The curious story of Guarani and its influence on the English, Spanish and Portuguese lexicons
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The following comes from Wikipedia:
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“Guaraní?(/?ɡwɑ?r??ni?,??ɡwɑ?r?ni/),[3]?specifically the primary variety known as?Paraguayan Guarani?(ava?e???[?????????]?"the people's language"), is a?South American?language that belongs to the?Tupi–Guarani?family[4]?of the?Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of?Paraguay?(along with?Spanish), where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and where half of the rural population are monolingual speakers of the language.[5][6]
It is spoken by communities in neighboring countries, including parts of northeastern?Argentina, southeastern?Bolivia?and southwestern?Brazil, and is a second official language of the?Argentine province?of?Corrientes?since 2004;[7][8]?it is also an official language of?Mercosur.[9]
Guaraní is one of the most widely spoken?American languages, and remains commonly used among the Paraguayan people and neighboring communities. This is unique among American languages;?language shift?towards European colonial languages (in this case, the other?official language?of?Spanish) has otherwise been a nearly universal phenomenon in the?Western Hemisphere, but Paraguayans have maintained their traditional language while also adopting Spanish.
Jesuit?priest?Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, who in 1639 published the first written grammar of Guarani in a book called?Tesoro de la lengua guaraní?(Treasure of the Guarani Language / The Guarani Language?Thesaurus), described it as a language "so copious and elegant that it can compete with the most famous [of languages]".
The name "Guarani" is generally used for the official language of Paraguay. However, this is part of a?dialect chain, most of whose?components?are also often called Guarani.
While Guarani, in its?Classical form, was the only language spoken in the expansive missionary territories, Paraguayan Guaraní has its roots outside of the?Jesuit Reductions.
Modern scholarship has shown that Guarani was always the primary language of colonial Paraguay, both inside and outside the reductions. Following the?expulsion of the Jesuits?in the 18th century, the residents of the reductions gradually migrated north and west towards?Asunción, a demographic shift that brought about a decidedly one-sided shift away from the Jesuit dialect that the missionaries had curated in the southern and eastern territories of the colony.[10][11]
By and large, the Guaraní of the Jesuits shied away from direct phonological loans from Spanish. Instead, the missionaries relied on the agglutinative nature of the language to formulate?calque?terms from native morphemes. This process often led the Jesuits to employ complicated, highly synthetic terms to convey Western concepts.[12]?By contrast, the Guarani spoken outside of the missions was characterized by a free, unregulated flow of Hispanicisms; frequently, Spanish words and phrases were simply incorporated into Guarani with minimal phonological adaptation.
A good example of that phenomenon is found in the word "communion". The Jesuits, using their agglutinative strategy, rendered this word "Tuparahava", a calque based on the word "Tupa", meaning God.[13]?In modern Paraguayan Guaraní, the same word is rendered "komu?o".[14]
Following the out-migration from the reductions, these two distinct dialects of Guarani came into extensive?contact?for the first time. The vast majority of speakers abandoned the less colloquial, highly regulated Jesuit variant in favor of the variety that evolved from actual use by speakers in Paraguay.[15]?This contemporary form of spoken Guaraní is known as?Jopará, meaning "mixture" in Guarani.”
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Also in Wikipedia, we are giving the following information regarding loanwords into English:
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“Guarani loans in English[edit]
English has adopted a small number of words from Guarani (or perhaps the related?Tupi) via Portuguese, mostly the names of animals or plants. "Jaguar" comes from?jaguarete?and "pira?a" comes from?pira a?a?("tooth fish" Tupi: pirá = fish, a?a = tooth).[29]?Other words are: "agouti" from?akuti, "tapir" from?tapira, "a?aí" from??wasa?i?("[fruit that] cries or expels water"), "warrah" from?aguará?meaning "fox", "margay" from?mbarakaja'y?meaning "small cat" and "common water boa" from?mbói?meaning "snake".?Jacaranda,?guarana?and?mandioca?are words of Guarani or Tupi–Guarani origin.[30]?Ipecacuanha?(the name of a medicinal drug) comes from a homonymous Tupi–Guaraní name that can be rendered as?ipe-ka'a-guene, meaning a creeping plant that makes one vomit.[31]
The name of Paraguay is itself a Guarani word, as is the name of?Uruguay. However, the exact meaning of either placename is up to varied interpretations. (See:?List of country-name etymologies.)
"Cougar" is borrowed from the archaic Portuguese ?u?uarana; the term was either originally derived from the?Tupi language?susua?rana, meaning "similar to deer (in hair color)" or from the Guaraní language term?guasu ara?while?puma?comes from the Peruvian?Quechua language.
