Carib or Kari'nja is a Cariban language spoken by the Kalina people (Caribs) of South America. It is spoken by around 7,400 mostly in Brazil, The Guianas, and Venezuela. The language is currently classified as highly endangered, as it is only spoken by elders.
The language is known by several names to both its speakers and outsiders. Traditionally it has been known as "Carib" or "Carib proper" in English, after its speakers, being given the exonym "Caribs". The term Galibi, which originated as a pronunciation of Caribe, is also frequently used; for example Glottolog uses the name "Galibi Carib" for the Carib language, plus "Galibi-Marworno Creole French" for the variety of Karipúna Creole French as used by the Galibi Marworno, and "Galibi-based pidgin" for the family consisting of JoekaâÂÂOajana pidgin and the extinct Pidgin Carib. The people are known as , or in Portuguese, in Spanish, in French, and in Dutch. However, the speakers call themselves or (variously spelled), and call their language . Spelling variants include , , , , , ; other native names include and .
Kariünja is classified as a Cariban language, in the Guianan Carib branch. Kariünja is considered "Carib proper" because it exemplifies the core genetic features of the family, such as its complex pronominal prefix system and ergative-absolutive alignment.
Due to contact with Kariünja invaders, some languages have Kariünja words incorporated into them, despite being Arawakan languages linguistically. A Carib-based lengua generale was once used in the old missions of the Oyapock and surrounding regions, apparently surviving at least along the Uaçá tributary into the 20th century.
In Suriname, there is a village called Konomerume which is located near the Wajambo River. With about 349 people living there, a majority identify as ethnically Kariünja and the adults are reported to at least have a decent knowledge of it. Those above the age of 65 use the language as a primary language among the members of the community. Speakers between the ages of 45 and 65 tend to use the language only when speaking with older residents or elder members of their family, while for the most part using the official languages: Dutch and Sranan Tongo. Younger adults between the ages of 20 and 40 for the most part understand the language but do not speak it, and children learn bits about Kariünja in school.
Carib dialects (with number of speakers indicated in parentheses):
In the Kariünja language, there are four syllable patterns: V, CV, VC, CVC; C standing for consonants while V means a vowel. Regarding phonemes, consonants are divided into two groups: obstruents (voiceless stopsâÂÂp, t, k) and resonants (voiced stopsâÂÂb, d, g, s).
Kariünja has a typical six-vowel system after *ô merged with *o, being a e i o u ï. Compared to past Kariünja, modern-day Kariünja has replaced the e in many words with o.
Allophones for include sounds as . before may be pronounced as . before a consonant may be pronounced as and also elsewhere. Another sound, ranging , often occurs before a voiced or voiceless consonant, and succeeding a vowel, it can also be an allophone of .
The Carib alphabet consists of 15 letters:
a, e, i, j, k, `, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, w, y.
There are 17 particles within Kariünja which include the ky- prefix and the -ng suffix.
All four dialects of Kariünja have loan words from the primary language of the area (Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana). For example, the Kariünja spoken in Suriname borrows words from Dutch and Sranantongo.
Some of the words show instances in which the e has been replaced with o in present-day Kariünja. The two statements beneath the singular words show examples of two suffixes.