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# Mojeño Trinitario classifiers: a multilocus and multifunctional system

Françoise Rose

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Françoise Rose. Mojeño Trinitario classifiers: a multilocus and multifunctional system. Cadernos de Etnolingüística, 7, 2024, Série Monografias, Andrey Nikulin; Geny Gonzales Castaño; Lev Michael, 978-0-9846008-6-1. hal-04684656

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Cadernos de

Etnolingüística

(Série Monografias, 7)

# Mojeño Trinitario classifiers:
a multilocus and multifunctional system

by

Françoise Rose

Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage
(CNRS/Université Lyon 2)

2024
Cadernos de Etnolinguística

ISSN 1946-7095

Editors:

Andrey Nikulin
Geny Gonzales Castaño
Lev Michael

Série Monografias, 7

Mojeño Trinitario classifiers: a multilocus and multifunctional system

by Françoise Rose

126 pp.

ISBN 978-0-9846008-6-1

© Françoise Rose

Wide, non-commercial distribution of this work is encouraged, both elec-
tronically and in print, provided its contents and form remain unaltered.

Available for download at
http://www.etnolinguistica.org/mono:7

Submitted on September 6, 2023

Revised on May 2, 2024

Published on September 2, 2024
Table of contents

<table><tr><td>List of figures</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>List of tables</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Acknowledgements</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>List of abbreviations</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>1 Introduction</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>1.1 Goals of the book</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>1.2 Methodology</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>1.3 Corpus</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>1.4 Datasets</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>1.5 Overview of the book</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>1.6 Main results and highlights</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>1.7 Presentation of the examples</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>2 Preliminary information on Mojeño Trinitario</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>2.1 Mojeño Trinitario and other Mojeño languages</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>2.2 Phonological inventory</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>2.3 Prosody: stress and rhythmic syncope</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>2.4 Morphophonology</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>2.4.1 Hiatus resolution</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>2.4.2 Consonant sequence repairs</td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>2.4.3 Vowel harmony and consonant change due to adjacent vowel</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td>2.5 Writing system</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td>2.6 Parts of speech</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td>2.7 The person paradigm</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td>2.8 Noun morphology and NP syntax</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>2.8.1 Possession</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td>2.8.2 Noun+Noun compounds</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td>2.9 Verb morphology</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td>2.9.1 Person indexation</td><td>28</td></tr><tr><td>2.9.2 Aspects of stem-internal morphology</td><td>28</td></tr><tr><td>2.9.3 Noun incorporation</td><td>30</td></tr><tr><td>2.10 Clause syntax</td><td>31</td></tr><tr><td>2.11 Nominalization</td><td>32</td></tr><tr><td>2.12 Subordination</td><td>33</td></tr><tr><td>3 Mojeño classifiers: The state of the art</td><td>34</td></tr><tr><td>3.1 Definition of the classifiers and formal characteristics</td><td>35</td></tr><tr><td>3.2 Inventory</td><td>36</td></tr><tr><td>3.3 Classifiers vs. nouns</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>3.4 Phonological shape</td><td>39</td></tr><tr><td>3.5 Position and behavior within the morphological word</td><td>42</td></tr><tr><td>4 Classifier semantics</td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td>4.1 Semantics of individual classifiers</td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td>4.1.1 -cho ~ -che CLF:plank</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>4.1.2 -gi ~ -gie CLF:cyl</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>4.1.3 -giwu CLF:digit</td><td>48</td></tr><tr><td>4.1.4 -je ~ -ju'e CLF:interior</td><td>48</td></tr></table>
<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.5 -ji CLF:amorph</td>
      <td>48</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.6 -ku CLF:path</td>
      <td>51</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.7 -miro CLF:face</td>
      <td>51</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.8 -mo ~ -me CLF:fabric</td>
      <td>51</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.9 -muri CLF:group</td>
      <td>52</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.10 -mu'i CLF:setting</td>
      <td>52</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.11 -na CLF:H/CLF:GNR</td>
      <td>53</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.12 -no ~ -ne CLF:back</td>
      <td>53</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.13 -ño ~ -ñe CLF:tube</td>
      <td>54</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.14 -omo ~ -e CLF:liquid</td>
      <td>54</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.15 -pa₁ CLF:mass</td>
      <td>54</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.16 -pa₂ CLF:needle</td>
      <td>55</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.17 -pa₃ CLF:manioc</td>
      <td>55</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.18 -pa'i ~ -pue CLF:ground</td>
      <td>55</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.19 -pe CLF:blade</td>
      <td>55</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.20 -pewo CLF:foot</td>
      <td>56</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.21 -pewo'u CLF:hand</td>
      <td>56</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.22 -pi CLF:fili</td>
      <td>56</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.23 -pu'i CLF:island</td>
      <td>56</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.24 -si CLF:sphere</td>
      <td>57</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.25 -ugi CLF:face</td>
      <td>57</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.26 -ve CLF:pointed</td>
      <td>58</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.27 -'a CLF:ovoid</td>
      <td>58</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.28 -'e CLF:convex</td>
      <td>58</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.29 -'i₁ CLF:atmo</td>
      <td>59</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.30 -'i₂ CLF:fruit</td>
      <td>59</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.31 -'o CLF:body</td>
      <td>60</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1.32 -'ugi CLF:eye</td>
      <td>60</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.2 Semantic parameters relevant for the classifier system</td>
      <td>60</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.3 Semantic sets of classifiers</td>
      <td>62</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.4 Semantic shifts</td>
      <td>64</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.5 Semantics and the frequency of individual classifiers</td>
      <td>68</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>5 Morphosyntactic distribution of the classifiers</td>
      <td>70</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>5.1 On numerals and numeral-like items</td>
      <td>73</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>5.2 On nominals</td>
      <td>77</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>5.3 On adjectives</td>
      <td>81</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>5.4 In verbal stems</td>
      <td>82</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6 Functions of the classifiers</td>
      <td>88</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.1 Not an agreement device</td>
      <td>89</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.2 Not an individuation function</td>
      <td>92</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.3 Qualification</td>
      <td>93</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.4 Derivation</td>
      <td>98</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.5 Reference management and identification</td>
      <td>101</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.6 Applicativization</td>
      <td>105</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.6.1 Applicativization in intransitive verbs</td>
      <td>106</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.6.2 Applicativization in transitive verbs</td>
      <td>107</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.6.3 Semantics of the classifier-marked applicative construction</td>
      <td>109</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>6.6.4 Pragmatics of the classifier-marked applicative construction</td>
      <td>111</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
<table><tr><td>7 A multilocus and multifunctional classifier system among nominal categorization devices</td><td>113</td></tr><tr><td>7.1 A multilocus classifier system</td><td>113</td></tr><tr><td>7.2 A multifunctional classifier system</td><td>113</td></tr><tr><td>7.3 Classifiers as semi-grammatical elements</td><td>114</td></tr><tr><td>7.4 Classifiers among nominal categorization devices in Mojeño Trinitario</td><td>115</td></tr><tr><td>References</td><td>117</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix: Coding of classifiers in the seven-text sample</td><td>123</td></tr></table>
List of figures

<table><tr><td>Figure 1. The Bolivia-Paraná subgroup (Carvalho 2018a)</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 2. Noun affix template</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 3. The noun phrase</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 4. Verb template</td><td>28</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 5. Frequency of individual classifiers within the corpus</td><td>68</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 6. Morphosyntactic distribution of classifiers in discourse</td><td>71</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 7. Distribution of a selection of classifiers on different hosts</td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 8. Frequency of individual classifiers on numerals and numeral-like elements</td><td>76</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 9. Frequency of individual classifiers on nominals</td><td>80</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 10. Frequency of individual classifiers on adjectives</td><td>82</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 11. Frequency of individual classifiers on verbs</td><td>87</td></tr></table>
List of tables

<table><tr><td>Table 1. Consonant inventory</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Table 2. Vowel inventory</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Table 3. Iambic parsing</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>Table 4. Trochaic parsing</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>Table 5. Hiatus resolution processes</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>Table 6. Consonant sequence repairs</td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>Table 7. Alphabet correspondences</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td>Table 8. Mojeño Trinitario person paradigms</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>Table 9. The active suffix on the two classes of active stems</td><td>30</td></tr><tr><td>Table 10. Inventory of 32 Mojeño Trinitario classifiers with glosses</td><td>36</td></tr><tr><td>Table 11. Form of the classifiers</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>Table 12. All attested surface forms of each classifier in the corpus</td><td>42</td></tr><tr><td>Table 13. Semantics of individual classifiers</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>Table 14. Categorization of animal groups with shape classifiers</td><td>62</td></tr><tr><td>Table 15. Semantically based sets of classifiers</td><td>63</td></tr><tr><td>Table 16. Unique body part classifiers</td><td>64</td></tr><tr><td>Table 17. Morphosyntactic distribution of classifiers</td><td>70</td></tr><tr><td>Table 18. Frequency of each classifier on different parts of speech in the corpus</td><td>71</td></tr><tr><td>Table 19. Distribution of classifiers by parts of speech of hosts</td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>Table 20. Classifiers on numerals and numeral-like quantifiers</td><td>76</td></tr><tr><td>Table 21. Functions of NPs expressing referents categorized by classifiers in verbs</td><td>84</td></tr><tr><td>Table 22. Association of functions of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers with the part of speech of their host</td><td>88</td></tr><tr><td>Table 23. Functions of classifiers in the seven-text sample</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>Table 24. Referential distance and topic persistence of different referential expressions</td><td>101</td></tr><tr><td>Table 25. The multilocus dimension of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers</td><td>113</td></tr><tr><td>Table 26. The multifunctional dimension of Mojeño classifiers (following Krasnoukhova 2012)</td><td>114</td></tr></table>
Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank the many speakers of Mojeño Trinitario which I have worked with over the years since 2005. Among them, Florencia Cariri Tamo, Eulogio Ibañez Noza, Calixta Mosua Cayuba, Natividad Tamo Noza, as well as the late Leonardo Jou Ichu, have played a central role. I feel very grateful for their friendship, trust, and for the many fun sessions working with them on the Mojeño Trinitario language. I hope my contribution to the description of their language will also prove valuable to their descendants.

My deepest thanks go to three junior scholars who are dedicating their doctoral research to Arawak classifiers: Sandra Cronhamn, Anita Obenaus, and Saskia Dunn. Their interest in this topic motivated me to publish as a book what was initially intended as a chapter of a descriptive grammar of Mojeño Trinitario. Apart from this motivation, they also offered invaluable feedback, which has greatly improved the original manuscript. I sincerely thank them for our rich discussions. I also want to thank two anonymous reviewers and the editors, Andrey Nikulin and Lev Michael, for their suggestions.

Finally, I am very grateful to my mentors Denis Creissels and Colette Grinevald, for guiding me towards language description and typology. Colette's typological work on classifiers, along with that of Alexandra Aikhenvald, paved the way for the present work.
List of abbreviations

<table><tr><td>ACT</td><td>active</td><td>MID</td><td>middle</td></tr><tr><td>ADD</td><td>additive</td><td>MOT.PRES</td><td>motion presentational</td></tr><tr><td>APPL</td><td>applicative</td><td>MULT</td><td>multiplicative</td></tr><tr><td>APPROX</td><td>approximative</td><td>NAE</td><td>non-assertion of existence</td></tr><tr><td>ART</td><td>article</td><td>NPOSD</td><td>non-possession</td></tr><tr><td>CAUS</td><td>causative</td><td>NEG</td><td>negation</td></tr><tr><td>CLF</td><td>classifier</td><td>NH</td><td>nonhuman</td></tr><tr><td>COL</td><td>collective</td><td>NVIS</td><td>non-visual evidence</td></tr><tr><td>COMPAR</td><td>comparative</td><td>NZ</td><td>nominalizer</td></tr><tr><td>CONC.MOT</td><td>concomitant motion</td><td>ORD</td><td>ordinal</td></tr><tr><td>D</td><td>discourse marker</td><td>PASS</td><td>passive</td></tr><tr><td>DEM</td><td>demonstrative</td><td>PFV</td><td>perfective</td></tr><tr><td>DESP</td><td>despective</td><td>PH</td><td>placeholder</td></tr><tr><td>DIM</td><td>diminutive</td><td>PL</td><td>plural</td></tr><tr><td>DIST</td><td>distal</td><td>PL.KIN</td><td>plural for kinship terms</td></tr><tr><td>DISTR</td><td>distributive</td><td>PLURACT</td><td>pluractional</td></tr><tr><td>DUB</td><td>dubitative</td><td>POSD</td><td>possessed form of the N</td></tr><tr><td>EMP</td><td>empathy</td><td>POT.LOC</td><td>potential location</td></tr><tr><td>EV.NZ</td><td>event nominalizer</td><td>PREP</td><td>preposition</td></tr><tr><td>EXIST</td><td>existential</td><td>PRIV</td><td>privative</td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>feminine (singular)</td><td>PROG.GRAD</td><td>progressive gradual</td></tr><tr><td>FRUSTR</td><td>frustrative</td><td>PROX</td><td>proximal</td></tr><tr><td>FUT</td><td>future</td><td>PST</td><td>past</td></tr><tr><td>GNR</td><td>generic</td><td>RECP</td><td>reciprocal</td></tr><tr><td>GNR.P.NZ</td><td>general patient nominalizer</td><td>RED</td><td>reduplication</td></tr><tr><td>GPN</td><td>generic possessive noun</td><td>RED2</td><td>double reduplication</td></tr><tr><td>H</td><td>human</td><td>REP</td><td>repetitive</td></tr><tr><td>HAB.A.NZ</td><td>habitual agent nominalizer</td><td>RES</td><td>resumptive</td></tr><tr><td>HAB.P.NZ</td><td>habitual patient nominalizer</td><td>RESTR</td><td>restrictive</td></tr><tr><td>INDT</td><td>indeterminate</td><td>RPT</td><td>reportative</td></tr><tr><td>INTENS</td><td>intensive</td><td>SG</td><td>singular</td></tr><tr><td>INTER</td><td>interrogative</td><td>sp.</td><td>species</td></tr><tr><td>INV</td><td>inversive</td><td>Sp</td><td>Spanish word</td></tr><tr><td>IPFV</td><td>imperfective</td><td>SP.P.NZ</td><td>specific patient nominalizer</td></tr><tr><td>IRR</td><td>irrealis</td><td>SUB</td><td>subordinator</td></tr><tr><td>IRR.NEG</td><td>negative irrealis</td><td>TAG</td><td>tag question</td></tr><tr><td>M</td><td>masculine (human singular)</td><td>VZ</td><td>verbalizer</td></tr><tr><td>MED</td><td>medial</td><td></td><td></td></tr></table>
# 1
## Introduction

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of a typologically notable type of classifier system: a multilocus and multifunctional system, where the same set of classifiers occurs in different morphosyntactic environments and has diverse functions. This system is that of Mojeño Trinitario, a language of the Arawak family, spoken in lowland Bolivia. The Arawak family, spread over a large part of South and Central America, is well-known for its classifiers. Only three publications deal with classifiers at the family level (Aikhenvald 1994a; Miranda 2020; Dunn & Rose to appear); all others target individual languages or a subset of the languages of the family (Aikhenvald 1994b, 2019, 2007; Aikhenvald & Green 1998; Brandão 2015; Marcus 1994; Mihas 2019; Seifart 2011, 2012; Terhart 2016; Reis 2023; Rose & Van Linden 2022). Within the wealth of publications on classifiers in individual Arawak languages, the present work stands out for both its wide coverage (form, semantics, distribution, and function of the classifiers) and the degree of detail of the analysis.

The investigation of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers presented in this book is corpus-based. It builds on a large corpus of spontaneous discourse, and quantitative investigation is used to support the analysis. As a first example of this, a basic count tells us that among the text corpus (described in Section 1.3), 889 occurrences of classifiers are attested. This means that classifiers are found in 3.43% of the words in spontaneous speech, and more strikingly, that a quarter of the utterances feature a classifier. This clearly makes classifiers a central part of the grammar of Mojeño Trinitario. In this book, I describe and analyze this major grammatical device of Mojeño Trinitario, which had been only very briefly sketched before.

### 1.1 Goals of the book

This book offers a comprehensive description of the Mojeño Trinitario classifiers in synchrony, including form, semantics, distribution, and function, and elaborates on the typological characterization of the system. Research questions have been informed by existing cross-linguistic research on classifiers and developed as my understanding of the language progressed across now more than two decades.

The main research questions are as follows:

- What criteria define classifiers?

- What is the inventory of classifiers?

- What are their formal characteristics?

- What are the semantics of each individual classifier and the semantic parameters present in the system as a whole?

- What are their morphosyntactic environments and how do classifiers interact with them?

- What are their functions, at both clausal and discourse levels?

- Are particular classifiers cognate to classifiers reconstructed to Proto-Arawak or mid-level proto-languages?

- Can we identify historical sources for particular classifiers?

- Can we identify source constructions facilitating the grammaticalization of classifiers?

Given the scope of this volume, a number of topics had to be left out, in particular detailed contributions to:

- theoretical reflections on nominal categorization systems;

- the cross-linguistic typology of classifiers;

- historical comparison and reconstruction.

The analyses and discussions presented here nevertheless shed some light upon these questions. In particular, it is worthwhile mentioning that the Mojeño Trinitario classifier system is strikingly similar to the classifier systems of other Arawak languages, and not just those of the neighboring languages, in
terms of the distribution, functions, and semantics of its classifiers (Dunn and Rose to appear). Addi-
tionally, some of the Mojeño Trinitario classifiers are cognate with classifiers of other Arawak lan-
guages. The systematic comparison of the Mojeño Trinitario classifier system with that of other Arawak
languages deserves a study of its own, for which the present work would provide ample data.

## 1.2 Methodology

The present work relies upon foundational literature on classifiers and a systematic investigation of a
Mojeño Trinitario corpus, which will be presented in the next section.

First, the analysis was guided by key works in the typological investigation of classifiers (Ai-
khenvald 2000; Grinevald 2002; Krasnoukhova 2012, among so many others). This will be discussed
again at the end of this book (Chapter 7), where this literature will help us position the Mojeño Trinitario
system within existing typologies. Also, previous publications on classifiers in the Mojeño languages
(summarized in Chapter 3) has proved helpful in identifying less common classifiers, as well as in the
description of the semantics of individual classifiers.

Second, this work is corpus-based, and is grounded in the systematic investigation of all occurrences
of classifiers in the corpus, which is described in Section 1.3. Not only does this work provide the full
inventory of the classifiers found in the corpus (Table 10), but each token of a classifier found in the
texts has been examined, with the aim of developing a detailed semantic analysis of each classifier that
goes far beyond a mere one-word label (Table 13). Furthermore, two datasets, described in Section 1.4,
have been developed to facilitate the systematic and fine-grained exploration of the text corpus.

## 1.3 Corpus

The empirical basis of this work is the 2022 version of a corpus of texts that I collected in the town of
Trinidad and the small village of San Lorenzo de Moxos, both located in the Beni department of Bolivia,
during 12 months of fieldwork divided between six field trips from September 2005 to July 2022. Over
the years, I have collaborated on data collection and analysis with about 30 consultants. Among those,
Eulogio Ibañez Noza played a crucial role at the start of the project, and three other speakers played a
major role throughout the years: Florencia Cariri Tamo, Natividada Tamo Noza, and the late Leonardo
Jou Ichu.

The text corpus consists of 48 texts produced by 25 speakers. It includes about 6 hours of speech,
3,544 utterances, and 26,158 words. The texts comprise narratives (historical, biographies, traditional
narratives, and fiction), conversations (including staged dialogues and negotiations), and monologues.
Most are unplanned and spontaneous, i.e., not based on stimuli. Stimuli employed include the Frog Story
(Mayer 1969), the Family Problem Solving Task (San Roque et al. 2012), and a Spanish version of the
tale of the North Wind and the Sun that was translated and read for a phonetic illustration of Mojeño
Trinitario in the *Journal of IPA* (Rose 2021).

The wider corpus additionally comprises elicited sentences. Some of these sentences have been elic-
ited through stimuli targeting specific semantic domains. Three speakers worked on the Trajectoire stim-
ulus (Ishibashi et al. 2006, also referred as the Path stimulus), three on the Topological Relation Picture
Series stimulus (Bowerman & Pederson 1992; labeled Loc in my dataset) and two on the Kids' Cut &
Break (Bowerman & Majid 2003, abbreviated in C&B in this book), totaling 2 hours of recordings and
601 sentences. In addition, the corpus also comprises about 5,000 utterances (usually sentences, some-
times phrases or words) elicited through different means: translation from Spanish, utterances in Mojeño
Trinitario that I have crafted myself (to test either the form or its meaning), or modification of a sentence
attested in a text.

