MaxakalÃÂ (', ) is a MaxakalÃÂan language spoken in four villages in Minas Gerais, Brazil, by more than 2,000 people.It is the primary language of the MaxakalÃÂ people. There is no known dialectal variation within MaxakalÃÂ. The language is characterized by a unique phonology, including vowel lowering and backing, and the absence of fricatives and nasals. MaxakalÃÂ typically follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, and verbs are inflected for mood. The MaxakalÃÂ lexicon includes verbal number, noun compounding, and lexical borrowings from LÃÂngua Geral varieties and Brazilian Portuguese.
No dialectal differences are known. Extinct varieties such as Kapoxó, Kumanaxó, MakunÃÂ, Panháme, and the 19th century "MaxakalÃÂ", which were sometimes taken to be dialects of MaxakalÃÂ, are now generally considered to represent a distinct variety of the MaxakalÃÂan family, very close to Ritual MaxakalÃÂ. Curt Nimuendaju collected a wordlist of a variety known as Maà ¡akarÃÂ/MonaÃÂóbm in 1939, which was shown by Araújo (1996) to be an early attestion of MaxakalÃÂ.
Spoken MaxakalÃÂ is different from the variety used in the MaxakalÃÂ ritual songs, Ritual MaxakalÃÂ, though both are classified as MaxakalÃÂan languages.
Maxakalàwas originally spoken in the Mucuri River, Itanhém River, and Jequitinhonha River areas. Today, Maxakalàis found in four main communities (aldeias) of Minas Gerais, with a total ethnic population of about 2,000:
Old Machacari is attested from the 19th century. Reported varieties include Monoxó, Makoni, Kapoxó, Kumanaxó, and Panhame. After the dispersion of its speakers in the 1750s, they lived between the upper Mucuri River and São Mateus River (near the present-day city of Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais), possibly up to Jequitinhonha in the north to the SuaçuàGrande River, a tributary of the Doce River, in the south. After 1750, the southward migration of the Botocudos forced the Machacari to seek refuge in Portuguese settlements on the Atlantic coast (in an area ranging from the mouth of the Mucuri River to the Itanhaém River), in Alto dos Bois (near Minas Novas), and in Peçanha. According to Saint-Hilaire (2000: 170), the Monoxó lived in Cuyaté (Doce River, near the mouth of the SuaçuàGrande River) probably around 1800, before seeking refuge in Peçanha. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Panhame and other Maxakali groups allied with the Portuguese to fight the Botocudos.
Modern Maxakali (called Monaxobm by Curt Nimuendajú) is distinct from Old Machacari. It was historically spoken from the Mucuri River valley up to the headwaters of the Itanhaém River in Minas Gerais.
MaxakalÃÂ has ten vowels, including five oral vowels and their nasal counterparts. In the table below, their orthographic representation is given in angle brackets.
Silva (2020) describes two nasal spread processes which affect vowels.
According to Silva (2020), all vowels except /a ã/ have lowered allophones.
The vowels /àÃÂài é è èàu à ©/ are lowered to [æ æàê êàè èààÃÂÃÂ], respectively, preceding a palatal coda. Examples include tex ~ tehex [ÃÂtêæj ~ têæÃÂææj] âÂÂrainâÂÂ, yẽy [ÃÂòæÃÂj] âÂÂto shut up, to be silentâÂÂ, pix [ÃÂpêj] âÂÂwash (realis)âÂÂ, méy [ÃÂmêÃÂj] âÂÂmake (realis)âÂÂ, kux [ÃÂkèÃÂj] âÂÂto end; foreheadâÂÂ, mà ©y [ÃÂmèÃÂÃÂjÃÂ] âÂÂto hold, to grab (irrealis)âÂÂ, tox [ÃÂtêÃÂj ~ ÃÂtêuwê] âÂÂlongâÂÂ, nõy [ÃÂnêÃÂÃÂj] âÂÂother; same-sex siblingâÂÂ.
The vowels /è èàu à ©/ are further lowered to [àÃÂào õ], respectively, preceding a velar coda, as in tuk [ÃÂtêÃÂð] âÂÂto grow upâÂÂ, yà ©mà ©g [òèÃÂÃÂmÃÂÃÂðÃÂ] âÂÂto know, to understand, to learnâÂÂ, ponok [puÃÂdêoð] âÂÂwhiteâÂÂ, mõg [ÃÂmõðÃÂ] âÂÂto go (realis)âÂÂ. The front vowels /àÃÂài é/ are never followed by a surface velar coda, because underlying velar codas are palatalized to palatal codas in this environment.
