The “Gua” Prefix: Working Hypotheses on the Resilience of the Taíno Language

The “Gua” Prefix: Working Hypotheses on the Resilience of the Taíno Language

Antonio Yaguarix de Moya [i]
Guabancex Wind & Water Taíno Society [ii]

Summary

Objective: To start “excavating” some of the hidden secrets about the present use of Taíno, a supposedly extinct polysynthetic Caribbean Arawak language, through the analysis of the frequently used “gua” prefix. The analysis purports to show how much of original Taíno “became” Spanish, is still in use, or has fallen into disuse.
Methods: One-hundred and seventy-one Taíno morphemes that start with “gua” were found and analyzed. Controversial hybrid or obviously misspelled words were excluded from the analysis. The syllabic composition of the morphemes, their presence or absence from Spanish dictionaries, and their presence in today’s Dominican speech were explored.
Results: Out of the 171 documented Taíno morphemes, 44 (26 percent of the total) were adopted by the Spanish language. Thirty-two (73 percent) of those adopted are presently used in Dominican speech; only 27 percent are in disuse. One-hundred and twenty-seven Taíno words were never adopted by Spanish (76 percent of the total). Forty-four of such Taíno morphemes (26 percent of all; 35 percent of those non-adopted), are used today in the D.R. Eighty-three non-adopted Taíno morphemes (49 percent of the total; 65 percent of those non-adopted) are probably extinct. Only one monosyllabic word starting with “gua”; 31 two-syllabic words (18 percent of the total); 71 three-syllabic words (42 percent); and 68 tetra-syllabic words (40 percent) were found.
Conclusions: These findings provide evidence that around half of the original Taíno lexicon related to the important “gua” prefix survived the notion of extinction. The polysynthetic nature of Taíno morphemes is demonstrated by the fact that around four-fifths of them are either three-syllabic or tetra-syllabic. These characteristics suggest that Spanish adopted the simplest Taíno lexicon, while Taíno descendants have kept the more complex lexical parts. The resilience of words may be associated with older age, higher education and social class, and individuals’ regional origin.

Key words: Taíno, lexicon, polysynthesis, resilience, Dominican Republic


In 1993, for the first time, an internationally authorized English-language dictionary, the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, asserted that the Taíno were an ancient people of the Greater Antilles, eliminating the eroded cliché about the old myth of their extinction. Ever since, for this and other dictionaries, the term “extinction” has continued to be applied to the language, but not to the population.

In the following exercise, which has no intentions other than opening an urgent debate among linguistic scholars and students, as well as inciting rigorous research on our language and culture, we ask ourselves whether it has any sense, thinking it over, that a population such as the Dominican Republic’s (D.R.), could survive, while its language vanishes. This could be no more than a childish historical misnomer.

According to Emilio Tejera (1988), [1] at the beginning of the European conquest of America, the Spanish chronicler Pedro Mártir de Anglería wrote that the “gua“ syllable was the most frequent word particle used by the Taíno people. He and other authors in the 16th and 17th centuries, also quoted by Tejera, say that “gua” was the “equivalent of a determinative article… which could be translated as ‘he/she who is,’ ‘this who is’” (Zayas, pp. 21, 24). The priest Velasco (1562-1613) also states that “some people say that it denotes ownership of something signified by the name to whom it is attached, some others say that it is a particle of respect…. [2] Four centuries later, Febres Cordero (p. 162), quoted by Tejera, wrote that in 1892 he published “a list of 500 [Amerindian] geographical words in which gua appears as a radical, and more than 200 words where it is a suffix.”

Taking into account the apparent resilience of this grammar particle and its frequent use in present–day Dominican speech, it was decided to make a brief incursion into a handful of documents, with the objective of starting to “excavate” some of the possibly hidden secrets about the use of our speech. In this way, it was possible to inductively explore both Tejera’s quoted text and the List of Places in the D.R. that start with the prefix “gua” (http://ww.fallingrain.co/world/DR/a/G/u/a), [3] in order to unveil this language’s vitality as we examine it more closely.