The entire corpus is morphologically segmented in FieldWorks Language Explorer, aka FLEx (SIL
FieldWorks 2022), and translated into both Spanish and English. In the FLEx lexicon, each of the 32
classifiers was given a gloss of the structure CLF:characteristics or CLF:prototype, such as CLF:mass or
CLF:plank (see Section 4.1).<fnref n="1" /> Additionally, the entry for each classifier was split into several ‘senses’, according to the part of speech of the root or stem they attach to. This enables a rapid search for the use of a particular classifier in a particular morphosyntactic environment.<fnref n="2" /> The 48 texts and the eight series of sentences elicited through stimuli have been audio (and sometimes video) recorded. For all these recordings, the transcriptions has been aligned with the media file in ELAN (ELAN 2022).

The first 36 texts are freely accessible on the Ortolang platform (Rose 2018a) in audio format, accompanied by a document offering their transcription and Spanish translation aligned together, sentence by sentence. Ten of these texts (7,792 words in total) are also freely accessible on the DoReCo platform (Rose 2022), where their phonological transcription and morphological segmentation is aligned with the audio.

## 1.4 Datasets

The quantitative analyses in this book are based on two datasets, built on the corpus described above.

The first dataset, given in Table 18, includes token counts of all 32 classifiers, for each of the four morphosyntactic environments that they occur in. These counts were extracted from the FLEx concordance search. From these basic counts, several measures of the frequency of classifiers in the corpus have been extracted.

Figure 6 summarizes the relative frequency of classifiers in general in the four syntactic environments morphosyntactic, while Figure 5 shows the relative frequency of each classifier in comparison with the others within the corpus. Figure 8 to Figure 11 gives a focused picture on the relative frequency of the 32 classifiers in each of their four morphosyntactic environments.

The second dataset, shared in the Appendix, offers a finer-grained coding than is possible in FLEx. This facilitates the study of classifiers distributions and functions by allowing the investigation of the morphosyntactic and discourse environments in which classifiers appear in natural speech. The dataset codes a number of characteristics for each of the 168 occurrences of classifiers in a subsample of seven texts totaling 520 sentences.<fnref n="3" /> These texts were produced by ten speakers, and comprise two expository texts, two narrations, and three conversations. The information coded for each occurrence of a classifier is the following:

- a unique identifier;

- text and sentence number;

- form (see Section 3.1);

- part of speech of the host (see Chapter 5);

- function of classifier (see Chapter 6);

- information on the associated referent/NP: presence of PRO, DET, N, function of this participant, humanness, animacy;

- referential distance and topic persistence (see Section 6.5 for more details).

This dataset enabled a number of assessments on the use of classifiers. For instance, Table 23 details the functions of the classifiers within the seven-text sample, and Table 24 is a summary table on the discourse functions of classifiers on verbs in this subsample, in terms of referential distance and topic persistence.

<footnote n="1">¹ Note that the organisation of the software FLEx is not very powerful for complex concordance search of bound morphology. The systematic use of CLF within the gloss of classifiers did not permit to do specific searches on all classifiers, because the entire gloss is needed for complex concordance search. This limited the automatic investigation of the paradigm as a whole.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² A drawback of this organization is that the total number of occurrences of a specific classifier must be computed by adding their occurrence in each of the possible environments (given the use of variants, a particular classifier cannot be searched thoroughly by its main form).</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ One caveat is that 26 occurrences of the *-na* classifier on the root *'po'* 'other' are not listed in that dataset. At the time of filling the dataset, the word *'pona'* 'other' was not analyzed as comprising a classifier. This is not problematic, since the aim of this dataset is not to investigate the frequency of classifiers on different hosts. This task was better done on the entire text corpus (see Figure 6).</footnote>
## 1.5 Overview of the book

This book starts with two introductory chapters: Chapter 2 provides basic information on the Mojeño Trinitario language, and Chapter 3 summarizes the state of the art on Mojeño classifiers. The analysis proper of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers is distributed over a number of sections. Section 3.1 focuses on identifying the classifiers, describing some of their formal characteristics and, by doing so, distinguishing them from nouns. Chapter Classifier semantics presents a detailed description of the semantic extension of classifiers, both at the level of each individual classifier as well as at the level of the system as a whole. Chapter 5 then describes the morphological distribution of classifiers with respect to hosts of different parts of speech. Chapter 6 examines the functions of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers, as well as those they lack. Finally, Chapter 7 situates the Mojeño Trinitario system within the wider typology of classification systems. It argues that the system as a whole can be characterized as a multilocus and multifunctional classifier system, which is compared to the other noun categorization device of the language, namely, gender and number in person markers.

## 1.6 Main results and highlights

Mojeño Trinitario features a set of 32 classifiers, which are suffixes and most often exhibit a -CV shape. Semantically, most of them express physical properties of the referent they classify, especially shape. They are found on numerals, nouns, adjectives, and verbs. On verbs, they categorize either the subject, the object, or a peripheral participant. Their main functions include qualification, derivation, and discourse functions such as foregrounding, backgrounding, and reference tracking. They have also developed an applicative function. This last point excepted, the Mojeño Trinitario classifier system is a good representative of classifier systems in Arawak languages (Dunn & Rose to appear).

Three crucial aspects of the system are that (i) the same set of classifiers is used on different types of hosts, namely, numerals, nouns, adjectives, and verbs, (ii) they are obligatory on numerals only, and (iii) several different classifiers can be associated with the same noun, and even the same referent in the same environment. Interestingly, the morphosyntactic environments in which classifiers occur are also available to full nouns in compounding processes. These nouns then function as ‘repeaters’.

## 1.7 Presentation of the examples

This book illustrates the analysis of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers with more than 400 examples. Their presentation follows the organization of (1).

(1) nsipjirikpo to 'chopemuugira
n-sip-ji-ri-k=po
1SG-wash-CLF:amorph-PLURACT-ACT=PFV
' I wash a small quantity.' [T38.140]

to 'chope-muu-gira
ART.NH big-CLF:group-DIM

Examples are numbered consecutively throughout the book, regardless of section. They are systematically referred to in the text.

The first line gives the orthographic transcription of a full utterance, or sometimes part of an utterance that can stand on its own. I usually give full sentences as examples, but phrases or isolated words are in some rare cases provided for illustrative purposes. If some part of the original production has been left out, this is noted with a space between square brackets.

The second line gives the morphological segmentation of the first line. Morphemes are presented with the form with which they are realized in the utterance, rather than with their underlying form. I have opted for this presentation because the surface realization of a Mojeño Trinitario morpheme can be strikingly different from its underlying form, making its identification within the word difficult. This is the result of pervasive rhythmic syncope and rich morphophonology (see Sections 2.3 and 2.4). Rather rarely, and when necessary, elided parts of morphemes are added in parentheses in the second line to help with morpheme identification.
The third line provides morphemes glosses, generally following the Leipzig Glossing Rules, sup-
plemented by numerous additional glosses, which are included in the list of abbreviations.

The fourth line gives a free translation in English, which itself results from the translation of the Mojeño Trinitario original utterance with the help of the Spanish translations suggested by the consultants. It is followed by a code referring to the corpus, in square brackets. Three types of codes are used. The first type is used in example (1), where T refers to a “text”, 38 to the identification number assigned to the text, and 140 to the utterance number within the text. The second type, of which *Path.C.018* is an example, reads as follows: the data has been elicited with the help of stimulus Path, Loc, or C&B (see Section 1.3 about the stimuli), followed by a capital letter for the speaker, and then the number of the utterance. The third type of code is the plain word “elicited”, which refers to the fact that the example has been produced within an elicitation session. In some cases, a literal translation is provided, enclosed in parentheses and preceded by “lit.”. In other cases, a context is provided in square brackets, before the free translation.

Boldface is systematically used to draw the attention of the reader to relevant parts of examples discussed in the text. For instance, the classifier to which the reader is intended to attend in example (1) is -ji CLF:amorph rather than -muri CLF:group.
# Preliminary information on Mojeño Trinitario

Mojeño is a language complex of lowland Bolivia (Rose 2015), including a historical variety that I call Old Mojeño and four modern varieties: Trinitario, Ignaciano, Loretano, and Javeriano. These languages belong to the Arawak family, and more specifically to the South Arawak branch, which also includes neighboring languages of Bolivia and Brazil (Aikhenvald 1999:67). General sociolinguistic information on the language complex is given in Section 2.1.

The Mojeño Trinitario variety is an agglutinating language leaning towards polysynthesis, with a large number of suffix or enclitic slots and a small number of prefix slots.<fnref n="4" /> Lexical and grammatical morphemes display several surface forms, due to a pervasive process of rhythmic syncope and a rich system of morphophonemic rules. The following grammatical sketch (Section 2.2 to 2.12) is meant to cover the fundamentals of the language and give necessary information on linguistic features that are relevant to the topic of the present volume.

## 2.1 Mojeño Trinitario and other Mojeño languages

This section aims at situating Mojeño Trinitario in the Arawak language family as a whole, among Mojeño languages in particular, and in the broader linguistic landscape of lowland Bolivia. It also summarizes existing literature on the Mojeño languages.

The Mojeño language complex belongs to the Arawak family, which is the largest language family in South America in terms of the number of extant languages (40 living ones), and is spoken in 12 countries across Central and South America (Aikhenvald 1999). The Arawak family was initially identified by comparing data from Mojeño and Maipure, which is spoken in the Orinoco basin (Gilij 1780). The various proposals for the internal classification of the family have recently converged in positing that Mojeño is most closely related to Baure, Paunaka, and Terena.<fnref n="5" /> Several names have been given to proposed subgroups including this set of languages, which sometimes include additional members.

Aikhenvald (1999:67), for example, includes this set of languages in her South Arawak branch, in which she also includes Enawenê-Nawê. Jolkesky (2016) calls a similar grouping the Guaporé-Mamoré subgroup, in which he includes Paikonéka, but excludes Terena. Ramirez and França (2019) call this set of languages the Bolivian subgroup, while Carvalho (2017, 2018a, 2018b) includes them in his Bolivia–Paraná subgroup, which also includes Paikonéka and Terena, and suggests the internal subgrouping, given in Figure 1. In this classification, Mojeño, Paunaka, and Terena form the Achane branch.

### Bolivia-Parana subgroup

#### Baure-Paikoneka branch

* Baure (Baure, Old Baure, Joaquiniano)

* Paikoneka

#### Achane branch

* Paunaka

* Mojeño (Old Mojeño, Ignaciano, Trinitario, Javeriano, Loretano)

* Terena (Guaná, Chané, Kinikinau, Layana)

<caption>Figure 1. The Bolivia–Paraná subgroup (Carvalho 2018a)</caption>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Out of the 35 languages with morphological segmentation in the DoReCo dataset, Mojeño Trinitario shows the highest synthesis index of all, with 3.34 morphemes per word token in average (Stave 2022).</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ The languages of this subgroup have been relatively well described and documented. Baure and Paunaka have been extensively investigated by Danielsen and Terhart. Grammars (Danielsen 2007; Terhart 2024) and numerous other works have been published for each language, and extensive corpora are also available for them (Admiraal et al. 2010; Danielsen et al. 2015). Terena shows a more fragmented literature, with the most comprehensive works being an older description (Bendor-Samuel 1961), a pedagogical grammar (Butler & Ekdahl 2012, 2014) and a grammatical description (Oliveira 2021). As for Paikonéka, data is scarce (Cardús 1886; d'Orbigny 1879).</footnote>
The Mojeño (also: Moxo) languages, as well as the related languages Baure and Paunaka, are among the 20 indigenous languages still spoken in Amazonian Bolivia (Crevels 2002). Old Mojeño, which historically preceded the modern Mojeño varieties, was the most widely spoken language in the Moxos region at the time of colonization. It was used as a *lingua franca* ('lengua general') in the Jesuit missions of the area,<fnref n="6" /> which were active from the 1670s to the 1760s (Saito 2009), and was therefore spoken by a variety of peoples living in the missions: Spaniards, Mojeños, and other indigenous peoples.

Two observations are worth making with respect to this historical fact. First, since Old Mojeño was actively used in a multilingual setting, both by nonnative speakers and by speakers of the ‘Pampa Mojeño’ dialect, language contact may have played a role in the subsequent development of language features unexpected for an Arawak language. Second, the present-day Mojeño varieties do not necessarily derive in any straightforward fashion from Old Mojeño, since other varieties may have been maintained along with the ‘official’ language of the missions, and these may have contributed to the modern varieties.

The current Mojeño population exceeds 32,000 individuals, and consists of 4 groups: Trinitario, Ignaciano, Loretano, and Javierano. These communities and their respective language varieties are named after the four missions of the region: Trinidad, San Ignacio, Loreto, and San Javier. Today, the Trinitario and Ignaciano varieties are endangered, with around 3,220 speakers together (Crevels and Muysken 2009). Javierano is moribund (Rose 2010), with about five (semi-)speakers, and Loretano is extinct. The Trinitario variety is exclusively spoken in the Beni department, in the *Territorio Indígena Parque Nacional Isiboro-Secure* (TIPNIS), in the *Territorio Indígena Multiétnico* (TIM), along the Maromé river, and in and around the towns of Trinidad, San Lorenzo, and San Francisco de Moxos.

There is a long history of documentation and description of these languages. As far as Old Mojeño is concerned, the Jesuit Javier Iraisos collected an (unpublished) vocabulary that was used by Gilij (1780) for his pioneering study of the Arawak family. More remarkably, the Jesuit missionary Marbán published a work in 1702 that included a 193-page *Arte*, or grammar, two dictionaries (a 244-page Spanish–Mojeño dictionary, and a 303-page Mojeño–Spanish dictionary), and a 203-page bilingual catechism (Marbán 1702). There is no record of spontaneous indigenous speech from that era.

As for the present-day varieties, materials on Ignaciano include dictionaries (Instituto de Lengua y Cultura Mojeño Ignaciano “Salvador Chappy Muibar” 2022; Ott & Ott 1983), grammatical sketches (Jordá 2014; Ott & Ott 1967), and a comprehensive grammar (Olza Zubiri et al. 2002). The grammar is of high quality, and offers many pages of non-segmented and unglossed examples, which can be challenging for non-experts to understand. Works on Trinitario include an earlier grammar and a dictionary (Gill 1957, 1993 [1970]). Gill’s (1957) grammar was designed as a pedagogical handbook with a short vocabulary and grammar lessons built around made-up conversations, questions and answers, and exercises. This pioneering work was later followed by a two-volume grammar prepared by a group of speakers and teachers (Ibáñez Noza et al. 2007; Ibáñez Noza et al. 2009). This work is exceptional in being bilingual: each paragraph is written both in Spanish and Trinitario itself.

More recently, several typologically informed descriptive papers on Trinitario have been published. Rose (2014a) is a general presentation of the language structure. More specific papers focus on person indexing in verbs (Rose 2011b), the genderlect system (Rose 2013a), negation and irrealis (Rose 2014a), nominalization and subordination (Rose 2016), nonverbal predication (Rose 2018b), phonetics (Gordon et al. 2018; Gordon & Rose 2019; Rose 2021), rhythmic syncope (Rose 2019a), reflexive (Rose 2023a), and possession (Rose 2023b). Importantly for this volume, two published papers already approached the topic of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers, one on the applicative function of classifiers (Rose 2019b), and the other on their derivational function (Rose & Van Linden 2022).

Finally, data on the Javeriano and Loretano languages is limited to the rich comparative vocabulary list in Becerra Casanova (1980). The summary of the present state of the art of the linguistic description of the Mojeño languages provided here is complemented by the overview of documentation of these languages offered by Rose & Obenaus (2023), and by the specific state of the art on the topic of classifiers in Mojeño languages sketched in Chapter 3. It is noteworthy that Ignaciano and Trinitario are, in general, very similar except for the pervasive vowel deletion process affecting Trinitario only (Carvalho & Rose 2018; Rose 2019a).

<footnote n="6">⁶ For each mission, the Jesuits selected a *lingua general* ('general language') among the local languages to serve as an official *lingua franca* within the mission.</footnote>
Diachronic studies on the Mojeño languages are still in their infancy. While Becerra Casanova (1980) provides an interesting parallel vocabulary list of the five Mojeño varieties, it does not provide any cognacy judgements, and does not offer any reconstructions. This lexical comparative work is done in Carvalho & Rose (2018), which provides a reconstructed Proto-Mojeño form for 191 lexical items and reconstructs the phonological and stress system of Proto-Mojeño. Other publications focus on particular features of these languages across the centuries, including phonological features like velar coronalization (Carvalho 2019), vowel shift (Carvalho 2023), exceptional sound change (Carvalho 2020), and morphological features such as those found in the genderlect system (Rose 2013a), the pronominal system (Rose 2015), and in diminutives (Rose 2018c).

## 2.2 Phonological inventory

Mojeño Trinitario has an inventory of 28 consonants, listed in Table 1. It consists of 16 simple consonants using six manners of articulation and six places of articulation, and 12 consonants with secondary articulations. Voicing is not contrastive. Note that the IPA is used in sections 2.2 to 2.4, sometimes alongside orthographical transcriptions in the practical writing system described in 2.5 that will be used thereafter in the remainder of the book.

<table><caption>Table 1. Consonant inventory</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th colspan="3">bilabial</th><th>alveolar</th><th>palatal</th><th>velar</th><th colspan="3">glottal</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>plosive</th><td>p</td><td>p<sup>w</sup></td><td>p<sup>j</sup></td><td>t</td><td>c</td><td>k</td><td>k<sup>j</sup></td><td>ʔ</td><td>ʔ<sup>j</sup></td></tr><tr><th>nasal</th><td>m</td><td>m<sup>w</sup></td><td>m<sup>j</sup></td><td>n</td><td>ɲ</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>fricative</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>s</td><td>s<sup>j</sup></td><td>ç</td><td></td><td>h</td><td>h<sup>j</sup></td></tr><tr><th>affricate</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>ts</td><td>ts<sup>j</sup></td><td>ʃ</td><td></td><td></td><td>h<sup>w</sup></td></tr><tr><th>tap</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>ʃ</td><td>ʃ<sup>j</sup></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>approximant</th><td>w</td><td></td><td>β<sup>j</sup></td><td></td><td>j</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

The vowel inventory, given in Table 2, consists of 12 vowels, with six vowel qualities and a length contrast.

<table><caption>Table 2. Vowel inventory</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>front vowels</th><th>central vowels</th><th>back vowels</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>high</th><td>i, i:</td><td></td><td>u, u:</td></tr><tr><th>mid</th><td>e, e:</td><td>əe, əe:</td><td>o, o:</td></tr><tr><th>low</th><td></td><td>a, a:</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

The phonetic characterization of some of these phonemes is discussed in Rose (2021), and the diachronic development of these inventories in Carvalho & Rose (2018).<fnref n="7" />

## 2.3 Prosody: stress and rhythmic syncope

The Mojeño Trinitario phonological/prosodic word is defined as the domain of stress, rhythmic syncope, and phonotactic constraints.

The surface syllable structure of Mojeño Trinitario is the following: (C(C))V(:/C). The onset is optional and can be complex, but onsetless syllables and complex onsets are found word-initially only. The rhyme can be either light or heavy, and a heavy rhyme is either a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by a coda. Therefore, there are no vowel sequences within a word, but word-internal heterosyllabic consonant sequences are frequent and diverse.

Primary stress falls on the rightmost foot. The default parse is an iambic rhythmic pattern that applies to the underlying form of words, which is made up of open syllables only, before rhythmic syncope

<footnote n="7">⁷ Note that the analysis of the inventory of phonologically contrastive segments in Mojeño Trinitario has changed between Carvalho & Rose’s (2018) study and the presentation in Rose (2021), reproduced in Table 1.</footnote>
applies. Words are parsed from left to right by binary iambs, and the last syllable is extrametrical. Examples are given in Table 3. The language shows a minor trochaic metrical parse, found exclusively with disyllabic roots (and a handful of exceptional trisyllabic roots), and only when these do not carry prefixes. This trochaic parse applies also from left to right, and the last syllable is not extrametrical. Examples are given in Table 4.

A major manifestation of the stress patterns is a pervasive process of rhythmic syncope. Vowels in foot-internal non-head position, as well as unfooted moras, are targets for syncope. About half of the vowels that are targets for syncope are actually deleted, while others are regularly maintained.<fnref n="8" /> The word-final syllable, extrametrical in the iambic parse, is not eligible as a target for syncope. Parentheses indicate the foot parse in the underlying form, with the syncopated vowels underlined.