Mayma yvypóra ou ko yvy ári i?apyty?yre ha ete?cha tekoruvicharenda ha akatúape jeguerekópe; ha ikatu rupi oikuaa a?etéva ha a?ete?yva, ipor?va ha ivaíva, tekotev? pehenguéicha oiko o?ondivekuéra.[32]
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[33]
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Regarding the influence of Guarani or Tupi-Guarani on Brazilian Portuguese, there is an interesting article published on Brazilingo.com entitled “Indigenous Influence in Brazilian Portuguese”.
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“Let’s talk a little bit about Brazilian History through the Brazilian Portuguese language. As you know, we just speak Portuguese because we were colonized by Portugal, a European country which was a navigation leader in XVI century.?
At this time, when they arrived in Brazil, more precisely in the Brazilian northern littoral, they found not an empty land, but a land where lots of people lived, the natives, the indigenous, who had their own culture, social organization and language.
Actually, there was more than one language, since each tribe, had its own linguistic system. Anthropologists estimate that in the year 1500, when the sailors arrived here, there were between 600 and a thousand different languages and dialects are spoken by the natives.
Until 1750, the more used native language in Brazil was Tupi-Guarani, however, its usage was legally forbidden in 1758 and since this year the Portuguese language was imposed as the official language in all social spheres: people couldn’t speak (or teach) Tupi at the schools and public agencies, for example.?
The causes of the prohibition can be explained by different reasons, but the main is: language is power and the official language is imposed by them who has the power on their hands.?
However, banned or not, Tupi-Guarani coexisted with the Portuguese language for at least two centuries, enough time for many words from Tupi-Guarani to be incorporated into Portuguese vocabulary, words we use until now and you, who studies Brazilian Portuguese, have learned even without knowing.?
Some indigenous vocabulary?
How it is expected, most indigenous words in the Brazilian vocabulary are related to the names of animals, plants and places, elements that belonged to the natives’ routine.?
Let’s see some examples:?
??????????Capivara (Capybara)
This friendly and sweet animal is a recurrent species in Latin America and its name in Tupi is?kapii’gwara, which means grass eater, a word formed by?kapi’?= grass and?gwara?= eater.?
??????????Tamanduá (Anteater)
The word in English is a literal translation for the indigenous name?tá-monduá, which is ant eater. Ants are the favorite food of anteaters.
??????????Jacaré (Alligator)
The alligator is a beautiful hunter, who always look at its victims (or just its future dinners) aside and this is exactly the meaning of this word in Tupi-Guarani:?jae?a-caré?or the one who looks aside.?
??????????Abacaxi (Pineapple)?
If you had the opportunity to try a slice of pineapple, you know how strong (and delicious, in my opinion) its smell is. The Brazilian natives also noticed that and the name abacaxi?comes from the word?ibacati?that means?ibá?= fruit and?cati?= strong smell or fruit that smell strong (or even “stinks”).?
??????????Maracujá (Passion fruit)
The passion fruit is characterized by its round shape and hardened skin as if it was a gourd and that is the meaning of the Tupi-Guarani word?moruku’ia:?the gourd-shaped food or that comes inside a gourd.
??????????A?aí
A fruit that became famous in the whole world because of its nutritional value has an indigenous name. Originally it was called?yasaí,?which means the fruit that cries, the fruit from what liquid comes out.?
??????????Ipiranga?
Ipiranga is until now a zone and a river in S?o Paulo and it is the place where Brazil’s Emperor Pedro I declared the country’s independence in 1822. The name Ipiranga is indigenous, originally?Ypiranga, which means?y?= river and?piranga?= red, or red river.?
??????????Ubatuba?
Ubatuba is a beautiful beach in the south of Brazil (I strongly recommend the visit). The original name in Tupi-Guarani is?Uyba-tyba, which means the place with many canoes, because, there, a meeting was held with many indigenous leaders, who had “parked” their canoes on the beach”
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Regarding the “Top Guarani Words to Use in Paraguay” and thus, obviously, either incorporated into Spanish, or being used contemporaneously and?separately, an expat named “Romy Natalia Goldberg” published her opinion in 2013 in expatscom.blog.
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It would make sense they would be used as an adstratum. Joan Rubin, Georgetown University Professor in Spanish linguistics and sociolinguistics, did a famous study that resulted in the well-know book entitled, “National Bilingualism in Paraguay” and showed that nearly all speakers in Paraguay back then were bilingual in Guarani and Spanish and that Guarani would be used in informal contexts and Spanish in the formal ones. This became a classic example of what Charles Fergueson at Stanford University coined as diglossia.