Methods

One-hundred and seventy-one morphemes [4] with obvious Taíno, Arawak, or possibly Guarani origins, which start with “gua” were found and analyzed Those words whose linguistic origin could be controversial (because of likely hybridization with Spanish or with African languages) or that are obviously misspelled were excluded from the analysis. The syllabic composition of the morphemes vis-à-vis their likely polysynthetic characteristic, [5] their presence or absence from the Windows Modern-Spanish Dictionary, [6] and their presence in today’s Dominican speech were explored. It is important to recognize that the truth of this last assertion could be highly variable and controversial, due to its likely association to variables such as age, education, social class, and individual regional origin.

Results

The analysis unveiled the following findings:

Forty-four (26 percent of the total) Taíno words entered the Spanish lexicon; 127 words (74 percent) were not incorporated into Spanish. Only one monosyllabic morpheme with the prefix “gua” was found that had not been adopted by the European Spanish-language that is still used in the D.R.: “guay,” a heavily loaded emotional interjection that seems to be a death cry.

Eighteen disyllabic morphemes that entered the Spanish lexicon were detected. Twelve of them are still used today in the D.R., namely: guaba, guaca, guacal, guagua, guaicán, guama, guanín, guao, guaro, guasa, guate, and guayo. Six have tended to fall into disuse: guaco, guama, guamo, guana, guaní, and guara. Thirteen disyllabic Taíno morphemes were not incorporated into Spanish; of them, 8 morphemes are still used in the D.R.: guací, guaicí, guaigüey, guaigüí, guaiza, guano, guatiao, and guaucí. Five words not adopted by Spanish apparently have fallen into disuse in the country: guabá, guacón, guaibá, guamí, and guarey.

Eighteen three-syllabic morphemes entered the Spanish lexicon. Thirteen are used nowadays in the D.R.: guabina, guácima, guajaca, guajiro, guanaja, guaraná, guaraní, guarapo, guásima, guataca, guayaba, guayacán, and guayana. Five are not used anymore: guaniquí, guaruma, guayaco, guaguanche, and guaguaza. Fifty-three words were not incorporated by Spanish; 18 of them are presently used in the D.R.: Guabancex, Guabate, guácara, guanima, Guanuma, guárana, guararé, Guarionex, Guaroa, guarúa, Guayama, guáyiga, guaymama, Guaymate, Guaynabo, Guayubín, guayuyo, and guázuma. Thirty five words are not presently used: guacaica, guacana, guacaox, guacayo, guagaica, guaguací, guaguari, guaiquía, guajaba, guajagua, guajayán, gualete, guamira, guanabax, guanabo, guanabrei, guanaguax, guanama, guanara, guanía, guanibán, guaoxerí, guaquía, guaragüey, guaraiba, guaraje, guarianón, guaurabo, guavanaán, guayagan, guayagua, guayaro, guaybana, guaymosa, and guázara.

Eight tetra-syllabic morphemes entered the Spanish lexicon; 7 are still in use in the D.R.: guacamayo, guachupita, guanábana, guaraguao, guatemala, guayacanes, and guazábara. One has fallen into disuse: guanabina. Sixty tetrasyllabic words were not incorporated into Spanish; of these, 17 are used today in the D.R.: guaconejo, guagugiona, guajimía, guanahaní, guananico, guaraguanó, guaranate, guaricano, guariquitén, guarocuya, guatapanal, guataúba, guatíbere, guacanagarí, guacarapita, guacayarima, and guayajayuco. Forty-four words not adopted by Spanish are extinct: guabanimo, guabarete guabonito guacacuba guacamarí guacaniquín guacaraica, guacaraca, guacuamarex, guainamoca, guajabona, guamacaje, guamaonocon, guamiquina, guamorete, guanabites, guanaguana, guanahibo, guanajuma, guananagax, guanatuví, guanavate, guanayvico, guaniabano, guaragüey, guaraiba, guaramatex, guarianón, guarizaca, guasabacoa, guasábalo, guaticavá, guatiguaná, guayabacón, guayamico, and guayaronel (four syllables); and guabaniquinax, guanahatabey, guanaoconel, guaninicabón, guaragüeibana, guavaenechin, and guavavoconel (five syllables).