<table><caption>Table 3. Iambic parsing</caption><thead><tr><th>IPA surface form</th><th>IPA underlying form</th><th>orthography</th><th>gloss</th><th>translation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>'nhu.ma</td><td>(nu- 'hu)ma</td><td>njuma</td><td>1SG-illness</td><td>'my illness'</td></tr><tr><td>'tkoh.ma</td><td>(ti- 'ko)-huma</td><td>tkojma</td><td>3-VZ-illness</td><td>'s/he is sick'</td></tr><tr><td>wo tkuk. 'hu.ma</td><td>wo (ti-ku-)(ko- 'hu)ma</td><td>wo tkukjuma</td><td>NEG 3-IRR.NEG-VZ-illness</td><td>'may you not be sick'</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><caption>Table 4. Trochaic parsing</caption><thead><tr><th>IPA surface form</th><th>IPA underlying form</th><th>orthography</th><th>gloss</th><th>translation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>'ep.re</td><td>('epV)re</td><td>epre</td><td>creeper</td><td>'creeper'</td></tr><tr><td>pak. 'çi.ra</td><td>(paku)('çira)</td><td>pakgira</td><td>dog-DIM</td><td>'small dog'</td></tr><tr><td>et.naj. 'rep.ka</td><td>(etō)(-na=jō)('re=pu)ka</td><td>etnayrepka</td><td>one-CLF=FUT=SPEC</td><td>'it could be that it will be one'</td></tr></tbody></table>

The stress patterns and rhythmic syncope are described in greater details in Rose (2019a), and the acoustic correlates of word-level stress are investigated in Gordon & Rose (2019).

## 2.4 Morphophonology

Mojeño Trinitario displays a rich and complex morphophonology. In the following subsections, the morphophonological rules are only briefly described; see Rose (2019a) for more information on their ordering and interaction with syncope. In the following sections, an example of each process is given, in which the relevant units are highlighted in boldface.

### 2.4.1 Hiatus resolution

Hiatuses formed through affixation and cliticization are resolved through five processes of hiatus resolution, listed in Table 5. Note that “deletion” here is used for a hiatus resolution process that is distinct from rhythmic syncope as described in the preceding section.

<table><caption>Table 5. Hiatus resolution processes</caption><tr><td>coalescence</td><td>a + u → o</td><td>(2)</td></tr><tr><td>monophthongization</td><td>{low central V} {frontV} → æ̃e</td><td>(3)</td></tr><tr><td>labialization</td><td>{labial C} {non-front V} {front V} → {labial C} w{æ̃e,i}</td><td>(4)</td></tr><tr><td>palatalization<sup>9</sup></td><td>{C<sub>-palatal</sub>} {front V} {non-front V} → {Cj, C<sub>+palatal</sub>} {non-front V}</td><td>(5)</td></tr><tr><td>deletion</td><td>deletion of one of the two vowels</td><td>(6)</td></tr></table>

<footnote n="8">⁸ Vowel quality plays a statistical role in the (under)application of syncope.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ An interesting aspect of palatalization is that it can be realized either through a secondary articulation (as [p̃i] or [β̃i]) or through a more robust change (/t/ → [c], /n/ → [ɲ]).</footnote>
<table><tr><td>(2)</td><td>/ta-uçi-ʔa/<br/>3NH-eye-CLF:ovoid<br/>'its eye'</td><td>(tau)çiʔa</td><td>[tocʔa]</td></tr><tr><td>(3)</td><td>/na-eno/<br/>3PL-mother<br/>'their mother'</td><td>(nae)no</td><td>[nə̃eno]</td></tr><tr><td>(4)</td><td>/mu-ito/<br/>PRIV-finish<br/>'interminable'</td><td>(mui)to</td><td>[mʷito]</td></tr><tr><td>(5)</td><td>/ti-anu-ku-ʔo/<br/>3-pass-CLF:I<sup>ACT</sup><br/>'He/she/it is crossing the path.'</td><td>(ti̥a)(nuku)ʔo</td><td>[can'kuʔo]</td></tr><tr><td>(6)</td><td>/ʔVtʃane=ini/<sup>10</sup><br/>person=PST<br/>'late people'</td><td>(ʔVtʃa)(nei)ni</td><td>[ʔtʃa'neni]</td></tr></table>

## 2.4.2 Consonant sequence repairs

A direct consequence of syncope is the creation of consonant sequences. Various types of consonant sequence repairs take place in Mojeño Trinitario. They are listed in Table 6, and exemplified further below. Importantly, the process of compensatory lengthening occurs after resyllabification, and is triggered by the fact that consonants like /r/ are not allowed as codas. It creates long vowels on the surface.

<table><caption>Table 6. Consonant sequence repairs</caption><tr><td>assimilation of place in nasals</td><td>n → m / _{p, m}<br/>n → n / _ç</td><td>(7)</td></tr><tr><td>nasalization of approximants</td><td>j → ɲ / {n, m}_<br/>w → m / m_</td><td>(8)</td></tr><tr><td>dissimilation of place in /p/</td><td>p → h / _{p, m, w}</td><td>(9)</td></tr><tr><td>defricativization</td><td>tʃ → t / _{tʃ, s, tʃs, ç}<br/>ts → t / _ts</td><td>(10)</td></tr><tr><td>deletion and compensatory lengthening</td><td>r → Ø / _C<br/>w → Ø / _{labial C}<br/>j → Ø / _{j, r}</td><td>(11)</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>(7)</td><td>/nu-poku̯re/<br/>1SG-canoe<br/>'my canoe'</td><td>[mpokre]</td></tr><tr><td>(8)</td><td>/nV-jono=jore/<br/>1SG-go=FUT<br/>'I will go'</td><td>[nŋonŋore]</td></tr><tr><td>(9)</td><td>/pi-poku̯re/<br/>2SG-canoe<br/>'your canoe'</td><td>[hpokre]</td></tr></table>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ V stands for a vowel postulated in the underlying form and whose quality is not identifiable.</footnote>
(10) /nʊ̯-e-ʔo-βi=jɔre=ṭʃiṭʃa/ [neʔβijreṭṭʃa]
1SG-hit-2SG=FUT=EMP'
'I am going to hit you poor thing.'

(11) /nʊ̯-siwiwi/ [nsi:βi]
1SG-flute
'my flute'

### 2.4.3 Vowel harmony and consonant change due to adjacent vowel

The process of vowel harmony is very limited. It most commonly involves an /a/ trigger and an /o/ target as in (12),<fnref n="11" /> and occurs in very restricted environments: in the verb root *jono* ‘to go’ and the associated motion clitic **=poriʔi** when adjacent to the irrealis suffix **-a**, and in the copula **-ojo** after an **/a/-final** pronoun. The lenition of **/k/** is the only phonological process affecting consonants due to adjacent vowels: the velar stop is fricativized and palatalized as **/ç/** between a front vowel and an **/a/** as in (12), and sibilantized as **/s/** between a front vowel and an **/i/**.

(12) /pi-ni-ko-a=poriʔi/ (pini)(çapa)riʔi [pniç. 'pa:ʔi]
2SG-eat-ACT-IRR=CONC.MOT.IPFV
'eat while you go'

A consequence of rhythmic syncope and morphological rules in Mojeño Trinitario is that most roots and affixes or clitics are liable to have at least two allomorphs, often three or more, depending on which vowel is deleted, and additional changes. For example, the plural suffix **-woko** is realized as **/-woko/, /-wok/, /-wko/, or /-mok/** in the corpus, depending on whether and how syncope and nasalization of approximants apply. Example (13) offers examples of root allomorphy, and example (14) presents the forms of the imperfective clitic **=riʔi**, which is realized as **=:ʔi** with lengthening of the preceding vowel, whatever vowel it is, when its first syllable is in a weak prosodic position. Unfortunately, given the export constraints of the morphological annotation in FLEx from which the examples are extracted, the line of morphological segmentation does not show the underlying form of variants but only their surface form. To keep track of the identity of a morpheme through the examples, the gloss is therefore essential. This general allomorphy makes the morphological segmentation and the identification of morphemes of Mojeño Trinitario words a challenging task for linguists. Consequently, even after more than two decades of practice of this exercise, some doubts may remain in my analysis of certain examples.

(13) *pkure* ~ *pokre*, *ésane* ~ *san*, *pitrihi* ~ *ptu:hi*, *anu* ~ *am*
‘canoe’, ‘field’, ‘to be coward’, ‘to cross’

(14) *tetʃhikonriʔi*, *tetʃhiknu:ʔi*, *tetʃhikwi:ʔi*
‘they were speaking’, ‘(s)he was speaking to me’, ‘(s)he was speaking to you’

### 2.5 Writing system

An official alphabet for Mojeño Trinitario was proposed in a 1995 workshop directed by Pilar Valenzuela, as part of a series of *Workshops on alphabets for Eastern languages* (i.e., languages of Eastern Bolivia), coordinated by Colette Grinevald (Université Lyon 2), with the support of UNICEF, the Bolivian Deputy Secretary of Ethnic Issues (SAE), the Secretary of National Education (SNE), the Indigenous Confederation of Eastern Bolivia (CIDOB), and the Central of Indigenous People of Beni (CPIB). The final report of the workshop resulted in the publication of a first alphabet booklet (Fabricano Noé et al. 2003).

<footnote n="11">¹¹ In this example, the /a/ trigger (the irrealis suffix) of the two processes actually does not surface, due to rhythmic syncope. The irrealis category is therefore detectable only through the [-ç] allomorph of the active suffix and the [=pa:ʔi] allomorph of the associated motion clitic.</footnote>
In 2012, the government created the *Multinational Institute of Studies of Languages and Cultures (IPELC)*. Its main goal is the promotion of the diversity of languages and cultures of Bolivia, among others through the development of linguistic and cultural research, and pedagogical curricula and materials. This work is implemented through institutes specific for the relevant peoples. The *Institute of Language and Culture (ILC)* specific to Mojeño Trinitario was created in 2014. Among its activities, the ILC has made some modifications to the alphabet proposed in 2016. Table 7 shows the correspondences of the official alphabet with the IPA, as well as the very few modifications I use for my transcriptions of Mojeño Trinitario in most of my publications. Hereafter, it is that practical writing system that is used throughout the book.

<table><caption>Table 7. Alphabet correspondences</caption><thead><tr><th>IPA</th><th>official alphabet</th><th>Rose's publications</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>V: (a:, o:...)</td><td>VV (aa, oo...)</td><td>VV (aa, oo...)</td></tr><tr><td>əe</td><td>ae</td><td>ae</td></tr><tr><td>i</td><td>aei</td><td>ae</td></tr><tr><td>c</td><td>ty</td><td>ty</td></tr><tr><td>tj</td><td>ti ~ t'y</td><td>ty</td></tr><tr><td>k</td><td>k</td><td>k</td></tr><tr><td>?</td><td>'</td><td>'</td></tr><tr><td>n</td><td>ñ</td><td>ñ</td></tr><tr><td>h</td><td>j</td><td>j</td></tr><tr><td>β ~ v</td><td>v</td><td>v</td></tr><tr><td>w</td><td>w (#_, V_V, V_C)</td><td>w (#_, V_V, V_C)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>u (C_V)</td><td>u (C_V)</td></tr><tr><td>ç</td><td>g (_i, C)</td><td>g (_i, C)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>gi (_e, a, o, u)</td><td>gi (_e, a, o, u)</td></tr><tr><td>ts</td><td>ts</td><td>ts</td></tr><tr><td>ts</td><td>ts ~ t's</td><td>ts</td></tr><tr><td>ts̥</td><td>ch</td><td>ch</td></tr><tr><td>r</td><td>r</td><td>r</td></tr><tr><td>j</td><td>y (V_V, V_C)</td><td>y (#_, V_V, V_C)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>i ~ y (C_V)</td><td>i (C_V)</td></tr><tr><td>' (before the stressed syllable)</td><td>' (on the vowel of the stressed syllable, if other than penultimate)</td><td>' (on the vowel of the stressed syllable, if antepenultimate)</td></tr></tbody></table>

## 2.6 Parts of speech

This section briefly describes the main parts of speech of the Mojeño Trinitario language. There is a lot of functional flexibility in that language: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and numerals can be used as NP heads, modifiers, or predicates.

In Mojeño Trinitario, nouns and verbs share a lot of morphology, most notably person prefixes and suffixes, plural, diminutives, and TAM markers. Yet they are rather easy to distinguish based on their morphological combinatorics (detailed respectively in 2.6 and 2.8). Nouns are defined as the lexical class that can combine with both person prefixes (for possessors, as in (15)), and person suffixes (for the sole arguments of nonverbal predicates, as in (16)). Transitive verbs are defined as the lexical class that combines with both person prefixes (for A) and person suffixes (for O), but furthermore takes the active suffix -ko ~ -cho ~ -'o, as illustrated with (17). Intransitive verbs combine with person prefixes only, and among them, active verbs like (18), but not stative verbs like (19), take the active suffix. Person indexation and the active suffix will be described in Section 2.9.
(15) to nousa
to **n-ousa**
ART.SG **1SG**-village
'my village'

(16) 'jironupo
'jiro-*nu*=po
man-**1SG**=PFV
'I was a man then.'

(17) nechjiko'e
**n-echji-ko-''e**
**1SG-talk.to-ACT-2PL**
'I am talking to you.'

(18) nutekpo
**n-ute-k=po**
**1SG-come-ACT=PFV**
'I just came.'

(19) nuuna
**n-uuna**
**1SG-be.good**
'I am good.'

Nominal and verbal roots can both be used rather flexibly as predicates (see (20) and (21)), arguments (see (22) and (23)), or noun modifiers (see (24) and (25)), even without derivational morphology.

(20) kasikiyenoyoo'ijiro
kasiki-yeno=yore=ri'i=iji=ro
cacique-wife=FUT=IPFV=RPT=UNQ
'They say that she is going to be a cacique's wife.' [T29.066]

(21) vimora'iyree'ijiro.
vi-imora'i=yore=ri'i=iji=ro
1PL-watch=FUT=IPFV=RPT=UNQ
'They say that we are going to be watching.' [T29.021]

(22) timkatara'ono te to vemtoniono
t-imkata-ra'-ono te to **v-emtoni-ono**
3-help-HAB.A.NZ-PL PREP.NH ART.NH **1PL-work-PL**
'They are helps for our works.' [T09.049]

(23) wo nawro'o to tsiopano eno tkomeriono.
wo na-(a)-wro'o=ri'i to **t-siop-a-no** eno **tkomeriono**
NEG 3PL-IRR-want=IPFV ART.NH **3-enter-IRR-PL** 3PL **non-indigenous**
'They did not want the non-indigenous people to enter'
(lit. 'They did not want the they enter the non-indigenous people.') [T22.003]

(24) ñi 'chane 'jiro tnokpo ñiye'e chompa.
ñi 'chane 'jiro t-nok=po ñi-ye'e chompa
ART.M person **man** 3-put=PFV 3M-GPN sweater
'The man put on his sweater.' [Path.S.069]
(25) api'e, mopo'epuka to wnoka to penisilina vyumtuka, ene? to kwoyu tkojma.
*api-'e* *mopo-'e=puka* *to* *w-nok-a* *to* *penisilina*
*two-MULT* *three-MULT=DUB* *ART.NH* *1PL-put-IRR* *ART.NH* *penicillin(Sp)*

*v-yumtu-k-a* *ene* *to* *kwoyu* **t-ko-jma**
*1PL-sting-ACT-IRR* *TAG* *ART.NH* *horse* **3-VZ-disease**

‘We give penicillin two or three times — we inject it, right? — to the sick horse.’
(lit. ‘the horse it is sick’) [T13.023]

Adjectives in Mojeño Trinitario express size, age, value, or emotion. They are few and rather rarely used in speech, as in example (26). Only 416 tokens of adjectives are found out of 26158 words within the text corpus. Native numerals are only three: *eto* ‘one’, *api* ‘two’, and *mopo* ‘three’. They must take a classifier in almost all contexts, and they generally take the default human classifier *-na* as in (27). This will be discussed in Section 5.1. For higher numbers, loanwords from Spanish are used. Adjectives and numerals usually modify a following head noun as in (26) and (27), but both parts of speech can also be used as NP heads as in (28) and (29) or as predicates as in (30) and (31). Adjectives and numerals may also form compounds with a nominal root, as in (32) and (33). Numeral-Noun compounds are not well known from a cross-linguistic perspective, but are attested in other Arawak languages (Ramirez 2001:283 on Baniwa; Mihas 2019:39 on Kampan languages).

(26) nnosyore te pjoka 'chope wkugi
*n-nos=yore* *te* *p-jo-ka* **'chope'** *wkugi*
*1SG-stay=FUT* *PREP.NH* *DEM-NH.SG-PROX* **big** *tree*
'I am going to stay in this big tree.' [T19.056]

(27) apinaeji semana sjichyore.
*api-na=eji* *semana* *s-jich=yore*
*two-CLF:GNR=RPT* *week* *3F-make=FUT*
'She will be staying two weeks.' [T26.026]

(28) wich'o naema no 'chosiono.
*wi=ch'o* *na-a-ema* **no** **'chosi-ono'**
*NEG=still* *3PL-IRR-be_stingy* *ART.PL* **old-PL**
'The ancient people were not stingy yet, the ancient people all had cattle.' [T27.017]

(29) ene nanospuiji no apínano
*ene* *na-nos=pu=iji* **no** **apí-na-no**
*and* *3PL-stay=PFV=RPT* *ART.PL* **two-CLF:GNR-PL**
'So they remained only two (men).' [T19.044]

(30) powreripo to pjoka 'resia
*powre=ripo* *to* *p-jo-ka* *'resia'*
*poor=PFV* *ART.NH* *DEM-NH.SG-PROX* *church*
'The church here is poor.' [T16.006]

(31) juiti kuatrunawokovi, viti senono, viti.
*juiti* **kuatru-na-wokovi** *viti* *seno-no* *viti*
*now* **four-CLF:GNR-1PL** *1PL* *woman-PL* *PRO1PL*
'Now we are four women, us.' [T33.015]

(32) ema 'chopetupara'o.
*ema* **'chope-tupara'o'**
*3M* **big-charge**
'He is the highest authority.' [T24.006]
(33) 'chope eto to 'rove. apipewo'u

<table><tr><td>'chope</td><td>eto</td><td>to</td><td>'rove</td><td><b>api-pewo'u</b></td></tr><tr><td>big</td><td>3NH</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>adobe</td><td><b>two-span</b></td></tr></table>

‘The adobe is big. It is two spans long.’ [T24.080]

Adverbs modify a constituent other than a noun, in either clause-initial (34) or post-verbal position. Also, there is a single simple preposition in Mojeño Trinitario, which shows multiple meanings such as ‘with’, ‘in’, ‘on’, ‘for’, and ‘from’. It obligatorily takes a person prefix indexing its complement. Its full root form is *ye'e*, used with most person prefixes, but its most frequent form is *te*, reduced from the form with the nonhuman prefix *ta-ye'e*, as found in example (35).

(34) juiti vnaekchovyorepo pjoka semtone.

<table><tr><td><b>juiti</b></td><td>v-naekcho-v=yore=po</td><td>p-jo-ka</td><td>s-emtone</td></tr><tr><td><b>today</b></td><td>1PL-start-MID=FUT=PFV</td><td>DEM-NH-PROX</td><td>3F-work</td></tr></table>

‘Today we are going to start her work.’ [T04.001]

(35) tjunopopo te to smeno.

<table><tr><td><b>t-junopo=po</b></td><td><b>te</b></td><td>to</td><td><b>smeno</b></td></tr><tr><td>3-run=PFV</td><td><b>PREP.NH</b></td><td>ART.NH</td><td>woods</td></tr></table>

‘S/he ran <b>to/in/from</b> the woods.’ [T11.018]

Finally, there are three parts of speech that exhibit the same person paradigm distinctions — presented in the next section: personal pronouns, demonstratives, and articles. There is a single set of free personal pronouns (see fourth column of Table 8) and nine sets of demonstratives made of one of the pronominal roots given in the fifth column of Table 8, preceded by *p-* and followed by one of the demonstrative suffixes expressing different spatial and epistemic configurations, as in *p-jo-ka* DEM-NH.SG-PROX in (30). These demonstratives can be used pronominally, adnominally, and as part of existential/locative copulas. Additionally, three other very common demonstratives are *ene* and *oni*, which have both spatial (proximal and distal respectively) and manner meanings, and *onogi* ‘there’. Articles, listed in the last column of Table 8, are used before specific heads of NP phrases and do not specify definiteness. They are therefore extremely common in speech. The nonhuman article, in particular, is very often used because it can refer to abstractions such as events, as in (23).

Word-class changing derivation, besides the use of classifiers for that purpose (see Section 6.4), comprise 9 nominalizers, two verbalizers, one adjectivizer (the privative *mu-* found on verbs and nouns) and a multiplicative adverbializer found on numerals, illustrated in (36). The verbalizer *ko-* used on nominal roots is very frequent. The resulting semantics is often possessive (*ko-chicha* VZ-child ‘have children’), sometimes comitative (*ko-muisi* VZ-cap ‘wear a cap’), and sometimes active (*k-emtone* VZ-work ‘work’, *ko-metsi* VZ-pot ‘cook’). Syntactically, the resulting verbal stems are often intransitive, but some are transitive.

