathe before working.’ [2]: 30 Oteatoaote-ato-a1PL.EXCL-bathe-THkokoPOLITE.FUT’ote.’ote1PL.EXCLOteatoa ko ’ote.ote-ato-a ko ’ote1PL.EXCL-bathe-TH POLITE.FUT 1PL.EXCL‘We-EXCL should bathe.’ / ‘Let us-EXCL bathe.’ / ‘We-EXCL ought to bathe.’ [2]: 31 Teopte-op3C-fathernẽkare,nẽkatresemblance e3aramirãaramirã[woman’ero’are.’ero’arewhile.SG]Teop nẽkare, {} aramirã ’ero’are.te-op nẽkat e aramirã ’ero’are3C-father resemblance 3 [woman while.SG]‘She resembles her father, even though she’s a girl.’ [2]: 31 Valency manipulation refers to the grammar's ability to manipulate how many and what kind of arguments a verb can take.
Singerman reports that his consultant approved the morpheme on a wide range of verbs of motion.
The intransitivizing morpheme e- is attested on a few intransitive verbs derived from unmarked transitive base.
Another notable feature is that the reciprocal can combine with other valency morphemes indicating that it probably occupies a position further left.
Eõ’erae-õ-’et-a2SG-CAUS-sleep-TH’on.’on1SGEõ’era ’on.e-õ-’et-a ’on2SG-CAUS-sleep-TH 1SG‘I made you sleep / put you to bed.’ [2]: 121 Sitèsas-ite-s-a3-COM-come.SG-TH’on.’on1SGSitèsa ’on.s-ite-s-a ’on3-COM-come.SG-TH 1SG‘I brought it.’ [2]: 150 Grammaticalized evidentiality (marking of the source of information) is functional, rather than lexical, and thus is morphologically expressed in a grammatical manner, rather than as an adverbial.
{}te-aoros-nẽ-a e3C-arrive.SG-EV.SG-TH 3‘He/she arrived (NON-WITNESSED).’ [2]: 313, 343 In this case, since there is no auxiliary present, it attaches to the lexical verb 'arrive'.
Example: (345) Evidential marking on the lexical verb ‘come’:[2]: 315 te-3C+ scome.SG+ EV→ tèynẽ te- + s + {} → tèynẽ3C {} come.SG {} EV {} {}te-3C+ ã’ẽcome.PAUC+ EV→ teã’emsira te- + ã’ẽ + {} → teã’emsira3C {} come.PAUC {} EV {} {}te-3C+ ip’anẽcome.PL+ EV→ teip’anemsira te- + ip’anẽ + {} → teip’anemsira3C {} come.PL {} EV {} {}The variations depend on whether the lexical verb distinguishes between singular, plural and paucal (two), or just between singular and plural.
As discussed by Singerman (2018, section 2.4),[2]: 62 the nuclear case is subject to strict grammatical constraints.
An example of NUC case-marking on an NP subject: Eowete-op-et2SG-father-NUCkekelike.thistewaktote-wak-to3C-cry-NMZropete’a.pete’aFUT.3SG+THEowet ke tewakto pete’a.e-op-et ke te-wak-to pete’a2SG-father-NUC like.this 3C-cry-NMZro FUT.3SG+TH‘Your father will cry like this.’ [2]: 64 NUC case marking is optional for non-pronominal direct objects, and is barred from appearing on clause-initial foci and incorporated direct objects.
This accounts for the ban of suffixes on focal clause-initial NPs, as well as the variability as to whether unincorporated objects will bear case marking.
This also highlights that nuclear case is sensitive to information structural considerations, due to these notions of focus, givenness and topicality.
{}het’aere nẽ e-ek-pe kire-t hayto ewhere.you.are Y/N 2SG-house-LOC person-NUC a.lot 3‘Are there a lot of people where you are, in your house?’ [2]: 71 The instrumental-lative case marker has two meanings, notably that it demonstrates the instrument used to perform an action, or it can highlight a person or object that is physically involved in an action.
Many intransitive verbs in Tuparí can take optional complements that bear oblique case-marking.
Korakoratkorakora-tchicken-NUCterote’etãramka.te-erote-e-tãramka-a3C-all-INTRNS-kill.PL-THKorakorat terote’etãramka.korakora-t te-erote-e-tãramka-achicken-NUC 3C-all-INTRNS-kill.PL-TH‘The chickens have all died.’ [2]: 145 Werotepuop’orapw-erote-puop’ot-ap1SG-all-learn-NMZapkot’oakot’oy-awant-THnãnãPROGotero’e,o-tero’e1SG-AUXgo.SGwat’ema’erẽ.wat-ema’ẽ-re2PL-language-OBLWerotepuop’orap kot’oa nã otero’e, wat’ema’erẽ.w-erote-puop’ot-ap kot’oy-a nã o-tero’e wat-ema’ẽ-re1SG-all-learn-NMZap want-TH PROG 1SG-AUXgo.SG 2PL-language-OBL‘I am wanting to learn all of your-PL words/all of your-PL languages.’ [2]: 145 Singerman explains that the first person singular is not compatible with an ‘all’ reading, which is why erote- instead quantifies ‘your languages-OBL’.
The previously mentioned urut- has been confirmed to exist in elicitation, however there are no examples from everyday conversation or text.
3C:coreferential third person CAUS:synthetic causative COM:comitative-causative INS:instrumental-lative INTRNS:intransitivizer NEG:negation/privation NMZ:nominalizer NUC:nuclear case PAUC:paucal POLITE:polite PROG:progressive particle TH:theme vowel