In sum, the existence of 44 Taíno morphemes starting with “gua” that have been adopted by the European Spanish socio-lexicon (26 percent of the total; 18 two-syllabic, 18 three-syllabic, and 8 tetra-syllabic) is documented. Thirty-two (73 percent) of them are presently used in Dominican speech. Twelve (27 percent) are extinct. One-hundred and twenty-seven Taíno words were never adopted by Spanish (76 percent of the total). Forty-four of such Taíno morphemes (26 percent of all, 35% of those non-adopted; 1 monosyllabic, 8 two-syllabic, 18 three-syllabic, and 17 tetra-syllabic), are used today in the D.R. Eighty-three non-adopted Taíno morphemes (49 percent of the total, 65 percent of those non-adopted; 5 two-syllabic, 35 three-syllabic, and 43 tetra-syllabic) are probably extinct. Only one monosyllabic word; 31 two-syllabic words (18 percent of the total); 71 three-syllabic words (42 percent); and 68 tetra-syllabic words (40 percent) were found.





Discussion

The polysynthetic nature of 171 Taíno morphemes that start with the prefix “gua” documented in this analysis is demonstrated by the fact that only one of them is monosyllabic, 18 percent are two-syllabic, 42 percent are three-syllabic, and 40 percent are tetra-syllabic. One fourth (26 percent) of those Taíno morphemes were adopted by the European Spanish socio-lexicon. Almost three-fourths (73 percent of those adopted; 19 percent of the total) of these “Spanish” morphemes are still in use in present-day Dominican speech. Only a minority has experienced extinction (7 percent of the total). Three-fourths (74 percent) of the Taíno lexicon were not incorporated into the Spanish language. One-fourth of all morphemes not adopted by Spanish (26 percent of the total; one-third of those non-adopted), continue to be used by the Dominican population, not knowing their Taíno origin. Two-thirds of those morphemes not adopted by Spanish (half of the words) have become extinct in the D.R.

On the basis of these findings, the following hypotheses [7] are advanced:

1. The more complex the syllabic structure of a morpheme is (higher contraction of prefixes or higher polysynthetic agglutination), the lower is the trend to adopt the morpheme to Spanish.

2. The more complex the syllabic structure of a morpheme is, the higher is the trend to know and to continue using this morpheme in Dominican speech today, despite its absence from Spanish dictionaries.

3. The more complex the syllabic structure of a morpheme not adopted by Spanish is, the higher the trend of extinction is of this morpheme in Dominican speech today.

In conclusion, in contrast with the received view, these findings provide evidence that Taíno language lexicon related to the important “gua” prefix survived the notion of extinction. This exercise suggests that about one-fourth of the Taíno vocabulary was adopted by Spanish, and another fourth is used today in Dominican speech. The loss in the Taíno lexicon, five centuries after the encounter among the cultures and languages of America, Europe, and Africa, seems to amount to half of the original vocabulary. Agglutinative polysynthetic characteristics of this language, such as contraction and incorporation, suggest that the Spanish language was able to adopt the simplest and more closely related Taíno lexicon, while Taíno descendants have tended to keep the more complex and elaborate lexical parts. Lost and found opportunities of linguistic development in these 500 years must be studied seriously by the national and international scientific community.
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Notes

