tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27443299485148020352023-06-20T06:55:20.966-07:00Mapudungun: The language of the MapucheMike Salcherthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09422549329974002748noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744329948514802035.post-31762640675602778442007-12-03T00:42:00.000-08:002007-12-03T03:25:05.221-08:00Language and Culture of the Mapuche NationMapuche spirituality is closely linked to the land and nature. All life is thought to emanate from the earth. The word Mapuche can be split into two morphemes <span style="font-style: italic;">mapu</span>: meaning 'land' and <span style="font-style: italic;">che</span>: meaning people. Similarly the word mapudungun is constructed from <span style="font-style: italic;">mapu</span>: 'land' again and <span style="font-style: italic;">dungun</span>: meaning 'speech'. (<a href="http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Erehue/lang/lan002.html">native-languages.org</a>) The spiritual lives of the Mapuche are guided by leaders called <span style="font-style: italic;">Machi</span> who are the mediums for communtication with the celestial family. Mapudungun is an oral language passed from generation to generation. Acording to Mapuche ancestral beliefs the language was derived from "listening to the land and all earthly elements, sounds and movements, including the animals, birds, trees, wind, rain, and even the mountain springs". Like many native languages of the Americas Mapudungun is in danger of dying out. There are organizations dedicated to the creation of an alphabet in order to preserve the language. (<a href="http://mapuche-nation.org/">mapuche-nation.org</a>)<br />Today the language is spoken on a daily basis in Chile. There is a resurgence of youth learning the language. The Chilean government has begun to cooperate with the Mapuche Nation in regard to education and there are schools that incorporate Mapudungun into their curriculum. The language is being recorded in the arts, poets write in the language, and there is Mapudungun dialogue in the movies. (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/List?language=Mapudungun&&tv=on&&heading=10;Mapudungun&&nav=/Sections/Languages/Mapudungun/include-titles">Internet Movie Database</a>)Mike Salcherthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09422549329974002748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744329948514802035.post-40346726358279210312007-12-03T00:26:00.000-08:002007-12-03T03:50:33.027-08:00Examples of Mapudungun<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><h2>Mapudungun Word Set</h2> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" width="400"><tbody><tr> <td><u>English<br /></u></td> <td><u>Mapudungun</u></td> </tr> <tr> <td>One<br /></td> <td>Quiñe</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Two<br /></td> <td>Epu</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Three<br /></td> <td>Cla</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Four<br /></td> <td>Meli</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Five<br /></td> <td>Quechu</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Man<br /></td> <td>Huentru</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Woman<br /></td> <td>Domo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Dog<br /></td> <td>Trehua</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sun<br /></td> <td>Anti</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Moon<br /></td> <td>Cuyen</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Water<br /></td> <td>Co</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Mapuche Poetry</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><br />It was hard to find examples of poetry in Mapudungun, possibly because it was not until very recently a written language. There are efforts in progress to develop a Mapudungun alphabet in the interest in preserving the language. Poetry and mythology have also played their roles in this effort. Here are a few verses that I found posted on an internet <a href="http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3363">forum</a> from a contemporary Mapuche poet named Jaime L. Huenún Villa. I hope that the poet does not mind my use of his work here or my attempt at English translations of the Spanish text.<br /><br /><br />FENTXEN ÜL (Jaime L. Huenún Villa - poeta mapuche)<br /><br />Kiñe nutxu ta puliwen geg<br />chef ta mülemum<br />ta pu kürew.<br />*<br />Peykiñ anümka<br />tami llawfeñ mu<br />müley.<br />*<br />Punwi müpüwi ko<br />wente antü ka wente<br />mawüza.<br />*<br />Kürü Pillmaykeñ,<br />txipaymi tañi pewma mu<br />fey konimi mapu mew<br />wüño kintunon.<br />*<br />Llampüzkeñ<br />txoltxo mew<br />kom egün pülpültukelu.<br />*<br />Mawüzantü kütxal,<br />antú ñi txufken.<br />Ragi antü tañi<br />mapu mew.<br />*<br />Wirintükunen tañi püllü zügu<br />pu mawüza mew.<br />Müpüwigün chi pu üñum<br />fey tañi pu ül mew mefürfigün<br />tañi wirintükuel.<br /><br />CANTOS<br />SONGS<br /><br />Un notro es la mañana<br />donde habitan<br />los tordos.<br /><br />The morning is a notro (sort of shrub)<br />where<br />the thrushes live.<br />*<br />Árboles fantasmas<br />en tu sombra<br />hay.<br /><br />There are<br />the ghosts of trees<br />in your shadow.<br />*<br />Honda vuela el agua<br />sobre el sol y el bosque.<br /><br />The water flies deep<br />over the sun and forest.<br />*<br />Negra golondrina,<br />sales de mi sueño<br />y entras en la tierra<br />sin voltear.<br /><br />Black swallow<br />you leave my dream<br />and enter the earth<br />without returning.<br />*<br />Mariposas<br />en el cardo<br />que todos evitan.<br /><br />Butterflies<br />on the thistle<br />that everyone avoids.<br />*<br />Fuegos de montaña,<br />cenizas del sol.<br />Mediodía en mi<br />provincia.<br /><br />Fires of mountain,<br />ashes of the sun.<br />Midday in my<br />province.<br />*<br />Escribo mi poema<br />en las hospederías del bosque.<br />Los pájaros vuelan<br />y borran con sus cantos<br />lo que escribo.<br /><br />I write my poem<br />in the hospitality of the forest.<br />The birds fly<br />and erase with their songs<br />what I write.Mike Salcherthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09422549329974002748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744329948514802035.post-80839219294179279902007-11-29T00:48:00.000-08:002007-12-03T03:53:16.466-08:00The Land of the MapucheThe Mapuche people inhabit a large area of southern Chile between the Itata and Tolten rivers and a portion of Argentina. (<a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=arn">ethnologue.com</a>)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac/temuco/mapas/mapa.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac/temuco/mapas/mapa.