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Top Guarani Words to Use in Paraguay
By: Romy Natalia Goldber
Paraguay is one of Latin America’s most under-the-radar destinations. Perhaps this is in part because we don’t have a lot of large-scale tourist attractions (though Iguazu Falls are just a hop, skip and jump away).?Paraguay is more about the people.?In fact, for many tourists and expats alike, the most enjoyable aspect of Paraguay is their interactions and friendships with the locals.?
The majority of Paraguayans speak two languages: Spanish and Guarani, an indigenous language spoken in this region since before the arrival of European settlers.?In everyday conversation most employ a combination of Spanish and Guarani, commonly referred to as “jopará.”?In rural areas the mix is more Guarani-heavy, in urban areas people tend to speak more Spanish, peppering the conversation with occasional words or phrases in Guarani.?The net result of this is that, as foreigner, you do not need to become conversant or even learn a full sentence in Guarani. Throw in a Guarani word here and there and you’ll send the signal that you are interested in Paraguayan culture. Start practicing with these phrases and you’ll soon find people are eager to teach you more. And, as an expat, what is better than bragging to your friends back home that you’re learning not one but two languages?
Haku
“It’s hot!” Part proclamation, part conversation starter, this phrase is uttered throughout Paraguay on a regular basis (temps here are routinely in the 40’s during the summer and the 30’s in the spring). If it is really hot, you can say?“haku etere’i.”?Exclaiming?“haku eterei!”?will elicit an affirmative?“haku eterei”?in response. However, you should take care not to say?“Che haku”?(I’m hot), as that has a different, sexual meaning. It is also probably best to refrain from saying?“Che ro’y”?(I’m cold) as the subtle difference in pronunciation between it and?“Che ro’u”?(I want to have sex) is difficult to master.
Ja’uta la tereré
“Let’s drink tereré.”?“Tereré” is a yerba mate (loose tea) based beverage Paraguayans use to temporarily beat the heat. Drinking “tereré” is a highly social ritual which Paraguayans love to share with foreigners. Sitting around chatting while drinking “tereré” under the shade of a tree (mangos give the best shade) is a great way to cool down and also soak in Paraguay’s laid back attitude.?To learn more about “tereré” check out?this segment on “Good Food.”
Ipor?
Paraguayans are generally positive people. In fact, according to a?2012 Gallup poll?they are the happiest people on the planet!?Join the positivity by answering?“ipor?”?whenever anyone asks how you’re doing.?Technically it means “pretty” in Guaraní but in this context is understood to mean “good.”?Remember, the emphasis is on the last syllable. If you accidentally say?“póra”?with an emphasis on the first syllable you’ll end up telling someone they are as ugly as a ghost!
Hetereí
With their starchy cheese breads (“chipa”), fish chowders (“caldo de pescado”), and custardy bread puddings (“budín de pan”) Paraguayan cooks are masters of comfort food.?Whether you′ve been invited to a friend′s house for lunch or are dining in a countryside hotel, the surest way to show your appreciation for the meal is to say?“hetereí.”?This means “delicious” in Guaraní. Of course, another way to prove you enjoyed the food is to ask for seconds.?This should make most Paraguayan grandmothers just as happy.
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Tranquilopa
This common expression is a combination of the Spanish word “tranquilo” which means tranquil and the Guaraní word for everything, “pa.”?Even when life gets hectic, in Paraguay people will assure you all is calm and good.?This often comes accompanied by a thumbs-up, a gesture that is quite popular here.?Expats in Paraguay will find that both the?“tranquilopa”?outlook and the thumbs-up habit are contagious.
Ahata ayu
Rather than say good-bye, many Paraguayans prefer to take their leave by saying?“ahata ayu,”?which means “I’m going to leave and return.”?When you depart Paraguay to visit your home country the promise of an eventual return will be comforting – both to you and your local friends.
A note about making mistakes: Paraguayans get a real kick out of hearing foreigners speak Guarani. Of course, there is always the possibility that you’ll mess up and unknowingly say something dirty.?If you do, don’t worry!?Being willing to laugh at your mistakes will prove you’re a good sport and the incident will make for a funny anecdote to write home about.
Fraud Analyst??/?? Translator, Spanish to English ??
1 年Thanks for sharing this. Paraguay is such a fascinating place. I went to Ciudad del Este once after visiting Iguazú and always wanted to return to the country. I love how the indigenous language has been preserved and adopted mainstream among the generall populace.
Independent Translation and Localization Professional
1 年"fascinated"
Independent Translation and Localization Professional
1 年I was fanisted by this article. Midway through (after a detour reading elsewhere about the reductions) I sent it you my friend Joan Rubin. Then I saw that she is quoted. We studied linguistics at Georgetown University and have stayed in touch.