[1] Tejera, Emilio (ed.). Indigenismos. Santo Domingo, Sociedad Dominicana de Bibliófilos, 1988.
[2] We realize that the present-day meaning or meanings of the prefix may have experienced changes throughout time. Only empirical research could answer this question.
[3] In no way should this search be regarded as exhaustive of polysynthetic Amerindian languages.
[4] In human language, a phoneme is the smallest unit of speech that distinguishes meaning. Phonemes are not the physical segments themselves, but abstractions of them. In morpheme-based morphology, a morpheme is the smallest linguistic unit that has semantic meaning. In spoken language, morphemes are composed of phonemes, the smallest linguistically distinctive units of sound. The concept morpheme differs from the concept word, as many morphemes cannot stand as words on their own. A morpheme is free if it can stand alone, or bound if it is used exclusively alongside a free morpheme. A lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics that roughly corresponds to a set of words that are different forms of the same word (Wikipedia 2007).
[5] Polysynthetic languages are highly synthetic languages, i.e. languages in which words are composed of many morphemes. The degree of synthesis refers to the morpheme-to-word ratio. Languages with more than one morpheme per word are synthetic. Polysynthetic languages lie at the extreme end of the synthesis continuum, with a very high number of morphemes per word (at the other extreme are isolating or analytic languages with only one morpheme per word). These highly synthetic languages often have very long words that correspond to complete sentences in less synthetic languages (Wikipedia 2007).
[6] More sophisticated and inclusive dictionaries could reveal a slightly larger percentage of Taíno morphemes adopted by the Spanish language.
[7] The inductive approach does not try to make generalizations, but to advance hypotheses that could guide further research.

About the authors

[1] Dominican social psychologist (M.A.) and epidemiologist (M.P.H.). Professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) from 1976. Since 1987 he has been studying the polysynthetic parameter of Taino language and mythology.
[2] Guabancex Wind & Water Taino Society was founded the 9th of August, 2006, by Lynne Guitar, Fátima Portorreal, Irka Mateo, Geo Ripley and the author of this article in Santo Domingo, and by Jorge Baracutei Estévez , Valerie Nanaturey Vargas, Taino Almestica and José Barreiro in the United States of America.

A Brief Summary of the Origin and Survival of the Taíno Language

By David Wahayona Campos Reyes

“The Arawak is described as ‘the softest of all Indian tongues.’ It is rich in vowels and free from gutturals. The enunciation is distinct and melodious”–Brinton 1871.

In this essay, I will elaborate on the native languages of the Caribbean and their usage at the present time. I will be using a spelling system for native Caribbean words that I believe better approximates the original pronunciation.

The Greater Antilles, lying in the center of the Caribbean region, contain the four largest islands of the area. The islands of Kuba (Cuba), Kiskeya/Haití (Haití/Dominican Republic), Borikén (Puerto Rico), Xamaíka (Jamaica), as well as most of the surrounding islands, all shared a universal language with regional dialects. In 1690, traveler Charles de Rochefort said, “It is to be observed that though the Caribbeans of all the islands do generally understand one another, yet there is in several of them some dialect difference from that of the others. In the mid 1500’s, Las Casas, a Dominican priest, who had learned to speak Taíno wrote, “In all these islands there is but one tongue and the same customs.”

The Taíno language of the Greater Antilles is related to the Arawak language stemming from South America. “The people of the Arawak language family still comprise one of the more widespread indigenous cultures within the relatively large kinship nations in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins of South America.” –Barreiro, 1990.The language of the central Arawak or Lokono (meaning the ‘people’) and the Garífuna language, currently of Central America, are prime examples that are closely related to the Taíno language, which is sometimes referred to as ‘Island-Arawak.’

The Kalínago (Island-Carib) of neighboring islands such as Wáitukubulí (Dominica) also fused their Carib language with that of the Eyéri (Arawak speakers) and Taíno peoples. The Kalínago, Eyéri and Taíno routinely traded, fought and inter-married, thus enabling the women to pass down the language to their children. An “Island-Carib” dictionary, translated into French was compiled by Father Raymond Breton, a Dominican priest on the Island of Wáitukubulí in 1665. Today we know that the dictionary is a fusion between the Island-Carib and Arawak languages. “It is quite clear that the language described by Breton (in the Lesser Antilles) was Arawak, not Carib (though containing many Carib elements).” –Taylor, 1977.