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>Mike Salcherthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09422549329974002748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744329948514802035.post-42457055799678609532007-11-28T20:33:00.000-08:002007-11-28T21:16:07.678-08:00The Structure of MapudungunMapudungun utilizes a SOV word order (<a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=arn">ethnologue.com</a>) and is a polysynthetic language with noun and verb incorportation. It has a complex agglutinative sufixal verb morphology. Some analyses provide as many as 36 verb suffix slots. (<a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Ealavie/papers/Mapudungun-LREC-04.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Data Collection and Analysis</span></a>)<br /><br />Sound system:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prosody: </span>In Mapudungun the stressed sylable is generally the ultima if this is closed (<i>awkán</i> 'game', <i>tralkán</i> 'thunder'), and the penult if the ultima is open (<i>rúka</i> 'house', <i>lóngko</i> 'head'). There is no phonemic tone. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>)</li><li><b>Vowels</b>: Mapudungun has six vowel phonemes: <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/a/</span>, <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/e/</span>, <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/i/</span>, <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/o/</span>, <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/u/</span> and a high central unrounded vowel, <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/ɨ/</span>. The last sound is spelled <i>ï</i>, <i>ü</i> or <i>v</i> depending on the alphabet used, and is pronounced as a schwa <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/ə/</span> when unstressed. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>)</li><li><b>Consonants</b>: Mapudungun does not distinguish between voiceless and voiced plosives. There are three approximants (or glides). Liquids consist of the three lateral sounds and what is phonetically close to a retroflex approximant. Some authors do not recognize <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/s/</span> as a separate phoneme; rather, they class it as an allophone of <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/ʃ/</span>. <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/tʂ/</span> (spelled as "tr", "tx" or even "x") is often described as a <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/ʧ/</span> sound followed by a <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA">/ɻ/</span> sound; it is similar to the sound of English <i>tr</i> in <i>tree</i>, but without aspiration. Particularly interesting are the relatively rare interdental sounds t̟, n̟ and l̟, which contrast with their dentoalveolar counterparts; roots may have either only interdental ([l̟afken̟] 'sea, lake') or only dentoalveolar ([lwan] 'guanaco') consonants. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>)</li></ul>Morphology:<br /><ul><li><b>Nouns</b> in Mapudungun are grouped in two classes, animate and inanimate. This is e.g. reflected in the use of <i>pu</i> as a plural indicator for animate nouns and <i>yuka</i> as the plural for inanimate nouns. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>)<br /></li><li><b>Verbs</b> can be finite or non-finite (non-finite endings: <i>-n</i>, <i>-el</i>, <i>-etew</i>, <i>-lu</i>, <i>-am</i>, etc.), are intransitive or transitive and are conjugated according to person (first, second and third), number (singular, dual and plural), voice (active, agentless passive and reflexive-reciprocal, plus two applicatives) and mood (indicative, imperative and subjunctive). In the indicative, the present (zero) and future (<i>-(y)a</i>) tenses are distinguished. There are a number of aspects: the progressive, resultative and habitual are well established; some forms that seem to mark some subtype of perfect are also found. Other verb morphology includes an evidential marker (reportative-mirative), directionals (cislocative, translocative, andative and ambulative, plus an interruptive and continuous action marker) and modal markers (sudden action, faked action, immediate action, etc.). There is productive noun incorporation, and the case can be made for root compounding morphology. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>)<br /></li></ul>Mike Salcherthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09422549329974002748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744329948514802035.post-4853169355914172882007-11-28T20:18:00.000-08:002007-12-03T04:00:33.226-08:00Population estimatesThe ethnic population of speakers of Mapudungun, numbering 928,000 (<a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=arn">ethnologue.com</a>) live in both Chile and Argentina so the estimates are split up accordingly. Some 200,000 people use the language regularly. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>)<br /><br />Total Number of Speakers in All Countries:<br />300,000 (<a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=arn">ethnologue.com</a>)<br />440,000 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>)<br /><br />In Chile:<br />200,000 (<a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=arn">ethnologue.com</a>)<br />400,000 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>)<br /><br />In the Argentine Region<br />40,000 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapudungun">wikipedia.org</a>) <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>Mike Salcherthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09422549329974002748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744329948514802035.post-858344162401992212007-11-28T19:04:00.001-08:002007-12-03T05:03:22.772-08:00VideosHere are a couple of videos that demonstrate the spoken language of Mapudungun.<br /><br />Mapuche Creation Story:<br />This story is told in Mapudungun and has Spanish subtitles.<br />If you can't see the video go to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpBUQ6vtfoI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpBUQ6vtfoI</a><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cpBUQ6vtfoI&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cpBUQ6vtfoI&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />This is an example of a Mapuche song.<br />If you can't see the video go to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdz1qDqvxWw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdz1qDqvxWw</a><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tdz1qDqvxWw&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tdz1qDqvxWw&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>Mike Salcherthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09422549329974002748noreply@blogger.com0