(36) eto'e vniko eto? wo'i? piti?

<table><tr><td><b>eto-'e</b></td><td>v-ni-ko</td><td>eto</td><td>wo'i</td><td><b>piti</b></td></tr><tr><td><b>one-MULT</b></td><td>1PL-eat-ACT</td><td>3NH</td><td>no</td><td>2SG</td></tr></table>

‘Have we eaten some once? No? And you?’ [T27.069]

The four parts of speech that will be mostly addressed in this book are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and numerals, because they can host classifiers (Chapter 5).

## 2.7 The person paradigm

The person paradigm, shared by the sets of person prefixes and suffixes, the pronouns and demonstrative roots, and the articles, is given in Table 8. It shows a categorization into first- and second-person forms with a simple singular/plural number distinction, and five shared categories for third person.

Within third person, the nonhuman category neutralizes number (except in the demonstrative set) and covers inanimates entities and animals. The plural category, consequently restricted to humans,
neutralizes gender. Gender is therefore only relevant for human singular referents, and contrasts feminine and masculine. There are two forms for (human singular) masculine, depending on the gender of the speaker, following the language's genderlect system (Rose 2015).

<table><caption>Table 8. Mojeño Trinitario person paradigms</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>prefixes<br>(Poss, A, Sa, So)</th><th>suffixes<br>(O, argument<br>of nonverbal<br>predicate)</th><th>pronouns</th><th>demonstrative<br>formatives</th><th>articles</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1SG</td><td>n-</td><td>-nu</td><td>nuti</td><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td>2SG</td><td>p(i)-</td><td>-vi</td><td>piti</td><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td>1PL</td><td>v(i)-</td><td>-(wok)ovi</td><td>viti</td><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td>2PL</td><td>a- ~ j-</td><td>-'e</td><td>eti</td><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td>3M(SG.H) speaker♂</td><td>ma- (~ mu-, m-)</td><td>—</td><td>ema</td><td>-ma-</td><td>ma</td></tr><tr><td>3M(SG.H) speaker♀</td><td>ñi- (~ ñ-)</td><td>—</td><td>eñi</td><td>-ñi-</td><td>ñi</td></tr><tr><td>3F(SG.H)</td><td>s-</td><td>—</td><td>esu</td><td>-su-</td><td>su</td></tr><tr><td>3PL(H)</td><td>na- (~ n-)</td><td>-woko</td><td>eno</td><td>-no-</td><td>no</td></tr><tr><td>3NH(SG/PL)</td><td>ta- (~ t-)</td><td></td><td>eto</td><td>-jo- (SG), -ma- (PL)</td><td>to</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>ty- (~ t-) in verbs</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

## 2.8 Noun morphology and NP syntax

The noun morphology of Mojeño Trinitario, summarized in Figure 2, is much less complex than the verb morphology. The one rich domain is possession, presented in Section 2.8.1. Note that instead of a simple root, the nominal stem can also consist of a compound. N-N compounds will be described in Section 2.8.2.

$$1/2/3.POSS-\textbf{root}-CLF-POSS-PL.KIN-EVAL-PL-IRR^{12}$$

<caption>Figure 2. Noun affix template</caption>

The noun phrase is generally relatively simple as shown in Figure 3, but rather unexpectedly for an Amazonian language, it almost always shows a determiner. Modifiers other than possessors are rather rare in discourse.

### DET (MOD) N (DET N<sub>POSSESSOR</sub>)

<caption>Figure 3. The noun phrase</caption>

The slot of the determiner can be filled by demonstratives, numerals or most often articles, used when the head of the noun phrase is specific, as exemplified in (37). Personal pronouns are sometimes used instead of determiners, as in (60) where the noun phrase *eto powre sórare* is made up of a third person nonhuman pronoun, an adjective, and a head noun. Personal pronouns can also be used in addition to determiners within a noun phrase, as in (37) where the third person pronoun *esu* precedes the demonstrative determiner *psuka*, or (33) where the third person pronoun *eto* precedes the article *to*. The sequence pronoun + determiner + noun forms a single prosodic phrase in Mojeño Trinitario.

(37) esuripo psuka yporape tkowsa te to Franse.
esu-ripo p-su-ka y-porape t-k-owsa te to Franse
3F-ADD DEM-F-PROX 1PL-older_sibling 3-VZ-village PREP.NH ART.NH Franse
‘She, this sister, she lives in France.’ [T02.032]

<footnote n="12">¹² The POSS suffix slot hosts POSD and NPOSD suffixes, to be described below, and the EVAL slot hosts evaluative morphology, such as diminutive DIM, despectative DESP, and empathy EMP.</footnote>
## 2.8.1 Possession

Possessive phrases follow the order POSSESSEE POSSESSOR. In the basic adnominal possessive construction, a possessive prefix agreeing with the possessor attaches to the noun for the possessee, as in (38) on *kunara’i*. In the indirect adnominal possessive construction, the possessive prefix is added to a generic possessive noun (GPN) *ye’e*, as in (39).

(38) to takunara’i to koje
*to* *ta-kunara’i* *to* *koje*
ART.NH 3NH-image ART.NH moon
‘the reflection of the moon’ [T06.017]

(39) ene matankopo to maye'e pakgira
*ene* *ma-tan-ko=po* *to* *ma-ye'e pak-gira*
and 3M-search-ACT=PFV ART.NH 3M-GPN dog-DIM
‘And he searched for his little dog.’ [T11.026]

Mojeño Trinitario nouns belong to different possessive classes. This impacts which nouns are used in compounds and noun incorporation, which are potential source constructions for classifiers. This also partly determines whether they must, can, or cannot participate in possessive construction, and if so, in precisely which one, and whether they require additional derivation to do so (see Rose 2023b for more details). Obligatorily prefixed nominal roots normally participate in the basic possessive construction but some like *mu’i* ‘dress’ in (40) can be derived into unprefixable stems, for example by means of a NPOSD suffix such as -re. Optionally prefixed nominal roots may participate in one of the two possessive constructions or remain unpossessed, as illustrated by the two occurrences of *metsi* ‘pot’ in (41). Finally, unprefixable nominal roots can only participate in the indirect possessive construction when bare, but some, like *krutsu* ‘cross’ (from Spanish *cruz*), can be derived with a POSD suffix into prefixable nominal stems, and thus participate in the basic possessive construction, as in (42).<fnref n="13" />

(40) sakmu'ipo to mu'ire
*s-a-k-mu'i=po* *to* *mu'i-re*
3F-IRR-VZ-dress=PFV ART.NH dress-NPOSD
‘She will put a dress on.’ [T29.057]

(41) timagi eto ymetsi, wyukjomrikpo eto to taemoropi eto to metsi.
*t-imagi* *eto* *y-metsi* *w-yukjo-mri-k=po* *eto*
3-boil 3NH 1PL-pot 1PL-pierce-CLF:group-ACT=PFV 3NH

*to* *taemoropi* *eto* *to* *metsi*
ART.NH strap 3NH ART.NH pot
‘Our pots were boiling, we would pass a stick through their handle.’ [T38.086]

(42) to makuutsura ma viya
*to* *ma-kuutsu-ra* *ma* *v-iya*
DET 3M-cross-POSD ART.M 1PL-father
‘the cross of our father’ [T25.129]

## 2.8.2 Noun+Noun compounds

Nouns may combine with other nouns to create new nominal stems. These binominal compounds are described and discussed in more detail in Rose & Van Linden (2022).

<footnote n="13">¹³ Note that prefixable nominal stems that are derived from unprefixable nominal roots are generally analyzed as optionally possessed nouns in most descriptions of Arawak languages. For a justification of the present analysis, see Rose (2023b).</footnote>
The great majority of binominal compounds are made of a sequence of an unprefixable noun in N1 position, and an obligatorily prefixed noun in N2 position. Exceptionally, when compounding, the obligatorily prefixed noun in N2 position carries neither a person prefix nor a non-specified possessor suffix. N2 is generally the semantic head, and is qualified by the first noun, as in (43). More rarely, the result is an exophoric compound, as in (44).

(43) to smatupeno
*to* smatu-peno
ART.NH spider-house
‘spiderweb’ [elicited]

(44) kwoysumu
kwoyu-sumu
horse-snout
‘mountable ox’ (Sp. buey caballo) [elicited]

Compounds with N2 being an unprefixable noun are much rarer. Example (45) shows that in that case, N1 can be the semantic head. Another example shows that such compounds can be exophoric; the meaning of the compound in (46) is based on a metaphor. N1 is an unprefixable noun in (45), and an optionally prefixed noun in (46).

(45) to 'nuukumari
*to* 'nuuku-mari
ART.NH hole-stone
‘the cave’ [Path.M.004]

(46) to taejruupape'i
*to* ta-ijruupa-pe'i
ART.NH 3NH-spindle-agouti
‘fern’ (lit. ‘the spindle of the agouti’) [elicited]

The corpus also exhibits examples of compounds with both N1 and N2 being obligatorily prefixed, with N1 as the semantic head, as in (47).

(47) swotonepigi
*s-wotone-pigi*
3F-button-ankle
‘her malleolus’ [Loc.L.035]

## 2.9 Verb morphology

The Mojeño Trinitario verb morphology, summarized in Figure 4, is extremely rich, with at least three prefix slots, eleven suffix slots, and four enclitic slots. The numerous clitics are morphemes which are part of the phonological and prosodic word, but can appear on a variety of hosts other than the verb. They encode TAME, degree, or discourse functions, and will not be described in this sketch, as they are not relevant for the analysis of classifiers. The verbal stem is delimited by square brackets in Figure 4.

In this section, I discuss only a subset of verbal morphology, given in bold in the template. I will focus mainly on certain aspects of stem-internal morphology (Section 2.9.2), namely reduplication, the pluractional suffix, the active suffix, and noun incorporation, since they are in slots adjacent to the classifier slot. Noun incorporation is described separately in Section 2.9.3: because it is a likely source construction for classifiers, it is particularly interesting for the topic of the present work. I will also start this section with a description of person indexation (Section 2.9.1), which is external to the stem, but crucial to understanding verbal argument structure.
S/A-IRR-[CAUS/MID-**root-RED**-CLF/APPL/**N-PLURACT-ACT**/RECP-APPL/PASS]-IRR-MID/O-COMPAR-

EVAL-PL=TAME=DEGREE=TAME=DM

<caption>Figure 4. Verb template<fnref n="14" /></caption>

## 2.9.1 Person indexation

Starting with person indexation, subjects are indexed by means of prefixes on the verb, and objects by means of suffixes, as in (48). More precisely, first- and second-person objects are indexed by means of a suffix on the verb, while third-person objects are not overtly marked on the verb, but instead trigger semantically specific co-argument indexation of third-person subjects, if present, as in (49). The semantically specific third-person subject prefixes (*ma*- M♂, *ñi*- M♀, *s*- F, *na*- PL, *ta*- NH) used in this circumstance contrast with the nonspecific third person subject prefix *t-*, that is found both on intransitive verbs as in (50) and on transitive verbs with first- or second-person objects, as in (51). The selection of a third-person subject prefix is a marker of transitivity that does not solely depend on the number of the arguments and the person of the co-argument, but is also sensitive to various transitivity criteria, such as aspect, mood, and information structure (Rose 2011). Mojeño Trinitario shows A-preserving lability, also called agentive ambitransitivity: the same root can be used without any formal change either intransitively with only an S participant, or transitively with both A and O, as observable in (52).

(48) wo pkupikonu
wo **p-ku-piko-nu**
NEG 2SG-IRR.NEG-be_scared-1SG
‘Don’t be scared by me.’ [T08.028]

(49) ema mapiko to paku
ema **ma-piko** to paku
3M 3M-be_scared ART.NH dog
‘He is scared of the dog.’ [elicited]

(50) ma 'chane tpikojicha mraka
ma 'chane **t-piko=jicha** mraka
ART.M person 3-be_scared=INTENS strong
‘The man [...] got really scared.’ [T08.025-026]

(51) tpikonu
**t-piko-nu**
3-be_scared-1SG
‘S/he is scared by me.’ [elicited]

(52) ene teukompo, naeukopo to arusu.
ene **t-eu-ko-m=po** na-eu-ko-po to arusu
and 3-sow-ACT-PL=PFV 3PL-sow-ACT-PFV ART.NH rice
‘And they start to sow, they sow rice.’ [T21.038]

## 2.9.2 Aspects of stem-internal morphology

This section presents stem-intern morphology that occurs in slots adjacent to the classifier slot, i.e., reduplication, the pluractional suffix, and the active suffix. Mojeño Trinitario reduplication copies the last syllable of the verbal root. The single or double copy attaches immediately after the root, sometimes

<footnote n="14">¹⁴ The EVAL slot hosts evaluative morphology, such as diminutive DIM, despective DESP, and empathy EMP; the TAME slots host a good number of tense, aspect, mood, evidentiality, and associated motion clitics; the DEGREE slot host various intensifying (INTENS), restrictive (RESTR), and distributive (DISTR) clitics; and the DM discourse markers slot hosts the contrastive clitic =tse ‘CONTR’ (often translated as ‘but’) and the unquestionable clitic -ro ‘UNQ’ (often translated into Spanish as pues).</footnote>
triggering rhythmic syncope on the root, so that the base ends up with a different surface form than its copy (Rose 2014b, 2019a). Reduplication may attenuate the meaning of the verb, with either a de-intensifying or approximative reading, as in (53), or express repetition, as in (54) (Rose 2014b).

(53) tijrereji
*ti-ijre-re-ji*
3-be.hot-RED-INTENS
'It is warm (medium hot).'

(54) nayus'titijiko
*na-yusti-ti-ji-ko*
3PL-cut-RED-INTENS-ACT
'They chopped it.'

Trinitario exhibits a pluractional suffix expressing event plurality, sometimes implying plurality of participants: compare (55) with (56). It is very frequent in speech, being present in about 11% of the sentences of the text corpus. Its most common form is -ri, but sometimes its vowel harmonizes with the preceding vowel, and other times, due to rhythmic syncope, the morpheme surfaces as vowel lengthening.

(55) ene wipka takjuma o tkojmapka siprujchopo su mayeno
*ene wi=pka t-a-k-juma o ty-ko-jma=pka s-ipruj-cho=po*
and NEG=DUB 3-IRR-VZ-sickness or 3-VZ-sickness=DUB 3F-cure-ACT=PFV

*su ma-yeno*
ART.F 3M-wife
'And whether he is sick or not, his wife cures him.' [T21.090]

(56) nuti nitkopo to niprujriko
*nuti n-it-ko=po to n-ipruj-ri-ko*
1SG 1SG-learn-ACT=PFV ART.NH 1SG-cure-PLURACT-ACT
'I learnt how to cure.' [T12.021]

Mojeño Trinitario verbal roots are either active (i.e., dynamic) or stative, and activity is overtly marked at the end of the stem with the active suffix (-ko ~ -cho ~ -'o')<fnref n="15" />. Stative roots such as *itve* 'be sweet' do not normally take the active suffix, but when they do, an active (transitive) verb stem is derived, such as *itve-cho* 'sweeten'. Conversely, the active suffix is omitted from constructions that stative active roots, like the patient nominalization in (67).

There are two inflectional classes of active stems. The two rows of Table 9 illustrate the behavior of the active suffix with respect to these two classes. Most active verbs always carry the active suffix. This is illustrated with *jaño-ko* in the first row, where the active suffix is present even in the absence of other suffixes. A smaller number of active verbs (all with root-final /o/) obligatorily take the active suffix in some contexts only: basically, when bearing stem-internal suffixes (the pluractional -ri, a classifier, or the reduplicant). Otherwise, when carrying no suffix, or only stem-external suffixes (such as -nu, first singular object), this class of active verbs does not bear the active suffix. This is illustrated in the second row with the verb *jikpo*, which does not exhibit the active suffix in the first two columns but does so in the third one.

<footnote n="15">¹⁵ The allomorphs are selected depending on the preceding vowel, which are often not visible due to the rhythmic syncope process.</footnote>
<table><caption>Table 9. The active suffix on the two classes of active stems</caption><thead><tr><th>only active</th><th>with most stem-external suffixes</th><th>with all stem-internal suffixes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>n-jaño-ko</td><td>ty-jaño-k(o)-nu</td><td>ty-jaño-ri-ko</td></tr><tr><td>1SG-watch-ACT</td><td>3-watch-ACT-1SG</td><td>3-watch-PLURACT-ACT</td></tr><tr><td>'I watch'</td><td>'he/she/it watches me'</td><td>'he/she/it always watches'</td></tr><tr><td>n-jikpo</td><td>ty-jikpo-nu</td><td>ty-jikpo-ri-ko</td></tr><tr><td>1SG-answer</td><td>3-answer-ACT-1SG</td><td>3-answer-PLURACT-ACT</td></tr><tr><td>'I answer'</td><td>'he/she/it answers me'</td><td>'he/she/it always answers'</td></tr></tbody></table>

### 2.9.3 Noun incorporation

Nouns can be incorporated into verb stems in Mojeño Trinitario, in the same zone as classifiers (see verb template in Figure 4). Incorporated nouns (in boldface throughout this section) are almost always obligatorily prefixed nouns,<fnref n="16" /> and can be incorporated into verb stems built around a stative intransitive verb root, an active intransitive verb root, or a transitive verb root.

Importantly, once incorporated, the noun does not function as a core argument of the clause and is not even referential (i.e., it cannot be modified, quantified, or determined). In fact, incorporation is used to background the denotee of the noun, which is generally never referred to in the surrounding text. Instead, the incorporated noun qualifies the verb root it co-occurs with.

Incorporation thus always has an effect on the semantic and/or syntactic valency of the verb: it systematically implies manipulation of case in Mojeño Trinitario, which corresponds to Type II of noun incorporation according to Mithun (1984). The noun phrase occupying the argument position normally occupied by the incorporated noun may be filled with another noun, such as 'chane in (58) or sorare in (60).

Most often, incorporation of nouns into intransitive verbs involves a stative verb and an obligatorily prefixed nominal root, as in (57), typically a body part, as in (58). This construction is very productive. Outside of the incorporating construction, the participant expressed by the incorporated noun is typically expressed as the subject of the stative verb involved.

(57) pnoni te pjoka tyuupenonri'i.

p-no-ni te p-jo-ka ty-uu-peno-n=ri'i
DEM-H.PL-PROX PREP.NH DEM-NH.SG-PROX 3-be good-house POSD-PL=IPFV
'These here have a nice house.' (lit. 'These here are good in terms of housing.')
[T46.005]

(58) tyupajiimama jmaka 'chane.

ty-u-pa-jiimama j-ma-ka 'chane
3-tall-CLF:mass-beard DEM-M-PROX person
'This man has a long beard.' [T40.043]

Nevertheless, there are some examples of noun incorporation involving active intransitive verb roots, specifically motion verbs, where the incorporated noun is an obligatorily prefixed noun denoting a location, as in (59). In such cases, the intransitive verb root is transitivized by the incorporation, in a process similar to applicativization. Its object expresses a peripheral participant normally encoded as an oblique.

(59) ñipotchuscho pjo kjokre

ñi-po-chuchusi-ko p-jo kjokre
3M-go-bank-ACT DEM-NH.SG river
'He is going along the bank of the river.' (lit. 'He is bank-going the river.')
[Path.C.013]

<footnote n="16">¹⁶ There is only one text example of the incorporation of a noun that is not an obligatorily prefixed noun. This case involves a transitive verb.</footnote>
Finally, obligatorily prefixed nouns can also be incorporated into transitive verbs. These nouns would otherwise be encoded as the O argument of the verb, with a patient role. Such incorporated nouns usually express body parts, as in (60), or other kinds of parts in part-whole relations, such as nouns denoting ‘image’, ‘fruit’, or ‘seed’. The resulting verb stem remains transitive, as evidenced by the use of specific third person prefixes like *na-* in (60) (see Section 2.9.1).

(60) naechkutechopo eto powre sórare

na-ech-*kute-cho=po* eto powre sorare
3PL-cut-*hindshank*-ACT=PFV 3NH poor(Sp) animal
‘They cut the hindshank of the poor animal (alive).’ [T27.005]

## 2.10 Clause syntax

This section briefly introduces the syntax of the simple clause in Mojeño Trinitario. Arguments are optional and show no case marking. Most transitive clauses do not show two noun phrases, but in those that do, the basic order is SVO, as in (61). Intransitive clauses generally show VS order, as in (62).