In 1797, the so called “Black-Caribs” (due to racial mixing) or Garífuna of Yulúmein (St. Vincent) were exiled by the British and resettled in the Bay Islands (present- day Islas de la Bahia) off the northern coast of Honduras. The Kalínago of Wáitukubulí were never removed and remain there till this day. The Garífuna, speak a Creole language, which still retains components of their indigenous origin. It is composed of approximately 45% Arawak, 25% Kaliña (Carib), 15% French, 10% English and 5% Spanish. It is interesting to note that the grammar and lexicon of the Garífuna and Lokono languages are primarily of Arawakan-Maipure origin, making them a valuable component in the reconstruction of the Taíno language. There are an estimated 70,000 Garífuna speakers and 1,500 Lokono speakers today. Their dialects are the closest to the Taíno language.

Contrary to what has been thought and taught by some, the Taíno language was not completely extinguished. Portions were absorbed over time into the Spanish speaking Caribbean. There are well over 800 Taíno and Island-Carib words still spoken throughout the Caribbean region. Among words of indigenous origin are objects, geographical names, and personal names, as well as flora and fauna. Contemporary cities and towns with Taíno names, to list just a few, include: Yabukoa, Bayamón, Arecibo, Guantánamo, Habana, Aibonito (derived from Hatiboniko), Tanamá, Moka, Morovis, Cayey, Naguabo , Mayarí, and Higüey. Throughout all the Islands, the majority of fruits, native trees and rivers also retain their Taíno names. Trees and fruits with Taíno names, include: Ceiba, wáçima (guáçima), wayakán (guayakán), tabonuko, mamey, kaimito, wanábana (guanábana), yagrumo, henekén, mahágua and hiwéra (higüera). Rivers with Taíno names include Hokonuko, Hakaboa, Cibuko, Bauta, Baramaya, Oçama and Bairoa. Other commonly used Taíno words, to list just a few: tonína (Caribbean dolphin), pahuíl (cashew nut), tabuko (thicket, underbrush), makakóta (this word, which refers to the head of a fish, was provided by local fisherman in the late 1950’s), arkabuko (forest, woodland), chichí (a baby), butaka (a Carib word for ‘rocking chair’), karakól (sea shell), mabí (a refreshment made from a root), makuto (a backpack), kokolía (sea crab), kolibrí (hummingbird), warawáo (guaraguao) (Caribbean red-tailed hawk), wayo (guayo) (a grater), and chischí (a light rain). These words and many more are so common that they are assumed to be of Spanish origin. There are many that use both the Spanish and Taíno word interchangeably: examples include the Spanish word ‘buho’ and the Taíno word ‘múkaro’ for owl; the Spanish word ‘sardinas’ and the Carib word ‘tinápa’ for sardines, and the Spanish adjective ‘poquito’ and the Taíno adjective ‘chinchín’ meaning ‘a little bit’. “The prevalence of these words suggests a prolonged period of Taíno-Spanish interaction whereby these names could be wholly incorporated into the Spanish language”. –Ferbel 1995.

Some words of Taíno origin are used as adjectives and verbs. For example, the phrase ‘dar mucho katéy’ means to be very bothersome. ‘Aciguatao’ means to be sad. ‘Hohoto, -ta’ means rotten or insipid, particularly in reference to tubers (potatoe/yam). Other examples include: ‘duro como el guayakán’ which refers to a person who is in good health; ‘los años de la guákara’ which refers to a time long ago; ‘tiene unos makos bonitos’ which means having pretty eyes (aku being the word for ‘eye’). There are Taíno words that combine with Spanish suffixes, creating new words. The word ‘baguada’ refers to a storm that comes in from the sea. It is composed of bawa, ‘sea’, and the Spanish suffix -ada.

