The Meaning of "Tree" in Two Different Tupí-Guaraní Languages From Two Different Neotropical Forests

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3754339
AutoresWilliam Balée (0000-0003-4046-5147, Tulane University, autor de correspondencia), Marilyn Cebolla Badie (Universitat de Barcelona)
Año2016
Volumen1
Número1
Fecha de publicación2016-04-06
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmazônica - Revista de Antropologia (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1984-6215 • E-ISSN: 2176-0675
EditorialUniversidade Federal do Para (PUBLISHER • BR)
DOI10.18542/amazonica.v1i1.140
OpenAlexW1568422801
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas17

Data are presented to show whether the terms for 'tree' in two different but related languages, Ka'apor or Urubu-Ka'apor (henceforth, Ka'apor) and Mbya-Guarani (henceforth, Mbya), are in fact cognate terms in having the same intensional meanings. These terms are myra (Ka'apor) and yvyra (Mbya). Data gathered from freelisting exercises among the two groups are compared to knowledge of architecture and dynamics of trees, basal area of trees, and local forestry in the two habitats to determine whether psychological salience rankings of taxa listed in the freelists match features of the environment and of the flora. Psychological salience is inferred by Smith's S. The data indicate that philosophical and linguistic axioms regarding trees as 'big and hard' tend to be supported statistically and ecologically with data from the two different languages in the two different forests of this study. Keywords: tree terms, Tupí-Guaraní languages, philosophical deduction, psychological salience

Axiom · Biology · Combinatorics · Epistemology · Geography · Categorization, perception, and language · Computer Science · Mathematics · Philosophy · Artificial Intelligence · Ecology