(61) ene takepo ma tsiso 'chane [...] mampo ma 'chane.

ene takepo ma t-siso 'chane ma-m=po ma 'chane
and then ART.M 3-be.black person 3M-take=PFV ART.M person
‘And then the black man took the man.’ [T08.045]

(62) ene tjunopopo eto to paku

ene t-junopo=po eto to paku
and 3-run=PFV 3NH ART.NH dog
‘And the dog ran.’ [T18.017]

Obliques (i.e., adjuncts or peripheral arguments) almost always occur with a preposition, and are also distinguished from objects by not being indexed on the verb, as in (63).

(63) pñi 'chane tepajipueko te pjo muiigira

p-ñi 'chane t-epaji-pue-ko te p-jo muii-gira
DEM-M person 3-lie_down-CLF:ground-ACT PREP.NH DEM-NH.SG grass-DIM
‘The man lies down on the grass.’ [Path.S.015]

Valency changing mechanisms include noun incorporation, described in Section 2.9.3, six valency-increasing affixes (three causatives and three applicatives), four valency-decreasing ones (two middles, one reciprocal, and one passive), and the applicative function of classifiers, described in Section 6.6. Because of this functional similarity of classifiers and applicatives, the three dedicated applicative morphemes of Mojeño Trinitario are exemplified below: -(i)no introduces a beneficiary, as in (64), -'u a goal, as in (65), and -i'o ~ -iyo a fronted participant expressing instrumental, location, cause, or manner roles, as in (66).

(64) nwachrisno su meme

n-wachri-ri-s-*no* su meme
1SG-buy-PLURACT-ACT-*APPL* ART.F 1SG.mother
‘I went shopping for my mother.’ [elicited]

(65) Calixta siso'ucho to 'santi to sukriono

Calixta s-iso-'u-cho to 'santi to sukri-ono
Calixta 3F-weed-*APPL*-ACT ART.NH field ART.NH plant-PL
‘Calixta weeded the field for the plants.’ [elicited]
(66) pjoka kaecha nisiyo pjo nésane

<table><tr><td>p-jo-ka</td><td>kaecha</td><td>n-is-iyo</td><td>p-jo</td><td>n-ésane</td></tr><tr><td>DEM-NH.SG-PROX</td><td>shovel</td><td>1SG-weed-APPL</td><td>DEM-NH.SG</td><td>1SG-field</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">'With this shovel, I weed my field.' [elicited]</td></tr></table>

## 2.11 Nominalization

There are three structurally distinct types of nominalizations in Mojeño Trinitario.

In the first type, the verb takes one of 9 nominalizers, which encode the semantic type of nominalization (i.e., eventive, agentive, patientive, or oblique) and TAM. Each of these include the sequence NZ in their glosses, as in the case of the two nominalizers illustrated in (67).

(67) tyuuna to yponreru to vyosio-s-ra ma viya

<table><tr><td>ty-uuna</td><td>to</td><td>y-ponre-ru</td><td>to</td><td>v-yosio-s-ra</td><td>ma</td><td>viya</td></tr><tr><td>3-be good</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>1PL-think-SP.P.NZ</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>1PL-ask-ACT-EV.NZ</td><td>ART.M</td><td>God</td></tr><tr><td colspan="7">'It is good to think of asking God.' (lit. 'Our thought of our questioning God is good.')</td></tr><tr><td colspan="7">[T24.060]</td></tr></table>

The second structural type of nominalization simply consists of a finite clause in a position that can otherwise be occupied by a nominal, as in (68). When such a clause appears in the position of the head of an NP, it is usually preceded by an article, as in (23).

(68) ene tyutekpuiji ema ma viya tekierikri'i.

<table><tr><td>ene ty-ute-k=pu=iji</td><td>ema ma viya</td><td>t-ekie-ri-k=ri'i</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">and 3-come-ACT=PFV=RPT M ART.M man 3-transform-PLURACT-ACT=IPFV</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">'Then came the man who transforms people.' [T06.003]</td></tr></table>

The third nominalizing construction is much rarer. It is a lexical construction, and is therefore not used for subordination. It involves a classifier and often a semantically empty nominalizer of the form -rV (with the V harmonizing with the preceding vowel), and derives nominal stems from verbs, as in (69), nouns, as in (70), adjectives, as in (71), and demonstratives, as in (72) (see more on the derivative function of classifiers in Section 6.4). In examples (67) to (72), the nominalized constituent is given in boldface in the first line, and the nominalizing morphology in boldface in the gloss line.

(69) to tajiikóropi tyamo

<table><tr><td>to</td><td>ta-jii-kó-ro-pi</td><td>ty-amo</td></tr><tr><td>ART.NH</td><td>3NH-swallow-ACT-NZ-CLF:fili</td><td>3-swell</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">'Its larynx is swelling.' [T13.012]</td></tr></table>

(70) je'e, titowopo pjoka 'chosioropi rusrupaya

<table><tr><td>je'e</td><td>t-ito-wo=po</td><td>p-jo-ka</td><td>'chosi-o-ro-pi</td><td>rusrupaya</td></tr><tr><td>VALD</td><td>3-finish-MID=PFV</td><td>DEM-NH.SG-PROX</td><td>old-?-NZ-CLF:fili</td><td>thank-you</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">'All right, the old story is over, thank you.' [T39.011]</td></tr></table>

(71) eto pjuena sachere'yore

<table><tr><td>eto</td><td>p-ju-ena</td><td>sache-re-'=yore</td></tr><tr><td>3NH</td><td>DEM-NH.SG-DIST</td><td>sun-NZ-CLF:atmo=FUT</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">'This is the dry season.' [T14.021]</td></tr></table>

(72) tajpukayo pjokroropii'i?

<table><tr><td>taj=puka=yo</td><td>p-jo-kro-ro-pi=i'i?</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>NH.INDT=DUB=FUT</td><td>DEM-NH.SG-POT.LOC-NZ-CLF:fili=IPFV</td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">'What is it going to be about now?' [T20.070]</td></tr></table>
## 2.12 Subordination

Subordination is not directly relevant to the description and analysis of classifiers, but it is helpful to provide a discussion of this phenomenon, as it frequently appears in the examples presented in this work, and can be difficult to process.

There are a variety of structural types of subordinate constructions, independent of their function as relative, complement, or adverbial clauses.

In terms of their structure, one variable is the presence of a subordinator, of which there are only a few in the language. The most common one is *te*, homonymous with the preposition, and serves in all kinds of subordination: temporal, conditional, purpose, cause, etc. Other subordinators include *tachim-roko* 'until', *tajicho* 'because' and *puejchu* 'in order to'.

The other two variables contribute to the finiteness of the dependent clause. One is whether the dependent verb is marked as nominalized or not (see the first two types of grammatical nominalizations in 2.11). The other one is whether a determiner introduces the dependent clause (note that if *te* is used, it can then still be analyzed as a preposition). Subordinate clauses exhibit a cline of finiteness, from fully finite subordinate clauses like that in (73), to fully nonfinite ones like that in (74). Examples (75) and (76) are additional examples of finite and non-finite subordinate clauses respectively, less marked than the preceding examples. In this series of examples, the subordinate clause is in boldface in the example and translation lines, and the subordinating morphology in boldface in the gloss line.

(73) te pitekpapo, piimuigia.

<table><tr><td>te</td><td><strong>p-itekp-a=po</strong></td><td>p-iimui-gi-a</td></tr><tr><td>SUB</td><td>2SG-arrive-IRR=PFV</td><td>2SG-dance-ACT-IRR</td></tr></table>

‘When you arrive, you will have to dance.’ [T08.041]

(74) jmaniono nim'ognionri'i te' to nitorisra.

<table><tr><td>j-ma-ni-ono</td><td>n-im-'o-gni-on=ri'i</td><td>te'</td><td>to</td><td>n-itori-s-ra</td></tr><tr><td>DEM-NH.PL-PL</td><td>1SG-see-ACT-GEN.P.NZ-PL=IPFV</td><td>PREP.NH</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>1SG-live-ACT-EV.NZ</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">‘This is what I have seen <strong>in my life</strong>.’ (lit. ‘during my living’) [T25.150]</td></tr></table>

(75) jmani nakomnúsare no vennoviono to tkojmano.

<table><tr><td>j-ma-ni</td><td>na-komnú-sare</td><td>no</td><td>ven-noviono to</td><td><strong>t-ko-jma-no</strong></td></tr><tr><td>DEM-NH.PL-PROX</td><td>3PL-need-HAB.P.NZ</td><td>ART.PL</td><td>lady-PL.KIN</td><td><strong>ART.NH</strong> 3-VZ-sickness-PL</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">‘These are the needs of the ladies <strong>when they are sick</strong>.’ [T12.021]</td></tr></table>

(76) tyotkira taa pniko?

<table><tr><td><strong>t-yotk-ira</strong></td><td>taa</td><td>p-ni-ko</td></tr><tr><td>3-be.morning-EV.NZ</td><td>NH.INDET</td><td>2SG-arrive-ACT</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">‘What did you eat <strong>this morning</strong>?’ (lit. ‘being the morning’) [T26.019]</td></tr></table>
This section summarizes the existing literature on the classifiers of Mojeño (Trinitario, Ignaciano, and Old Mojeño).<fnref n="17" /> This literature is informative in terms of classifier inventory and the core semantics of each category, and for this reason has been very helpful at the earliest stages of the present analysis. The inventories comprise between 17 and 23 forms (while the present study lists 32 classifiers, some with several allomorphs). The description of the morphosyntactic distribution of classifiers in this previous literature is quite elementary, and the distinction between classifiers and nouns is only addressed briefly. The functions of the classifier system, its general semantic organization, and its diachrony are not discussed. Furthermore, because none of these works are based on analyses of corpora of natural speech, the frequency and usage of classifiers in discourse are not investigated.

The handbook of Mojeño Trinitario by Gill (1957) describes what the author calls “object classifiers of nouns”. These are defined in Lesson 5: “Trinitario makes a fine distinction in form and shape of objects by certain short forms added to verbs or adjectives which allow us to know what the object is even without the addition of the noun itself” (Gill 1957:18). Particular classifiers are introduced little by little in different lessons (Gill 1957:19, 37, 76, 84, 91, 149, 155, 176, 205–206, 231–232). Only two or three lines are devoted to each classifier, listing potential referents and nouns often associated with it, and, when relevant, the allomorphs of classifiers. In total, Gill lists 17 classifiers, all of which are also considered in the present book. Very little general discussion is devoted to classifiers: only a few paragraphs on the definition of the category and its morphosyntactic distribution, on vowel deletion in classifiers, on the similarities with the morphosyntactic distribution of body-part nouns, and on salient abstract semantic extensions (Gill 1957:18–19, 84, 213, 231–232). No lesson in the handbook addresses numerals, and the presence of classifiers with numeral roots is not discussed elsewhere.

The two-volume grammar written by native speaker experts (Ibáñez Noza et al. 2007; Ibáñez Noza et al. 2009) does not mention classifiers. Classifiers often appear in examples, without being analyzed as such. In particular, a half-page in the grammar that addresses derived nouns provides a few examples of nominal stems derived from a root with the help of a classifier, but it does not offer an analysis of the derivational processes (Ibáñez Noza et al. 2007:109).

It is difficult to make sense of Ott & Ott's analysis of Mojeño Ignaciano classifiers in their tagmemic grammar (Ott & Ott 1967). The term 'classifier' is not used,<fnref n="18" /> but some obvious cognates of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers are found with the gloss "stem formative", others with "Form"; it is stated that nouns can occur in verbs in the Form slot (Ott & Ott 1967:122, 123, 108–109). I have not used this work in developing my analysis.

The same authors present a clearer discussion of classifiers in the gramatical introduction to their later Mojeño Ignaciano dictionary, where fewer than three pages are devoted to so-called “linked nominal roots” (Ott & Ott 1983:40–43).<fnref n="19" /> These are defined as suffixes appearing on verbs to express their complement or instrument, and on nouns to “classify the main quality of the noun itself” (Ott & Ott 1983:40). Elsewhere in these gramatical notes, Ott & Ott (1983:31) mention that these roots are found on adjectives and numerals as well. The inventory of these suffixes includes 23 forms (Ott & Ott 1983:41–43), and is followed by a note that many other nominal roots, especially those for body parts, can function as linked nominal roots in compounds. These 23 suffixes correspond almost entirely in form and meaning to the Mojeño Trinitario classifiers discussed in this book, except for three forms: -paique 'leg' and -pavaqui 'arm', whose cognates in Trinitario I analyze as nouns, and -hu 'voice', that I do not know to have a cognate in Trinitario. Furthermore, I recognize additional cognates to Mojeño Trinitario classifiers in the “adverbial suffixes” listed in this work, where these suffixes are characterized as being used on verbs to express quantity, direction, or place of action (Ott & Ott 1983:39–40).

In the previous literature, the best description of Mojeño Ignaciano classifiers by far is found in a 128-page chapter in the Mojeño Ignaciano reference grammar by Olza Zubiri et al. (2002, chapter 19).

<footnote n="17">¹⁷ For a state of the art on classifiers in Arawak languages, see Dunn & Rose (to appear).</footnote>

<footnote n="18">¹⁸ Beware that the term “classificatory stem formative” used by Ott & Ott (1967:110) corresponds to the three allomorphs of what is called “active suffix” in the present work. It is not related to the classifier issue.</footnote>

<footnote n="19">¹⁹ I understand “linked” as meaning “compounded”.</footnote>
It starts by defining classifiers as participating in a system of agreement on verbs and adjectives, as well as sometimes appearing on nouns (some of these having been lexicalized as parts of nouns). When classifiers occur on adjectives, they are said to mark agreement with the noun that the adjective modifies. When classifiers occur on verbs, the agreement follows an ergative pattern, i.e., the classifier agrees with the subject of intransitive verbs and the object of transitive verbs. At the end of the chapter, some efforts are made to distinguish classifiers (which are suffixes) from “linked” (i.e., incorporated or compounded) nominal roots called *raíces ligadas*.<fnref n="20" /> While “linked roots” keep their original function when compounded with nouns, adjectives, verbs, and numerals, classifiers have a more general and abstract meaning. The rest of the chapter is devoted to the inventory of 19 classifiers, each with a rather short description of their semantics and morphological combinatorics, but exemplified by a very large number of examples. These examples are largely not analyzed in the text, and, unfortunately, are not glossed, making them difficult to interpret and understand by those who are not specialists in the language. The 19 classifiers listed in the Mojeño Ignaciano grammar are cognate with those described in the present book, with the caveat that the authors consider -e and -ama to be two different liquid classifiers in Mojeño Ignaciano, while I consider their cognates, -e and -omo, to be two allomorphs of the same classifier, in complementary distribution, and conditioned by their host (see 3.4 and 4.1.14). Several parts of chapter 30 of that grammar (Olza Zubiri et al. 2002:567–574) emphasize that classifiers and “linked roots” exhibit the same morphosyntactic distributions on numerals, nouns, verbs, and adjectives, exhibit the same morphological behavior, and have the same referential function.

The classifiers of Old Mojeño are mentioned in the *Arte* (Marbán 1702) in two different locations. First, two pages of chapter XII on *Diminutives and numerals* are dedicated to 17 so-called ‘particles’ that combine with numerals. The particles are listed (without a gloss) and some are illustrated with an example on a numeral. They are presented as functioning similarly to agreement in gender with nouns. The author also mentions that these same particles (our classifiers) are also found on the interrogative words for ‘how many’ and ‘which’, as well as on verbs and adjectives. Second, two pages of chapter XVIII on possession and derivation (*Explanations and usage of some nouns and rules to build other nouns*) describe some of these ‘particles’ in a discussion of derivational suffixes that were used to derive nouns from nouns. All of these items listed in the *Arte* have cognates in Mojeño Trinitario, with the caveat that the form -e meaning ‘times’ is analyzed in the present study as a multiplicative adverbializer (see Sections 2.6 and 5.1) rather than a classifier, as it combines with numerals only and creates adverbial expressions.

**3.1 Definition of the classifiers and formal characteristics**

This section discusses how classifiers are defined, how they are distinguished from nouns, what their
phonological properties are, and what their position is within the word. The central idea is that classifi-
ers, in contrast to nouns, cannot be used as the head of an NP. Yet classifiers and nouns otherwise appear
in the same environments, and are sometimes formally or semantically related: this is because classifiers
have grammaticalized from nouns. As a result, their form is generally more reduced phonologically than
that of nouns, and their semantics is usually more general than that of nouns (Chapter Classifier seman-
tics).

<footnote n="20">²⁰ This category of nouns is orthogonal to the morphological classification of nouns in the given work as “always pre-
fixed”, “prefixable”, and “not prefixable”, depending on their behavior with respect to possessive morphology (Olza Zubiri et
al. 2002:36–51).</footnote>
## 3.2 Inventory

Table 10 gives the complete list of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers that have been identified at the point this work was written: a total of 32. It is of course possible that additional rarer classifiers will be identified at a later point.<fnref n="21" />

<table><caption>Table 10. Inventory of 32 Mojeño Trinitario classifiers with glosses</caption><thead><tr><th>form</th><th>gloss</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>-cho ~ -che</td><td>CLF:plank</td></tr><tr><td>-gi ~ -gie</td><td>CLF:cyl</td></tr><tr><td>-ji</td><td>CLF:amorph</td></tr><tr><td>-giwu</td><td>CLF:digit</td></tr><tr><td>-ju'e ~ -je</td><td>CLF:interior</td></tr><tr><td>-ku</td><td>CLF:path</td></tr><tr><td>-mo ~ -me</td><td>CLF:fabric</td></tr><tr><td>-miro</td><td>CLF:face</td></tr><tr><td>-muri</td><td>CLF:group</td></tr><tr><td>-mu'i</td><td>CLF:setting</td></tr><tr><td>-na</td><td>CLF:H</td></tr><tr><td>-no ~ -ne</td><td>CLF:GNR</td></tr><tr><td>-ño ~ -ñe</td><td>CLF:back</td></tr><tr><td>-omo ~ -e</td><td>CLF:tube</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:liquid</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:mass</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:needle</td></tr><tr><td>-pa'i ~ -pue</td><td>CLF:manioc</td></tr><tr><td>-pe</td><td>CLF:ground</td></tr><tr><td>-pewo</td><td>CLF:blade</td></tr><tr><td>-pewo'u</td><td>CLF:foot</td></tr><tr><td>-pi</td><td>CLF:hand</td></tr><tr><td>-pu'i</td><td>CLF:fili</td></tr><tr><td>-si</td><td>CLF:island</td></tr><tr><td>-ugi</td><td>CLF:sphere</td></tr><tr><td>-ve</td><td>CLF:face</td></tr><tr><td>-ve</td><td>CLF:pointed</td></tr><tr><td>-a</td><td>CLF:ovoid</td></tr><tr><td>-e</td><td>CLF:convex</td></tr><tr><td>-i</td><td>CLF:atmo</td></tr><tr><td>-i</td><td>CLF:fruit</td></tr><tr><td>-o</td><td>CLF:body</td></tr><tr><td>-'ugi</td><td>CLF:eye</td></tr></tbody></table>

Of the 32 classifiers, there is a pair of homonyms -'i CLF:fruit 'round with protrusion' and CLF:atmo 'atmospheric', and a triplet of homonyms -pa CLF:mass 'mass', CLF:needle 'long, thin and pointed' and CLF:manioc 'manioc'. Because there is no obvious relationship between these different meanings, they have been considered different classifiers. Two other classifiers differ only by the presence of a glottal stop and have very similar semantics: -ugi CLF:face and -'ugi CLF:eye.

<footnote n="21">²¹ For example, the form -ise is found in the two nominal terms powise 'feather' and jorise 'feather headdress of machetero dancer', where one can recognize the roots powo 'wing' and maybe josi 'hat' (possibly comprising the classifier -si for sphere; -ri could be the nominalizer found in derivation with classifiers, see 6.4). The element -ise adds the meaning of 'feather', but is not found in other environments. It could correspond to the classifier -se in Old Mojeño. Marbán (1702:108) indeed gives the following description: "With this particle se postposed to names of birds, one builds nouns that denote their feathers: varayu 'hen', varayuse 'hen feather'". Within the examples of classifiers (called particles) on numerals (Marbán 1702:88), he also lists eto-se 'one feather'.</footnote>
## 3.3 Classifiers vs. nouns

Classifiers are found in exactly the same environments as one sub-class of nouns, i.e., obligatorily prefixed nouns: on nouns, numerals, adjectives and verbs (see Chapter 5). The pairs of examples (77) to (84) show a noun and a classifier in the same environments: on a N (in a derivational function), on a numeral, on an adjective, and attached to a verb stem, where it happens to classify the S argument of the verb. The distribution of nouns and classifiers in these environments is identical, and generally substitutive: either a classifier or a noun may be used. Therefore the “obligatoriness of classifiers on numerals” actually means that classifiers are obligatory on numerals in absence of obligatorily prefixed nouns; thus, numerals never appear bare and must bear either an incorporated nominal, as in (79), or a classifier, as in (80).