The distinct nasal sound heard in the contemporary speech of the Spanish Caribbean may have been influenced by Taíno phonology. The pronunciation of the aspirated ‘H’ is a common trait in many indigenous languages including Taíno. Also, it is quite likely that the transformation of words ending with the suffix –ado into –ao, which originated in parts of Spain, was adopted by the indigenous population due to its similarity to existing Taíno language structure: e.g. colorado becomes colorao, apurado becomes apurao, and cansado becomes cansao.

Taíno villages continued to exist into the 19th century and Taíno consciousness also continues to the present day. A census taken in Kiskeya (Dominican Republic) in 1777 revealed that out of the total population of 400,000, 100,000 were of Taíno-European descent and 60,000 of Taíno- African descent (Emilio Rodrigues de Demorizi). An un-official census in 1780 in the town of San German, Puerto Rico revealed a large indigenous population, which was proven by an official census in 1799 that recorded about 2,000 natives in the region. In light of recent Mitochondrial DNA studies conducted by Dr. Juan Martinez Cruzado, a geneticist at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, it has been found that at least 61% of Puerto Ricans possess Native American DNA. Similar results will probably be observed at other Caribbean islands. These new findings obviously challenge the biased view that indigenous peoples disappeared from the Caribbean. “Throughout the Caribbean, usually in remote mountain ranges and coastal promontories, remnant groups and communities of Taíno-Arawak and Carib descendents survive to the present.” –Jose Barreiro 1990. In Kuba, there is a strong Guahiro-Taíno presence in the eastern most provinces of Barakoa and Kamagüey. There is a Carib reserve on the island of Wáitukubulí, where the Kalínago continue to make canoes (kanoa) in the traditional fashion. People of Carib and Taíno-Arawak descent can be found living throughout towns and villages such as Arima on the island of Kairi (Trinidad).

Thus, the native language continued to thrive in small enclaves throughout the Caribbean islands. We can speculate that the last fluent speakers of Taíno on the island of Kuba passed away in the mid to late nineteenth century. In the Lesser Antilles the last fluent speakers of Island-Carib passed away in the mid 1920’s. In the 1940’s and 50’s, Douglas Taylor, a linguist living on the island of Wáitukubulí, was still able to find islanders who could recall portions of the language they heard as children from their grandparents. And let us not forget the Garífuna who continue to speak the indigenous language of the Caribbean.

Present studies have been made on the Taíno languge such as The Taíno Picture Dictionary (Palabras Taínas/ Adián Taíno) by Daniel Wakonax Rivera in 1996, Arqueología Lingüística (Estudios modernos dirigidos al rescate y reconstrucción del arahuaco Taíno) by Dr. Manuel Álvarez Nazario in 1996, and Glosario Etimológico Taíno-Español by Perea in 1941. There are countless other articles, vocabulary lists, and Dictionaries on the Taíno and Island-Carib languages. Currently, work is being done in the Caribbean and diaspora to revive these languages.

The purpose of this brief summary is to educate and encourage awareness in the general public, as well as in Taíno and Kalínago descendants, to continue to honor this ancient living heritage. Language is an expression of one’s culture. As one Guahiro-Taíno scholar, Jose Barreiro, once said, “Inside every mestizo there is either one dead Indian, or an Indian waiting to re-emerge.”

Replies: 3 Comments
My grandparents always spoke of the ways long past and i continue to search for ways to know more of whose blood flows so strong in me.
Emilio Ortiz said @ 08/31/2004 03:50 AM AT

I am Jamaican, and presently pursuing the idea of changing my name to our original people the Arawak Indians. I have read your article and deeply appreciate its depth. Thanks for such great work
Mark ANTHONY STEWART said @ 08/22/2004 03:51 PM AT

My mother who was taken away from her roots incouraged me to grab onto branches that she said would die, if I did not. In so doing, I discovered a strength that now makes me feel complete as a person. Now, I bring my children to the sauce of their being, that they may feel the strength of the blood that runs in their veinsI thank those who are giving of themselves to revive and/ or keep alive what was/is almost lost.
Camille Stephenson (Castellano) said @ 04/10/2004 05:13 PM AT