In addition, /èÃÂ/ surfaces as [ÃÂÃÂ] word-finally, as in yõgnà © [òõðÃÂà ÂÃÂÃÂÃÂnêÃÂÃÂÃÂ] âÂÂit is mineâÂÂ, xõnnà © [Ã¨à ©ÃÂÃÂnêÃÂÃÂÃÂ] âÂÂson! (vocative)âÂÂ, nà © [ÃÂnêÃÂÃÂÃÂ] âÂÂthis; to come (irrealis).
The vowels /a ã/ are backed to [àÃÂÃÂ] preceding a coronal (dental or palatal) coda. Examples include put(ah)at [pèÃÂtê(ÃÂæ)ÃÂÃÂï] âÂÂroadâÂÂ, n(ãh)ãn [ÃÂnê(ÃÂÃÂæ)ÃÂÃÂÃÂïÃÂ] âÂÂachioteâÂÂ, hax [ÃÂhÃÂj] âÂÂsmell, to smellâÂÂ, gãx [ÃÂáÃÂÃÂj] âÂÂangryâÂÂ.
The vowels /a ã/ are backed and rounded in open syllables following a labial onset, as in kopa [kuÃÂpÃÂÃÂ] âÂÂinsideâÂÂ, hõmã [hà ©ÃÂmÃÂÃÂÃÂ] âÂÂlong agoâÂÂ.
The nasals [m nê ò] have been analyzed as allophones of /b dê dÃÂ/ preceding nasal nuclei, but the contrast between /m nê ò/ and /b dê dÃÂ/ is emerging in Portuguese borrowings and in diminutives.
In the coda position, only the place of articulation is contrastive, the possibilities being labial (orthographic -p ~ -m), dental (-t ~ -n), palatal (-x ~ -y), and velar (-k ~ -g). The typical realization of the codas involves prevocalization, the consonantal element itself being optional.
MaxakalÃÂ has been analyzed as having no contrastive fricative or nasal consonants, with the exception of the glottal continuant /h/. The phonological status of the nasal consonants is ambiguous; Silva (2020) argues that in modern MaxakalÃÂ they are becoming contrastive through phonologization, even though until recently nasal consonants occurred only as allophones of voiced obstruents.
The most common word order in MaxakalÃÂ is SOV.
Most clause types in Maxakalàare characterized by the ergativeâÂÂabsolutive morphosyntactic alignment. The agents of transitive verbs are marked by the ergative postposition te, whereas the patients of transitive verbs and the intransitive subjects are unmarked. Absolutive pronominal participants are expressed by person prefixes; ergative pronominal participants take special forms upon receiving the ergative postposition te. The same forms are found with other postpositions; furthermore, ã and xa occur as the irregular inflected forms of the dative postposition pu in the first person singular and in the second person, respectively.
MaxakalÃÂ verbs inflect for mood. The realis mood is the most common one, whereas the irrealis mood is used in imperative and purpose clauses. The morphological exponence of the mood inflection follows one of at least 7 patterns.
Some verbs form number pairs, whereby the choice of the verb depends on the number of the absolutive participant (i.e., the subject of an intransitive verb or the patient of a transitive verb). The noun phrase which encodes the participant does not receive any overt marking.
Subject number
Patient number
MaxakalÃÂ nouns readily form compounds, here are some examples:
Maxakalàhas a number of lexical loans from one of the LÃÂngua Geral varieties, such as ãmãnex âÂÂpriestâÂÂ, tãyà ©mak âÂÂmoneyâÂÂ, kãmãnok âÂÂhorseâÂÂ, tapayõg âÂÂBlack manâÂÂ.
Loanwords from Brazilian Portuguese are extremely numerous. Examples include kapex âÂÂcoffeeâÂÂ, komenok âÂÂblanketâÂÂ, kapitõg âÂÂcaptainâÂÂ, pẽyõg âÂÂbeansâÂÂ, mug âÂÂbankâÂÂ, tenemiyam âÂÂTVâ (borrowed from Portuguese café, cobertor, capitão, feijão, banco, televisão).