(77) to mankachpu
*to* **manka-chpu**
ART.NH **mango-trunk**
'the mango tree trunk' [elicited]

N-N

(78) pjo yukpi
*pjo* **yuk-pi**
DEM.NH **fire-CLF:fili**
'a candle' [Loc.C.004]

N-CLF

(79) apipgienu
*api-pgienu*
two-*neck*
'two necks' [elicited]

NUM-N

(80) pno apinano
*pno* **api-na-no**
DEM.PL two-CLF:GNR-PL
'the two persons' [T46.034]

NUM-CLF

(81) ema 'chopetupara'o
*ema* **'chope-tupara'o**
3M **big-charge**
'He has the biggest responsability' [T24.006]

ADJ(PRED)-N

(82) pnokro 'chañono te mpeno 'chopemuriono
*p-no-kro* **'chañ-ono te m-peno**
DEM-PL-POT.LOC person-PL PREP.NH 1SG-house
'The people in my house are numerous' [T19.007]

ADJ(PRED)-CLF
'chope-muri-ono
big-CLF:group-PL

(83) titomuig'e
* t-ito-muig'e
3-be_bare-back
'His/her/its back is bare.' [elicited]

V-N(S)

(84) titoji
* t-ito-ji
3-be_bare-CLF:amorph
'It is bare (e.g., a tree without fruits).' [elicited]

V-CLF(S)

The crucial difference in distribution between classifiers and nouns is that classifiers, in contrast to nouns, cannot by themselves serve as the head of a noun phrase. While all nouns can be used as noun phrase heads, usually preceded by a determiner, classifiers cannot head a noun phrase, even with a determiner, without attaching to another root. Example (85) illustrates that elements which I consider to
be nouns, such as -ch(u)pu 'trunk' (or -p(i)gienu 'neck' and -muig'e 'back'), can serve as the head of an NP by themselves. In contrast, elements which I consider to be classifiers, such -pi 'CLF:filiform', -na 'CLF:human', or -ji 'CLF:amorphous', cannot serve as the head of a noun phrase, as illustrated in (86). Combinability with a determiner is the easiest test for the ability to serve as the head of an NP: nouns usually combine with a determiner to form a referential and specific NP, and they take a person prefix for their possessor (remember that the nouns that are used in compounds are usually obligatorily prefixed nouns). Classifiers cannot occupy this position in a noun phrase: they are necessarily suffixed to a root.

(85) to tachupu
*to* ta-chupu
ART.NH 3NH-trunk
'the trunk'

(86) *to pi, *to tapi
*to* pi, *to* ta-pi
ART.NH CLF:fili ART.NH 3NH-CLF:fili
intended meaning: 'the filiform thing, or property'

The inability of classifiers to head a noun phrase is the main criterion that distinguishes them from nouns. Note that this distributional criterion does not always easily distinguish classifiers from nouns. This is because distinct elements may have the same or similar form, with one of them having the general distribution of a noun, including being able to serve as head of a noun phrase, while both can appear in classifier position, where they exhibit either different semantics or a slightly different form. In these cases, I consider that there are two homonymous elements, a noun and a classifier.

Semantic differences serve to distinguish nouns and classifiers when the given form is found with two possible meanings in all the environments in which nouns and classifiers overlap, but with the more restricted meaning only in NP head position. In this case, I consider that there are two homonyms: both a noun, and a classifier that has a more general meaning, due to semantic bleaching from grammaticalization (see Section 4.4). A case in point is the noun *miro* 'face' illustrated in (87), and the classifier -miro 'CLF:face' that can also take meanings such as 'in front of', as in (88) (see Section 4.4).

(87) ene ñipikori'iji tajicho to ñim'oo'iji to tamiro to paku
*ene* ñi-piko=ri'i=ji *tajicho* to *ñ-im-'o=o'i=ji*
*and* 3M-be_scared=IPFV=RPT *because_of* ART.NH 3M-watch-ACT=IPFV=RPT

*to* *ta-miro* *to* *paku*
ART.NH 3NH-*face* ART.NH dog

'And he got scared because he saw the head of a dog [about people with dog's heads].' [T19.071]

(88) tochmiruchworepuiji to Ú'arii'i
*t-och-mir-u-ch=wore=pu=iji* *to* *Ú'ari=i'i*
3NH-exit-CLF:face-APPL3-ACT=onceAgain=PFV=RPT ART.NH Jucumari=IPFV
'The Jucumari appeared in front of them.' [T19.171]

Formal differences serve to distinguish nouns and classifiers when very similar surface forms appear in environments where nouns and classifiers overlap; however, careful inspection shows that only one of the forms, the N form, appears in head NP position. In this case again, I consider that there are two homonyms: a noun and a classifier. A case in point is the noun -ju'e 'stomach, interior', illustrated in (89), and the classifier -je ~ -ju'e 'CLF:interior', which has a long and a short form, illustrated in (90) and (91), where the latter form differs phonologically from the noun (see next section regarding the phonological shape of classifiers).
(89) ene etjoo'i to 'chepi te to taju'echichano, ene?
ene et-jo=o'i to 'chepi te to ta-ju'e-chicha-no ene
and 3NH-EXIST=IPFV ART.NH earthworm PREP.NH ART.NH 3NH-belly-EMP-PL TAG
'and there are worms in their bellies, right?' [T10.018]

(90) ene te to tajukpuiji to naye'e paku eto to sórare towju'e to smeno [...]
ene te to ta-ju-k=pu=iji to na-ye'e paku
and PREP.NH ART.NH 3NH-smell-ACT=PFV=RPT ART.NH 3PL-GPN dog

eto to sorare t-ow-ju'e to smeno
3NH ART.NH animal 3NH-be_at-CLF:interior ART.NH forest
'And when their dogs smelled the animal that was in the woods, ...' [T19.010]

(91) ene tyompo te smeno masiopjechpo
ene t-yom=po te smeno ma-siop-je-ch=po
and 3-go=PFV PREP.NH forest 3M-enter-CLF:interior-ACT=PFV
'And he went within the forest, he entered deep into it.' [T08.011]

To summarize, the criteria that I propose distinguish classifiers from nouns are the following:

- If the element in question appears in the environments in which nouns and classifiers overlap, and cannot appear in NP head position, then it is a classifier.

- If the element in question appears in the environments in which nouns and classifiers overlap, and can also appear in NP head position, then it is a noun.

- If the element in question appears in the environments in which nouns and classifiers overlap, and can also serve as an NP head, but with only of the forms and/or meanings, then I consider there are two different elements, a noun and a classifier.

- If the element in question provides information about a referent that is expressed by an NP in the same clause, then this element is a classifier.

- If an element attached to an adjective or a noun has a modifying function, then it is a classifier.

Chapter 6 will highlight two other distinctions between nouns and classifiers. First, when obligatorily prefixed nouns appear bound to other nouns or adjectives, they exhibit derivational functions only, not modifying functions like classifiers. Second, classifiers, but not nouns, may categorize a constituent within the clause: while classifiers in verbs can be associated with a noun phrase within the clause, incorporated/compounded nouns do not have an associated (coreferential) NP within the clause.

As a final note on the distinction between classifiers and nouns, nouns that are compounded or incorporated in the same position as classifiers could, in a certain sense be considered 'repeaters', i.e., a morpheme that serves as its own classifier (Grinevald 2015:817; van der Voort 2018:204). However, note again that these compounded nouns do not associate with an external noun in Mojeño Trinitario: they do not actually repeat the noun. This is why I do not consider them as part of the classifier system.

## 3.4 Phonological shape

Classifiers are affixes. This is evident in the fact that they are part of the domain to which stress, syncope and phonological rules apply, i.e., the phonological/prosodic word (see Sections 2.3 and 2.4). Examples (92) and (93) shows that classifiers are part of the word domain within which stress placement is computed. Example (94) shows that classifiers themselves can be stressed. Example (95) shows that classifiers are part of the word domain within which syncope applies, and both (95) and (96) show that classifiers are part of the word domain within which phonological rules apply (here respectively assimilation of place for nasals and labialization of labial consonants, see Section 2.4.2 and 2.4.1).
(92) **tyuuna**
*ty-uuna*
3-be.beautif
'It is beautiful.'

/'cu:na/

(93) **tyuunápa'i**
*t-uuna-pa'i*
3-be.beautif
'The ground is clean.'

/cu:'napaʔi/

(94) **nyuwaméko**
*n-yuwa-me-ko*
1-grind-CLF:flat.hard-ACT
'I grind slices of dry meat.'

/njuwa'meko/

(95) **nchumpako**
*n-chum-pa-ko*
1-parboil-CLF:manioc-ACT
'I cook manioc.'

/ntʃum'pako/
< chunu 'parboil'

(96) **nsiopueko**
*n-siopu-e-ko*
1-enter-CLF:liquid-ACT
'I dive into water.'

/nsio'pʷeko/
< siopo 'enter'

Most classifiers have the form CV. Table 11 summarizes the distribution of classifiers according to their form. Longer forms clearly have a nominal origin (see Chapter 7): they have very likely been grammaticalized recently and their phonological form has not yet eroded.

<table><caption>Table 11. Form of the classifiers</caption><thead><tr><th>classifier shape</th><th>quantity</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>CV (including CʷV)</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td>(C)V ~ (C)VCV</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>CVCV(CV)</td><td>9</td></tr></tbody></table>

Six classifiers have two allomorphs, depending on the position within the word: -cho ~ -che, -mo ~ -me, -no ~ -ne, -ño ~ -ñe, -pa'i ~ -pue, and -omo ~ -e. The second allomorph is only found stem-internally in verb stems that contain the active suffix -ko ~ -cho ~ -'o as in (97).<fnref n="22" /> The first allomorph is stem-final: it is found in all environments lacking the active suffix, whatever the position within the word, and regardless of the part of speech of the host, as illustrated in (98) to (100).<fnref n="23" /> Note that the stem-internal allomorphs always end in /e/, and for three pairs they consist of one syllable rather than two: -pa'i ~ -pue,<fnref n="24" /> -ju'e ~ -je, and -omo ~ -e. This shows that the stem-internal environment favors phonological change and reduction.

(97) **muestanekoyre**
*mu-esta-ne-ko=yre*
3M-whip-CLF:back-ACT=FUT
'He was going to whip her.' [T20.047]

<footnote n="22">²² Figure 4 delimits the verb stem within square brackets.</footnote>

<footnote n="23">²³ This distribution applies in a less systematic way for the following two pairs of allomorphs: -gi ~ -gie and -ju'e ~ -je.</footnote>

<footnote n="24">²⁴ The allomorph -pue can be considered a reduced form of -pa'i (after glottal stop elision, monophthongization, and labialization, see Section 2.4 on morphophonology).</footnote>
(98) nkestano
n-k-esta-no
1SG-MID-whip-CLF:back
‘I got whipped on the back.’ [elicited]

(99) tmopkumori'ini
t-mopku-mo=ri'i=ni
3-be dark-CLF:fabric=IPFV=FRUST
‘The sky was dark in vain (it was not raining).’ [T19.053]

(100) mojomono
mojo-mo-no
mangy-CLF:fabric-PL
‘They have scabies.’ [T10.016]

The vowels of some classifiers are immune to rhythmic syncope (see Section 2.3), but many classifiers lose vowels under this process. In Table 12, underlined vowels of classifiers in the first column are those that are attested to drop under rhythmic deletion. Some inconsistencies are observed regarding whether vowels are syncopated, and if so, which vowels, when a given root is combined with different classifiers of the same phonological shape. For instance, no syncope is seen in the root *anu* ‘pass over’ or the classifier in (101a); in (101b), syncope affects the root but not the classifier; and in (101c), it affects the classifier but not the root. My observations suggest that the most frequent and/or lexicalized combinations of roots and classifiers are subject to syncope.<fnref n="25" />

(101) a. sanujiko
s-anu-ji-ko
3F-pass_over-CLF:amorph-ACT
‘She passes marshes.’

b. sanku'o
s-an-ku-'o
3F-pass_over-CLF:I path-ACT
‘She crosses a river, a street.’

c. sanusko
s-anu-s-ko
3F-pass_over-CLF:sphere-ACT
‘She passes over something round (like a round stone).’ [elicited]

As a consequence of rhythmic syncope and the diverse morphonological rules presented in Sections 2.3 and 2.4, each classifier may have multiple surface forms. The allormophs of the classifiers found in the corpus are listed in Table 12.<fnref n="26" /> In the last column of this table, a sign “+” introduces a segment following the classifier that conditions a specific allomorph of that classifier. Note that once all allomorphs are taken into account, there is more homonymy among classifiers than that described in Section 3.2. Most notably, several classifiers can be reduced to a single consonant, which makes their identification a subtle matter.

<footnote n="25">²⁵ A pair of elicited examples also hints to meaning variation for identical root-classifier combinations that differ in their syncope patterns: *nejak'o to pkure* ‘I sit in a canoe’; *nejaku'o* ‘I sit in the woman’s genitals’, with both verb forms segmented and glossed as *nu-eja-ku-ko* 1SG-sit-CLF.path-ACT.</footnote>

<footnote n="26">²⁶ They are more cases of vowel elision in the third column of Table 12 than of syncopatable vowels (underscored) in the first column: this is because some cases of vowel elision are not due to rhythmic syncope but rather to processes of vowel hiatus resolution.</footnote>
<table><caption>Table 12. All attested surface forms of each classifier in the corpus</caption><thead><tr><th>form</th><th>gloss</th><th>other allomorphs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>-cho ~ -che</td><td>CLF:plank</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-gi ~ -gie</td><td>CLF:cyl</td><td>-g</td></tr><tr><td>-ji</td><td>CLF:amorph</td><td>-j</td></tr><tr><td>-giwu</td><td>CLF:digit</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-ju'e ~ -je</td><td>CLF:interior</td><td>-j, -j'e, -ju'</td></tr><tr><td>-ku</td><td>CLF:path</td><td>-k</td></tr><tr><td>-mo ~ -me</td><td>CLF:fabric</td><td>-mue, -m</td></tr><tr><td>-miro</td><td>CLF:face</td><td>-mro, -mir, -mr</td></tr><tr><td>-muri</td><td>CLF:group</td><td>-mri, -muu</td></tr><tr><td>-mu'i</td><td>CLF:setting</td><td>-m'i, -mu', -m'</td></tr><tr><td>-na</td><td>CLF:H</td><td>-n</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>CLF:GNR</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-no ~ -ne</td><td>CLF:back</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-ño ~ -ñe</td><td>CLF:tube</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-omo ~ -e</td><td>CLF:liquid</td><td>-om, -mo, -m</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:mass</td><td>-pu+e</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:needle</td><td>-pu+e</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:manioc</td><td>-pu+e</td></tr><tr><td>-pa'i ~ -pue</td><td>CLF:ground</td><td>-pa'</td></tr><tr><td>-pe</td><td>CLF:blade</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-pewo</td><td>CLF:foot</td><td>-pew</td></tr><tr><td>-pewo'u</td><td>CLF:hand</td><td>-pewo', -jwo'u, -jwo', -pew'u, -pewu</td></tr><tr><td>-pi</td><td>CLF:fili</td><td>-p</td></tr><tr><td>-pu'i</td><td>CLF:island</td><td>-pu'</td></tr><tr><td>-si</td><td>CLF:sphere</td><td>-s</td></tr><tr><td>-ugi</td><td>CLF:face</td><td>-ug</td></tr><tr><td>-ve</td><td>CLF:pointed</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-'a</td><td>CLF:ovoid</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-'e</td><td>CLF:convex</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-'i</td><td>CLF:atmo</td><td>-'</td></tr><tr><td>-'i</td><td>CLF:fruit</td><td>-'</td></tr><tr><td>-'o</td><td>CLF:body</td><td>-'</td></tr><tr><td>-'ugi</td><td>CLF:eye</td><td>-'ug</td></tr></tbody></table>

## 3.5 Position and behavior within the morphological word

Classifiers generally attach directly to the right edge of host roots whatever their parts of speech, except when a copy, due to reduplication, is inserted between the verb root and the classifier (see the verb template in Figure 4).

(102) mamuire muettutupiko to vechjiriiwo
ma-muire mu-etu~tutu-pi-ko to v-echjiriiwo
3M-too 3M-know~RED-CLF:fili-ACT ART.NH 1PL-language
'He too knows a bit our language.' [T20.058]

On most parts of speech, classifiers are stem-final, except on active verb stems. On active verb stems, classifiers may be followed by the pluractional, and the sheer presence of a classifier makes the active suffix obligatory on all active verbs (see example (103)).<fnref n="27" /> Classifiers thus act like other stem-internal morphology, such as the pluractional suffix and the copy due to reduplication (see Section 2.9.2). When active roots participate in non-active constructions, such as in some middle constructions

<footnote n="27">²⁷ This is visible on active stems that do not take the active suffix in absence of stem-internal affixes, like omo 'carry'.</footnote>
(see (98) above) or a patientive nominalization (see (106) below), the active suffix is omitted and the stem-final allomorph of the classifier is then used (Rose 2023a).

(103) a. **nomo**
*n-omo*
1SG-carry
'I am carrying it.'

b. **nomjiko**
*n-om-ji-*ko*
1SG-carry-CLF:amorph-ACT
‘I am carrying it (vegetal, clothing...).’

Note that the three allomorphs of the active suffix, -ko, -cho, and -'o, are lexically conditioned by the morpheme that immediately precedes them.<fnref n="28" /> When classifiers fill this slot, they condition this allomorphy, as exemplified in (104). If the pluractional suffix is inserted between the classifier and the active suffix, the -ko allomorph is conditioned (see Section 2.9).

(104) a. **tuprijecho**
*tupri-je-*cho*
be_in Scientia-CLF:interior-ACT
‘in the middle of the woods’

b. **tuprisko**
*tupri-s-*ko*
be_in Scientia-CLF:sphere-ACT
‘within a pot’

c. **tuprik'o**
*tupri-k-*'o*
be_in Scientia-CLF:IK-ACT
‘in the middle of a room’

Coming back to the position of the classifiers, on nominalized verb forms, classifiers may either precede or follow a nominalizer, depending on particular nominalizers. Classifiers precede *-giene* ~ -gne, -ra'i, -wo, -ru, and -kore, as exemplified in (105) for -giene ~ -gne ‘GEN.PAT.NZ’, and they follow -ru ~ -V, -eru, and -ira, as exemplified in (106) for -ru ~ -V ‘PNCT.PAT.NZ’.

(105) to takoyempignee'i

to
*ta-koyem-*pi-*gne*=e'i

ART.NH 3NH-occur-CLF:fili-GEN.PAT.NZ=IPFV
‘the story (what happened)’ [T06.110]

(106) te pjo ñepajiimo
te
p-jo
ñ-epaji-i-mo
PREP.NH DEM-NH.SG 3M-lay-PNCT.PAT.NZ-CLF:fabric
‘in a blanket’ [Path.C.005]

Finally, sequences of two classifiers are rarely attested: only two textual examples show adjacent classifiers in a verb. In example (107), the first classifier refers to the location and the second to O. In example (108), the first classifier refers to the location (-ku indicates a volume within a bounded space) and the second to S.

<footnote n="28">²⁸ The distribution of the allomorphs of the active suffix is originally phonologically determined by the preceding phoneme. However, the triggering phoneme may have syncopated and be non-retrievable in synchrony. Consequently, the distribution of the allomorphs of the active suffix is now in practice lexically determined.</footnote>
(107) ñoktayejkoo'i
ñ-oktay-e-j-ko=o'i
3M-step-CLF:liquid-CLF:amorph-ACT=IPFV
'He walks on stones in the water.' [Path.S.042]

(108) 'nuuji eto taewkujecho
'nuuji eto ta-ew-ku-je-ko
immediately NH 3NH-beat-CLFGUIF:CLF:interior-ACT
'Immediately it (the stomach) beat inside' [T12.016]

A number of sequences of classifier and incorporated noun are attested. Both orders are attested: N-CLF, as in (109), and CLF-N, as in (110) and (111). The reason for the differences in the order of CLF and N is for now unknown. In all these examples, the classifier and the incorporated noun associate with the same referent: O in (109), S in (110), and a location in (111).

