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This paper discusses the relativizing strategies employed in Sakurabiat, also known as Mekens. Relative clauses in this language use a non-finite verb form, which does not show tense-aspect morphology. these constructions are parallel to object focus constructions, which could also be interpreted as nominalizations. relative clauses can have internal or external head, and show the same distribution of nominal phrases in the language.

Abstract: In this paper we present the first results of the application of computational methods, inspired by the ideas in McMahon & McMahon (2005), to a dataset collected from languages of every branch of the Tupian family (including all living non-Tupí-Guaraní languages) in order to produce a classification of the family based on lexical distance. We used both a Swadesh list (with historically stabler terms) and a list of animal and plant names for results comparison. In addition, we also selected more (HiHi) and less (LoLo) stable terms from the Swadesh list to form sublists for indepedent treatment. We compared the resulting NeighborNet networks and neighbor-joining cladograms and drew conclusions about their significance for the current understanding of the classification of Tupian languages. One important result is the lack of support for the currently discussed idea of an Eastern-Western division within Tupí.

Este trabalho discute as estratégias de relativização na língua Sakurabiat, também conhecida como Mekens. Construções relativas nessa língua utilizam uma forma não-finita do verbo, que não recebe marcação de tempo-aspecto. Essas construções são paralelas às construções de foco do objeto, as quais podem ser interpretadas como nominalizações. Orações relativas podem ter núcleo interno ou externo e têm a mesma distribuição de sintagmas nominais na língua.

Abstract: Assessing the internal coherence and constituency of language families often centers either around comparing certain form-meaning correspondences, or around identifying the presence or absence of linguistic features across the members of the family. The former approach is generally restricted to the lexicon. The latter approach focuses mostly on structural characteristics of language. In this paper we present an alternative approach to comparing grammatical systems between languages within a language family, which aims at bringing these two approaches and their results closer to each other. We look at subordination strategies in a sample of Tupian languages, taking constructions as the basic unit of comparison, treating them as form-meaning correspondences. The Tupian family offers an especially intriguing case for studying subordination strategies in the South American context, given its enormous geographical spread and the variety of contact situations involving its member languages. Major patterns of subordination strategies can be discerned across the family, e.g. strategies involving nominalization, verbal incorporation and other subtypes of verbal serialization, but there is also a great degree of variability between the different languages. By mapping the structural diversity onto the known genealogy and geographic distribution, we hope to shed more light on the history of the Tupian family and on the diffusability of subordination strategies.

Resumo Este artigo analisa os termos de parentesco nas cinco línguas do ramo Tuparí, da família linguística Tupí, em duas abordagens distintas. Inicialmente, o artigo apresenta uma comparação das terminologias de parentesco das línguas Tuparí e reconstrói correlatos no Proto-Tuparí para as principais categorias de parentes consanguíneos e afins. As cinco línguas Tuparí apresentam termos claramente cognatos e reconstruíveis para a protolíngua para as diversas posições de parentesco: avós (FF, FM, MF, MM), pais (M, F), tios (MZ, MB, FZ), irmãos (B, Z), primos (FBS, FBD), filhos (S, D), sobrinhos (BS, BD, ZD, ZS), netos (SS, SD, DS, DD) e afins (W, H, DH). A partir da comparação das terminologias de parentesco nas línguas Tuparí, o artigo discute aspectos da terminologia do sistema de parentesco Tuparí, procurando situá-lo no contexto da teoria amazônica do parentesco pós-1990, tendo como base as representações terminológicas das línguas individuais e as reconstruções postuladas para Proto-Tuparí.