(109) tyukpannechwoo'i
t-yuk-pan-ne-ch-wo=o'i
3-throw-jaw-CLF:back-ACT-MID=IPFV
'He presses his cheeks.' [T45.066]

(110) tyumomu'ri'i
ti-u-mo-mu'=ri'i
3-be_big-CLF:fabric-robe=IPFV
'His/her robe was large.' [T25.099]

(111) ñepchakeenochpo pñi 'pona
ñi-epcha-k-eeno-ko=po p-ñi 'po-na
3M-punch-CLFGUIF:CLF:path-throat-ACT=PFV DEM-M other-CLF:GNR
'He punched the other one in the throat.' [T40.090]
# 4 Classifier semantics

This section describes the varied meanings of Mojeño Trinitario classifiers. It starts with a detailed description of the intension and extension of each category that goes far beyond giving impressionistic labels to the categories (Section 4.1). It goes on to analyze some of the semantic parameters relevant at the level of the classifier system (Section 4.2), yielding a proposal to organize classifiers into five semantic sets (Section 4.3). It then presents a number of observations regarding some of the semantic shifts that have affected particular classifiers (Section 4.4), as well as a discussion of the frequency of each category in discourse, based on the corpus used in this study (Section 4.5).

## 4.1 Semantics of individual classifiers

Table 13 recapitulates for each classifier its gloss, its definition, and provides a list of core category members and some peripheral members. Note that glosses are provided for purposes of convenience, and are merely intended to facilitate the identification of classifier categories in glossed examples. They are based either on a core semantic component or on a prototypical member. The gloss should never be understood as a cover term that applies transparently to all possible referents with which the classifier can associate. The definition is devised to distinguish each classifier from the others. Core members of the category are those that are most frequent in the textual data and/or most often given as possible translations in elicitation sessions. The prototype member (in boldface among the core members) is the one that is most often given in out-of-the-blue elicitation contexts, and in other information-poor contexts. Peripheral members are less frequent than core members in texts and require a specific context to be offered as translations in elicitation contexts. The difference between core and peripheral members is a distinction purely based on synchronic facts, although it possibly reflects diachronic semantic extensions.

The definition and extension of each classifier (in orthographical order) is discussed separately in the remainder of the section. At least one example is given for each category. More examples are given for some categories, especially for abstract meanings, in the section on semantic shifts (Section 4.4).

<table><thead><tr><th>form</th><th>gloss</th><th>definition</th><th>core members<sup>29</sup></th><th>peripheral members</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>-cho<br>-che</td><td>CLF:plank</td><td>2D, flat, rigid, and bounded</td><td><b>plank</b>, bench, wall, door, roof</td><td>brim of hat, wheel of ox cart</td></tr><tr><td>-gi<br>-gie</td><td>CLF:cyl</td><td>1D, cylindrical</td><td><b>trunk</b>, trees, stick, bone, broom handle</td><td>grain of rice, coffee bean, corn kernel, fruit, hammock, saddle, back of a mounted animal</td></tr><tr><td>-giwu</td><td>CLF:digit</td><td>digits</td><td><b>finger</b>, toe</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-je<br>-ju'e</td><td>CLF:interior</td><td>interior of a bounded entity</td><td><b>stomach</b>, inside of the forest, interior of a house or a room</td><td>in a village, inside a tube, in an oven</td></tr><tr><td>-ji</td><td>CLF:amorph</td><td>amorphous, non-dimensional, mass of undistinguishable elements</td><td><b>area with vegetation</b>, forest, clothes, fields, leaves, grass</td><td>mud, wax, boiled food, marsh, thicket, meat, curd, mattress, nest, limb, branch, flour, house, hair</td></tr></tbody></table>

<footnote n="29">29 The prototypes are in boldface.</footnote>
<table><thead><tr><th>form</th><th>gloss</th><th>definition</th><th>core members</th><th>peripheral members</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>-ku</td><td>CLF:path</td><td>space enclosed by parallel boundaries</td><td><strong>well</strong>, hole, interior of a house, creek, river, path</td><td>street, doorway, hammock, vagina, from inside mud, inside of a pot, vehicle (canoe, cart, plane), under a contract, in a class, in a job, in military service, sun, moon, night</td></tr><tr><td>-miro</td><td>CLF:face</td><td>face</td><td><strong>face</strong>, front side</td><td>in front of</td></tr><tr><td>-mo<br>-me</td><td>CLF:fabric</td><td>2D, flat, large and generally flexible</td><td><strong>fabric</strong>, blanket, paper, clouds, folder, sky, skin</td><td>jerky, table, bench, back (of a skinny body), dogs (lying on the ground), flat fish, any flattened object or person</td></tr><tr><td>-muri</td><td>CLF:group</td><td>group</td><td><strong>group of people</strong>, group of animate beings</td><td>group of inanimate individuals, kinds, large quantity of mass</td></tr><tr><td>-mu'i</td><td>CLF:setting</td><td>space and time, visual experience</td><td><strong>appearances</strong>, scenery, view, temporal extension (time, holiday, season)</td><td>atmosphere, appearance, color, size, personality, experience</td></tr><tr><td>-na</td><td>CLF:H<br>CLF:GNR</td><td>human</td><td><strong>person</strong></td><td>any referent (on numerals)</td></tr><tr><td>-no<br>-ne</td><td>CLF:back</td><td>curved and elongated</td><td><strong>back</strong>, banana, plantain</td><td>torso, stick, bamboo, penis, horse, cow, tapir, jaguar, deer, caiman</td></tr><tr><td>-ño<br>-ñe</td><td>CLF:tube</td><td>tubular</td><td><strong>tube</strong>, barrel, flute</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-omo<br>-e</td><td>CLF:liquid</td><td>liquid</td><td><strong>water</strong>, river, lake</td><td>maternal milk, manioc beer, tobacco juice</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:mass</td><td>mass</td><td><strong>soil</strong>, flour, sand, rice, seeds, corn</td><td>dough, paste, minced meat</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:needle</td><td>1D, long, thin and pointed</td><td><strong>needle</strong>, skewer</td><td>nail, wire, grill, thin tools, hammer, palm, rib, body hair, head hair, tail, beard, eyelash</td></tr><tr><td>-pa</td><td>CLF:manioc</td><td>manioc</td><td><strong>manioc root</strong></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-pa'i<br>-pue</td><td>CLF:ground</td><td>2D, bare ground</td><td><strong>ground</strong>, territory, earth, lawn, floor, pampa</td><td>square, bottom of body of water, house, beach</td></tr><tr><td>-pe</td><td>CLF:blade</td><td>2D, flat, rigid with sharp boundaries</td><td><strong>blade</strong>, knife, machete, plate, fish</td><td>pot lid, board, saw, shallow dish, flame</td></tr><tr><td>-pewo</td><td>CLF:foot</td><td>foot</td><td><strong>foot</strong></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-pewo'u</td><td>CLF:hand</td><td>hand</td><td><strong>hand</strong></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><caption>Table 13. Semantics of individual classifiers</caption><thead><tr><th>form</th><th>gloss</th><th>definition</th><th>core members</th><th>peripheral members</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>-pi</td><td>CLF:fili</td><td>1D, narrow, long, thin and flexible, filiform</td><td><strong>rope</strong>, snake, belt, lasso, thread, necklace</td><td>inga fruit, candle, speech, word, song, language, music, feeling, event</td></tr><tr><td>-pu'i</td><td>CLF:island</td><td>3D, round</td><td><strong>pocket of forest</strong> (called an “island”), hill</td><td>testicles</td></tr><tr><td>-si</td><td>CLF:sphere</td><td>3D, sphere</td><td><strong>head</strong>, onion, ball, pot, stone, garlic, gourd</td><td>branches of a tree, hair (on head), turtle, glass, bud, corn, knob of a handle, hole, insects</td></tr><tr><td>-ugi</td><td>CLF:face</td><td>face</td><td><strong>face</strong></td><td>appearances</td></tr><tr><td>-ve</td><td>CLF:pointed</td><td>thin and pointed, hard</td><td></td><td>comb, thorn, palm</td></tr><tr><td>-'a</td><td>CLF:ovoid</td><td>oval</td><td><strong>egg</strong>, eye</td><td>testicles</td></tr><tr><td>-'e</td><td>CLF:convex</td><td>exterior of a rounded element</td><td><strong>belly</strong>, drum, balloon, skillet, bell, something inflated</td><td>sweet potato, bread</td></tr><tr><td>-'i</td><td>CLF:atmo</td><td>atmosphere, intangible</td><td><strong>weather</strong>, wind, sky</td><td>smoke, atmosphere (figurative), time, experience</td></tr><tr><td>-'i</td><td>CLF:fruit</td><td>3D, sphere with protrusion</td><td><strong>fruits</strong>, birds, bottle, pot, cup, udders</td><td>can, barrel, coconut, tank (container), house, bowl made in calabash with beak, pitcher, male genitals</td></tr><tr><td>-'o</td><td>CLF:body</td><td>body</td><td><strong>body of a person</strong>, body of an animal (bull, dog, cat, fish)</td><td>motorcycle seat, bundle (of firewood, cane or manioc sticks)</td></tr><tr><td>-'ugi</td><td>CLF:eye</td><td>eye</td><td><strong>eye</strong></td><td>patches of color</td></tr></tbody></table>

### 4.1.1 -cho ~ -che CLF:plank

This classifier denotes entities that are flat, rigid, and bounded, such as the flat rock in (112). It does not entail any orientation, e.g., vertical or horizontal. Core members of this class tend to be rectangular, but non-core members can have different shapes.

(112) tjúnopo tetéreko te pjo máricho
t-junopo t-etére-ko te p-jo mari-cho
3-run 3-jump-ACT PREP.NH DEM-NH.SG stone-CLF:plank
'He runs and jumps on the (flat) rock.' [Path.C.052]

### 4.1.2 -gi ~ -gie CLF:cyl

This class includes prototypically cylindrical objects, such as the large tree in (113). Peripheral members of this class have shapes that are not purely cylindrical, but are three-dimensional, and longer than they are wide. The ends of the entity in question can be less wide than the middle point of the “cylinder”, as in the cases of beans, hammocks, or the backs of mounted animals.
(113) pñi 'chane ñetereg'o pjo 'chopegie wkugi

<table><tr><td>p-ñi</td><td>'chane</td><td>ñ-etere-g-'o</td><td>p-jo</td><td>'chope-gie</td><td>wkugi</td></tr><tr><td>DEM-M</td><td>person</td><td>3M-jump-CLF:cyl-ACT</td><td>DEM-NH.SG</td><td>big-CLF:cyl</td><td>tree</td></tr><tr><td colspan="6">'The man jumps over the large tree.' [Path.S.026]</td></tr></table>

### 4.1.3 -giwu CLF:digit

There is only one textual example of this classifier, denoting fingers, given in (114). In an elicited example, it associates with toes. Note that the classifier differs in form with both the noun -wugi 'finger' and the noun -iwgi 'toe'.

(114) ñi 'pona timogiwuchwo, tajpuka pjoko ñisamri'i te pjo ñiwugi

<table><tr><td>ñi</td><td>'po-na</td><td>t-imo-giwu-ch-wo</td><td>taj=puka</td></tr><tr><td>ART.M</td><td>other-CLF:GNR</td><td>3-watch-CLF:digit-ACT-MID</td><td>NH.INDT=DUB</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>p-jo-ko</td><td>ñi-sam=ri'i</td><td>te</td><td>p-jo</td><td>ñi-wugi?</td></tr><tr><td>DEM-NH.SG-NAE</td><td>3M-feel=IPFV</td><td>PREP.NH</td><td>DEM-NH.SG</td><td>3M-finger</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">'The other one watches his fingers, what could it be that he feels in his fingers?' [T44.226]</td></tr></table>

### 4.1.4 -je ~ -ju'e CLF:interior

This classifier denotes the interior volume of an entity that does not have straightforwardly Euclidean geometrical boundaries, prototypically the interior of a belly, a forest or a house. In (115), the combination of the root *mari* 'stone' and the classifier -ju'e is interpreted as 'cave'.<fnref n="30" />

(115) ma 'chane tyuchko te to mariju'e ene tsiopo te to 'pochkoyo mariju'e

<table><tr><td>ma</td><td>'chane</td><td>ty-uch-ko</td><td>te</td><td>to</td><td>mari-ju'e</td></tr><tr><td>ART.M</td><td>person</td><td>3-exit-ACT</td><td>PREP.NH</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>stone-CLF:interior</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>ene</td><td>t-siopo</td><td>te</td><td>to</td><td>'po-chkoyo mari-ju'e</td></tr><tr><td>and</td><td>3-enter</td><td>PREP.NH</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>other-side stone-CLF:interior</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">'The man goes out of the cave and enters beside the cave.' [Path.M.043]</td></tr></table>

An element *jeku* 'interior' is also sometimes found in compounds, and could be considered a complex classifier made up of -je and -ku. However, this *jeku* element shows the same form and meaning as the obligatorily prefixed noun *jeku* 'interior', and is thus considered a noun.

### 4.1.5 -ji CLF:amorph

The semantics of the class -ji is difficult to define. It often denotes areas with vegetation, plants, or clothes, but also associates with a multitude of different other entities, such as mud and meat. Gill (1957:84) offers the following definition: "-ji denotes usually bulky soft objects (grass, leaves, small branches, fresh meat, any cloth material, pillow; also mud, garbage; also clouds)". It often denotes entities involved in a 'heap' but can more generally be described as 'shapeless' or 'amorphous'. More peripheral members are limbs, branches, flour, house, hair.

(116) nsuujiko

<table><tr><td>n-suu-ji-ko</td></tr><tr><td>1SG-fry-CLF:amorph-ACT</td></tr><tr><td>'I fry (fresh meat).' (Gill 1957:84)</td></tr></table>

<footnote n="30">³⁰ This is not a conventionalized term, as there are no rocks, and hence no caves in the environment of the Mojeños Trinitarios. This term was produced, among others, to refer to a cave in the context of the Path stiumulus (Ishibashi et al. 2006).</footnote>
(117) nkochaji
n-kocha-ji
1SG-be_dirty-CLF:amorph
'I am dirty (my clothes).' (Gill 1957:84)

The definition and identification of this class suffers from possible confusion with two homonyms,<fnref n="31" /> as highlighted by Terhart (2024) for the very same situation in Paunaka. This closely related Arawak language shows a cognate classifier -ji used for ‘soft masses, dough’ (Terhart 2024:140), which is in practical terms not always easy to distinguish from its two homonyms, a collective marker and an intensive Aktionsart suffix (Terhart 2024:261–265, 313–314).<fnref n="32" /> The two cognate homonyms of the -ji ‘amorphous’ classifier in Mojeño Trinitario are described below.

The -ji ‘intensive’ suffix is a degree marker found on adjectives (118) and verbs, both stative (119) and active (120). It is notably frequently used with reduplication, as in (120),<fnref n="33" /> as well as with another degree marker glossed as APPROX (‘approximative’), illustrated in (118), whose meaning is not always clear. In all cases, the suffix -ji seems to add ‘intensity’ (however vague this term is) to the event. More specifically, on reduplicated items, it may add intensity to the pluractional meaning of reduplication (see Section 2.9.2).

(118) ewiréreji
ewire-rV-ji
far-APPROX-INTENS
'It is not really far.' (Spanish: 'Es medio lejos.') [elicited]

(119) wo tooji
wo t-a-uu-ji
NEG 3-IRR-be good-INTENS
'He is not doing really well.' [T42.076]

(120) muestatajiko to wije
mu-esta ta-ji ko to wije
3M-whip RED-INTENS-ACT ART.NH ox
'He often hits the ox.' (Gill 1957:18)

In the examples (118) to (120), there is no argument in favor of an analysis of -ji as a classifier: it is difficult to find a referent that could be categorized as ‘amorphous’. In other cases, I see no practical way to disambiguate the two analyses. In (121), the -ji suffix can be analyzed as a classifier referring to the grass, or as an intensifier of the meaning of the stative verb.

(121) pjo muiji, tyjoreji.
p-jo muiji ty-jore-ji
DEM-NH.SG grass 3-be impenetrable-CLF:amorph
'This scrubland (lit. grass), it is pretty bad.' [T07.007]

The -ji ‘collective’ suffix is found on nouns, verbs, adjectives and numerals, just like classifiers. On nouns, it denotes either a group of people, as in (122), or a large group of the inanimate element referred

<footnote n="31">³¹ There is actually a fourth -ji suffix in Mojeño Trinitario: an intensifier found on pronouns only. Because of its morphological distribution, it is easily distinguishable from the classifier.</footnote>

<footnote n="32">³² Despite this analytical challenge, Terhart’s analysis motivated me to identify an intensive suffix for -ji tokens that I had primarily glossed as a classifier, without having clearly identified a referent that it could categorize. It also encouraged me to reconsider the scope of what I had coined the ‘abundance’ suffix -ji, primarily seen as a derivational morpheme on nominal roots to derive another noun denoting a place with an abundance of the element referred to by the nominal root. It is now glossed as a collective marker. After I applied the new analysis, the number of tokens of the classifier -ji in the 48 texts dropped from 156 to 70, the strongest drop being on verbs, from 108 to 45 tokens. I must admit that my analysis of a good number of occurrences of -ji in my corpus is still debatable. Note that in the original analysis with all three meanings seen as carried over by the classifier, its description was extremely vague and leaning towards a default classifier.</footnote>

<footnote n="33">³³ In the 48 texts in the corpus, it is found in 25 of the 90 cases of reduplication with a single copy, and in none of the six cases of a double copy.</footnote>
to by the nominal root, often a plant, as in (123). This use, where it is often translated as ‘field’, is actually the only meaning and distribution described in the grammar written by native speakers (Ibáñez Noza et al. 2007:106–108).

(122) norikochicha pno namrijono, ene?

na-ori-ko-chicha p-no n-amri-j-ono ene
3PL-be good-ACT-EMP DEM-H.PL 1SG-grandchild-COL-PL TAG
‘My grandchildren like him, right?’ [T49.108]

(123) ykoskureri'i to narasaji

y-ko-skure=ri'i to narasa-ji
1PL-VZ-crops=IPFV ART.NH orange-COL
‘We planted an orange field.’ [T38.207]

The -ji collective suffix is also found on adjectives and stative (124) or active (125) verbs, where it associates with an argument made of a large number of elements, whether animate or inanimate. Finally, example (126) is an elicited example of a numeral with -ji, where it is interpretable as being the collective suffix, as it is used for entities coming in pairs. Given that the distribution and position of the collective suffix is very similar to those of classifiers, the next step in the analysis should be to investigate whether the collective suffix could actually be considered a classifier.<fnref n="34" />

(124) wipo toojono no nayenokokono

wi=po t-a-uu-j-ono no na-yeno-koko-no
NEG=PFV 3-IRR-be good-COL-PL ART.PL 3PL-wife-RECP-PL
‘There are not well together, the spouses.’ [T42.056]

(125) tirejíriko jma to'i

t-ire-jí-ri-ko j-ma t-o'i
3-collect-COL-PLURACT-ACT DEM-NH.PL 3NH-fruit
‘He is collecting the fruits.’ [Path.C.018]

(126) étoji

éto-ji
one-COL
‘one person, animal or bird (of those who normally come in pairs)’ [elicited]

Regarding the examples (122) to (126), there is no referent that could be categorized as ‘amorphous’, but in other cases, it is difficult to disambiguate the two analyses. For example, in (127), -ji could be seen as expressing either the amorphous shape of laundry, or the collectiveness of the laundry.

(127) nsipjirikpo to 'chopemuugira

n-sip-ji-ri-k=po to 'chope-muu-gira
1SG-wash-CLF:amorph-PLURACT-ACT=PFV ART.NH big-CLF:group-DIM
‘I wash a small quantity.’ [T38.140]

In cases of doubt, I have generally maintained the analysis of -ji as a classifier. Note, however, that this might have some effect on the definition of the category itself, blurring the lines more than needed. It could be the case that some peripheral members of the amorphous category that I have defined, and even more central ones, such as the forest, limbs, and hair, should be seen as ‘collective’ entities. I have not, however, followed that line of analysis because of the singular number of some referents associated with -ji in particular examples. At this point of the investigation, I cannot say whether the fuzzy situation

<footnote n="34">³⁴ Lena Terhart (p. c.) is reluctant about applying this analysis to Paunaka because the collective suffix can follow a classifier in the same word. Note that the ‘number’ meaning of the collective suffix is not a drawback for an analysis as a classifier: the classifier -muri ‘group’ does contribute to the expression of number in Mojeño Trinitario.</footnote>
between the three -ji suffixes is due to a deficient analysis or to historical divergence or convergence between the meanings of amorphous, collective, and intensive, which are in some degree overlapping.

### 4.1.6 -ku CLF:path

The classifier -ku denotes the interior of an entity but is distinct from -je in that it typically refers to a hollow space with parallel boundaries, such as a well, a house, a river, or path. In (128), it indicates the 'hole' dug to plant the banana trunks. It extends to members that are less clearly conceived as hollow, like a street, or a doorway, and to members with less clearly parallel boundaries like within the mud, vagina, or hammock. It also applies to both half-open vehicles, such as canoes and carts, and to closed vehicles, such as cars and planes.

(128) nasekku'o tow'oyre eto to keenochpono.

na-sek-ku-'o t-ow-'o=yre eto to keeno chp-ono
3PL-dig-CLF:path-ACT 3-live-ACT=FUT 3NH ART.NH plantain trunk-PL
'They dig it where the banana plants are going to be.' [T21.022]

Metaphorically, it also indicates commitment to scheduled or institutional activities, like a course, military service, a work, a contract. The metaphorical extensions are discussed and exemplified in Section 4.4. Finally, it is unexpectedly (at least for me) used for the sun, the moon, and the night. It is unclear to me whether these are conceived as hollow elements, or as paths.

Incidentally, its meaning has bleached when used on the active verb root *tupri* 'be in the middle' that takes a classifier and the active suffix. When -ku combines with this verb root, it associates with a number of items that are not normally associated with it, such as a chain, a candle, a lake, or a group of people.

### 4.1.7 -miro CLF:face

This category generally refers to the face of a person, as in (129), but by extension can be used for the front side of an entity, and used in verbs to express the locative meaning 'in front of'.

(129) kotipuka pjokro so'e tajpukagiene, su 'pona tkootomrochwoo'i

koti=puka p-jo-kro s-o'e taj=puka=giene
hurt=DUB DEM-NH.SG-POT.LOC 3F-tooth NH.INDT=DUB=INTENS

su 'po-na t-kooto-mro-ch-wo=o'i

ART.F other-CLF:GNR 3-grab-CLF:face-ACT-MID=IPFV

'It could be that her tooth is hurting or something like that, this woman is holding her face.' [T44.074]

### 4.1.8 -mo ~ -me CLF:fabric

This category denotes rather thin, broad, and generally flexible entities. Its prototype is any type of fabric, as in (130), or fabric-made items, such as blankets. It includes as core members paper, skin or leather, cardboard, but also clouds and the sky. Peripheral members include entities that are less thin, or not thin and flexible, such as jerky, a bench, or a table. This category actually includes animals, such as flat fish, or skinny animals or humans. It may actually be used for any object that has been flattened.

(130) chamarote tjítumo tyuumuípa'e.

chamarote t-jítu-mo ty-uu muípa'e
fabric_type(Sp) 3-be_thick-CLF:fabric 3-be good pants
'Chamarote is thick, it is good for making pants.' [T25.086]
### 4.1.9 -muri CLF:group

This classifier denotes a group or a mass. The prototype is a group of humans.<fnref n="35" /> Core members usually include groups of any kind of animate entities, such as the toads exemplified in (131). Peripheral members include groups of countable inanimate entities, but may also denote multiple kinds of entities (e.g., types of fabric), or mass entities occuring in large quantities (e.g., money).

(131) ene muech'opo to pomri, pomri sapgirano
ene mu-ech-'o=po to po-mri
and 3M-call-ACT=PFV ART.NH other-CLF:group

po-mri sap-gira-no
other-CLF:group toad(Sp)-DIM-PL
'And he called the other toads.' [T11.043]

### 4.1.10 -mu'i CLF:setting

The -mu'i class is difficult to define because it comprises intangible entities, typically general elements of the natural environment, such as the weather, scenery, as in (132), and the spatial environment, as in (133). These meanings are very similar to those of the classifiers -i. Still despite the formal resemblance, there is no evidence of -mu'i being synchronically complex.

(132) nimom'iko
n-imo-m'i-ko
1SG-watch-CLF:setting-ACT
'I am watching the scenery.' [elicited]

(133) tmopkum'i
t-mopku-m'i
3-beDark-CLF:setting
'The night is dark.' [elicited]

Additionally, -mu'i in nominal compounds also denotes time periods like seasons and holidays. In (134), suffixed to the noun for 'name', it creates a stem for 'birthday'. A vaguer denotation of -mu'i is that of appearance, as in (135), which is sometimes interpreted as color.

(134) naejarem'ipka pnoñono
na-ejare-m'i=pka p-no-ñ-ono
3PL-name-CLF:setting=DUB DEM-H.PL-PROX-PL
'It could be their birthday, of these.' [T44.128]

(135) nwoo'o to nimom'ikyoo'i oypuka takoyemri'i oyim'ipka
n-woo-'o to n-imo-m'i-k=yo=o'i
1SG-want-ACT ART.NH 1SG-watch-CLF:setting-ACT=FUT=IPFV

oy=puka ta-koyem=ri'i oy-im'i=pka
INTER=DUB 3NH-happen_to=IPFV INTER-property=DUB
'I want to see how ugly they are, what they are going to be like, what could they look like.' [T29.030]

Interestingly, many occurrences of -mu'i are found on the root denoting similarity, kuti 'be like' (Rose 2019c), where it reinforces the epistemic meaning 'look like', as in (136). There is also some

<footnote n="35">³⁵ In the seven-text sample, there are 13 attestations of the -muri classifier, ten associate with a human referent, and the other three associate with a nonhuman referent.</footnote>
evidence that it can be used without *kuti* 'be like' to express doubt. In (137), the classifier is added to a pronoun that functions as an equative nonverbal predicate. The classifier does not qualify the human referent indicated at by the pronoun, but rather expresses that the speaker is not certain of having properly identified the character (in the Family Problem Solving task). It is interpreted here as a dubitative marker.

(136) tetereko kutim'i tajóracho te to masiri.

t-etere-ko kuti-m'i ta-jóra-cho te to ma-siri
3-jump-ACT it_seems-CLF:setting 3NH-wound-VZ PREP.NH ART.NH 3M-nose
'It (a rat) jumped, it looks like it hurt (the boy) in the nose.' [T18.025]

(137) eñim'i pñigia, ñijrokri'i pjo ñiye'e chinela pñi 'pona 'chane
eñi-m'i p-ñi-gia ñ-ijro-k=ri'i p-jo ñi-ye'e
3M-CLF:setting DEM-M-PROX 3M-give-ACT=IPFV DEM-NH.SG 3M-GPN

chinela p-ñi 'po-na 'chane
flip_flop(Sp) DEM-M other-CLF:GNR person
'I think that it is him, he gave his flip-flop to the other man.' [T44.037]

### 4.1.11 -na CLF:H/CLF:GNR

The classifier -na has two peculiarities: first, it does not show the full morphosyntactic distribution of classifiers, being absent on active verbs (see Section 5.4), and second, its semantic extensions differ depending on the part of speech of its host.

Indeed, the classifier -na has two possible meanings: either the specific 'human' meaning, or a generic meaning. On stative intransitive predicates, as in (138), and in its derivational uses on nominals, as in (139), it simply indicates the humanness of a participant. On numerals and numeral-like quantifiers (see Section 5.1), its meaning has bleached so that it can be associated with all kinds of human or non-human referents. Therefore, -na is now the default classifier on numerals (Section 5.1). This is evident in (140), where it is suffixed to a numeral and associates with 'day', a nonhuman referent.

(138) tyjopunaa'i
ty-jopu-na=a'i
3-be_white-CLF:H=IPFV
'She is... really white.' [T29.061]

(139) eti 'wosareenano te pjoka
eti 'wo-sa-re-V-na-no te p-jo-ka
2PL live-HAB.P.NZ-NPOSD-NZ-CLF:H-PL PREP.NH DEM-NH.SG-PROX
'Y'all townmen from here' [T01.009]

(140) moponagiene sache, tkótsipo to seesa.
mopo-na-giene sache t-kótsi=po to s-eesa
three-CLF:GNR-ORD day 3-be_bitter=PFV ART.NH 3F-beer
'On the third day, the beer was bitter.' [T35.016]

In the seven-text sample, there are 34 attestations of the -na classifier, 33 of which are on numerals and one on a verb. The latter instance, and 14 of the occurrences on numerals associate with a human referent, and the other 19 tokens associate with a nonhuman referent.

### 4.1.12 -no ~ -ne CLF:back

The classifier -no ~ -ne prototypically indicates the 'back' part of a human being, as in (141), and bananas. Less frequently, it also categorizes the abdomen, bamboo, cane, and large animals. A possible core
meaning could be ‘curved’, or ‘concave’, but it does not seem to be an indispensable property of the referent of the noun.

(141) aa! ñepchineko!

aa ñ-epchi-ne-ko

INTJ 3M-hit_stick-CLF:back-ACT

‘Oh! He hit him on the back with a club!’ [T40.156]

### 4.1.13 -ño ~ -ñe CLF:tube

I have elicited the classifier -ño ~ -ñe on intransitive and transitive verbs after having read of it in Gill's (1957:206) Mojeño Trinitario grammar.<fnref n="36" /> An example on an intransitive verb is given in (142), and on a transitive verb in (143). In elicitation, speakers associate this classifier with a rather thin empty tube, like a flute or the barrel of a shotgun. An additional comment is that two native nouns end in -ño in my lexicon: -giño 'inner ear' and -jipño 'nail'. They may have once been analyzable synchronically with this classifier.

(142) tsisoño

t-siso-ño

3-be_black-CLF:tube

‘The flute / thin tube / barrel of a weapon is black.’ [elicited]

(143) mpajañeko

m-paja-ñe-ko

1SG-dry-CLF:tube-ACT

‘I am cleaning (the barrel of the shotgun).’ [elicited]

### 4.1.14 -omo ~ -e CLF:liquid

This classifier categorizes liquids, most commonly, but not exclusively, water. When used derivationally, it can denote any type of natural or man-made liquid. Example (144) illustrates how it associates with corn beer. When used for a location, it can refer to any large body of water, like a lake or a river.

(144) stankoo'i to sijaruomyore esu to sponi.

s-tan-ko=o'i

to

s-ijaru-ru-om=yore

esu to sponi

3F-look_for-ACT=IPFV

ART.NH

3F-name-NZ-CLF:liquid=FUT

3F ART.NH corn

‘She was looking for corn (to make) her birthday beer.’ (lit. ‘She was looking for corn (for) the future birthday drink.’) [T35.005]

### 4.1.15 -pa₁ CLF:mass

There are three classifiers with the form -pa with different core meanings that are difficult to merge under a single super-category.<fnref n="37" /> The first has a core meaning that associates with granular masses: core members are powder-like elements, i.e., collections of tiny individual elements, such as soil, as in (145),

<footnote n="36">³⁶ The aim of this elicitation task was only to check the existence of this classifier in present-day Mojeño Trinitario, rather than to evaluate its productivity over various parts of speech, a question that I approach through a corpus study in Sections 4.3 and 5.</footnote>

<footnote n="37">³⁷ A quick look at the closely related Arawak languages Baure (Danielsen 2007) and Paunaka (Terhart 2024) shows that in these languages manioc does not fall under the cognate classifiers, respectively -po and -pa (thanks to Anita Obenaus for this investigation). A very likely explanation for the present homonymy in Mojeño Trinitario would be that the ‘powder’ class was often used in Pre-Mojeño for manioc flour, a central ingredient in Amazonian cooking, and extended by metonymy to the manioc root. Manioc is in fact already reported as a core exemplar of the -pa class in Old Mojeño (Marbán 1702:73). On her side, Terhart (2016:143–144) hypothesizes a semantic change from ‘powder’ to ‘swarms’, on the one hand, and ‘needle’, on the other hand.</footnote>
sand, and seeds. Peripheral members of the category consist of any type of mass made of non-individuated substances, such as any kind of dough or paste, or minced meat.

(145) nyerepareko móteji.

n-yere-*pa*-re-ko

moteji

1SG-carry-*CLF:mass*-PLURACT-ACT

soil

‘I carry soil.’ [T28.011]

### 4.1.16 -pa₂ CLF:needle

The core meaning of the second -pa classifier is that of a thin, long, and pointed tool. Core members are typically metallic, as in (146), such as a needle or a skewer. Peripheral members include hammers, and non-metallic items such as palm fronds, ribs, and hairs.<fnref n="38" />

(146) syustitijikpo te pjuena gieropa

s-yusti-CV-ji-k=po

te

p-ju-ena

giero-*pa*

3F-cut-RED-INTENS-ACT=PFV PREP.NH

DEM-NH.SG-DIST

iron-*CLF:needle*

‘She cut it in slices, with this metalic tool (an egg-cutter).’ [C&B.F.023]

### 4.1.17 -pa₃ CLF:manioc

The third -pa classifier associates specifically to manioc, as illustrated in (147). It is a ‘unique’ classifier, associating with only one entity. It is used for anything forming part of manioc plants, or derived from manioc, and is attested in the corpus for manioc plants, manioc tubers, and manioc starch. Because manioc is a culturally salient entity in the Amazon basin, however, it is not rare in discourse. It is noteworthy that the noun for manioc root, *kujpa*, is derived with the -pa classifier attached to the root *kuju*.

(147) tanistutupakwoko.

ta-nistu-CV-*pa*-k-woko

3NH-bite-RED-*CLF:manioc*-ACT-PL

‘They (birds) keep pecking the manioc roots.’ [T07.030]

### 4.1.18 -pa'i ~ -pue CLF:ground

This category categorizes clear and open ground, but includes marginally other large surfaces. It can be used for ‘bare ground’ in opposition to wooded land (which is classified by -je). Most often, it associates with the ground as a location, as in (148).

(148) tejapuekompo, te to 'pog'e tejapuekono.

t-eja-*pue*-ko-m=po

te

to

'pog'e t-eja-*pue*-ko-no

3-sit-*CLF:ground*-ACT-PL=PFV PREP.NH ART.NH ground 3-sit-*CLF:ground*-ACT-PL

‘They sat down on the ground, on the ground they sat down.’ [T24.100]

### 4.1.19 -pe CLF:blade

This classifier is not very frequently used. It prototypically associates with blades, i.e., something flat, rigid, bounded and sharp, as in (149), where it associates with ‘knife’. By extension, it can refer to objects with the same general shape, without being ‘sharp’, such as fish, pot lids, flames, or a shallow dishes.

<footnote n="38">³⁸ ‘Hair’ has been classified under this homonym, because most examples with -pa associating with hair on verbs were referring to length, i.e., showing an analogy with a needle-like element, long and pointed.</footnote>
(149) tyújepe pjo 'chátrope
*ty-uje-*pe
3-be_fat-CLF:blade
'Ver knife is greasy.' [Loc.L.012]

p-jo 'chatrope
DEM-NH.SG knife.NPOSD

### 4.1.20 -pewo CLF:foot

This classifier is used for 'foot', as shown in (150). The class of entities it categorizes is reduced to a single member. Note that the classifier differs formally from the noun -iype 'foot'.

(150) tiptsipewo
*t-iptsi-*pewo
3-be_naked-CLF:foot
'He is barefoot.' [T40.068]

### 4.1.21 -pewo'u CLF:hand

This class is strictly used for 'hand', as illustrated in (151). Just as -pewo, the class of entities it categorizes is reduced to a single member. Note that the classifier differs formally from the noun -wupe 'hand'. The classifier -pewo'u is sometimes realized -pew'u or -pewu.

(151) tyajarupewo'u
*ty-ajaru-*pewo'u
3-be_wide-CLF:hand
'She is spreading out her fingers.' [C&B.F.016]

### 4.1.22 -pi CLF:fili

This classifier denotes long, thin, narrow, and flexible entities, i.e., filiform objects, prototypically a rope or snake. In example (152), it semantically characterizes the referent of a nominalized form of the verb root *ooji* 'be dry'. By metaphorical extension in the sound domain, it denotes speech, words, languages, songs, music, metaphorically understood as a linear process. By metaphorical extension in cognitive activities, it denotes feelings. And by metaphorical extension in time, it expresses events, especially when used in nominalizations. These various metaphorical extensions are discussed in Section 4.4, where they are illustrated with examples.

(152) te pjo vioojiipi
*te* p-jo vi-ooji-*V-pi*
PREP.NH DEM-NH.SG 1PL-be_dry-SP.P.NZ-CLF:fili
'On the clothes line.' [Answer to the question: 'Where is the clothes pin?']
[Loc.C.033]

### 4.1.23 -pu'i CLF:island

The classifier -pu'i is associated in the text corpus with pockets of forest in the pampa, which are called *islas* in Bolivian Spanish (literally 'islands'), as in (153), where they are mentioned as the habitat of pumas. In their Ignaciano grammar, Olza Zubiri et al. (2002:286–287) define this category as comprising ball-shaped objects, such a ball or bread roll, or soft objects with an elliptical shape such a bar of soap, a mud ball, a cake, or a bundle tied up with rope. In the elicited example in (154), the classifier -pu'i has been interpreted by a Mojeño Trinitario speaker as referring to testicles.
(153) te jmani wo vim'a viti, etjo to tayumrujsi'wo, eto te to tyuupu'ono 'jiorejono.

<table><tr><td>te</td><td>j-ma-ni</td><td>wo</td><td>v-im-'-a</td><td>viti</td></tr><tr><td>PREP.NH</td><td>DEM-NH.PL-PROX</td><td>NEG</td><td>1PL-watch-ACT-IRR</td><td>1PL</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>et-jo</td><td>to</td><td>ta-yumru-j-s-i'-wo</td></tr><tr><td>3NH-EXIST</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>3NH-hide-CLF:amorph-ACT-APPL1-MID</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>eto</td><td>te</td><td>to</td><td>ty-uu-<b>pu</b>'-ono</td><td>'jiorej-ono</td></tr><tr><td>3NH</td><td>PREP.NH</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>3-be-CLF:<b>island</b>-PL</td><td>thick_forest-PL</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">[about pumas] 'Around here, we don't see them, they have their hiding place, it is in the islands with a lot of vegetation.' [T30.054]</td></tr></table>

(154) noktayapú'icho

<table><tr><td>n-oktaya-<b>pú</b>'i-cho</td></tr><tr><td>1SG-step_on-CLF:<b>island</b>-ACT</td></tr><tr><td>'I stepped on his parts (testicles).' [elicited]</td></tr></table>

### 4.1.24 -si CLF:sphere

The -si category is used for spherical objects, such as heads, balls, pots, and onions. In (155), it categorizes onions, and in (156), a head. It is also used for insects, as in (157), drawn from a tale that tells about how Rooster came to eat Cricket.

(155) nkoy'epo to sa... sevoya, 'chopesiwko, asi elay sevoyano

<table><tr><td>n-ko-y'e=po</td><td>to</td><td>sevoya 'chope-si-wko</td><td>asi elay sevoya-no</td></tr><tr><td>1SG-VZ-GPN=PFV</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>onion big-CLF:sphere-PL</td><td>like this(Sp) INTJ onion-PL</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">'I also had onions, they were big, like this, wow! the onions.' [T38.160]</td></tr></table>

(156) tyupajiimama jmaka 'chane, manje'e... ene titosiwre

<table><tr><td>ty-u-pa-jiimama</td><td>j-ma-ka</td><td>'chane manje'e</td></tr><tr><td>3-large-CLF:needle-beard</td><td>DEM-M-PROX</td><td>person PH</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>ene</td><td>t-ito-si=wre</td></tr><tr><td>and</td><td>3-be_bare-CLF:sphere=onceAgain</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">'This man has a long beard, um... and he is bald (lit. bareheaded).' [T40.043]</td></tr></table>

(157) tyompuiji tkoojajarikri'iji to 'mu'ji ajta to ñichmoopo toj ñijiisikpuiji.

<table><tr><td>t-yom=pu=iji</td><td>t-k-ooja-CV-ri-k=ri'i=ji</td><td>to 'mu'ji</td></tr><tr><td>3-go=PFV=RPT</td><td>3-CAUS-scratch-RED-PLURACT-ACT=IPFV=RPT</td><td>ART.NH husk</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>ajta to</td><td>ñ-ichmoo=po toj</td><td>ñi-jii-si-k=pu=iji</td></tr><tr><td>until</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>3M-find=PFV gulp</td><td>3M-swallow-CLF:sphere-ACT=PFV=RPT</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">'He searched the corn husks, they say, until he found him and swallowed him (Cricket).' [T35.062]</td></tr></table>

### 4.1.25 -ugi CLF:face

The -ugi classifier almost always denotes faces, as in (158). Surprisingly, the homonymous noun ugi is present in derived nouns with meanings that are all related to 'eyes' and not 'face'.<fnref n="39" /> If this noun was the source for the classifier, it has undergone a semantic shift in the process. It is all the more puzzling that the regular noun for 'face' miro has itself grammaticalized as a classifier with the same 'face' core

<footnote n="39">³⁹ An anonymous reviewer noticed that cross-linguistically “the association between ‘eye’ and ‘face’ is rather commonplace. In fact, the CLICS database lists 38 colexifications involving the two concepts, making it the most frequent colexification involving ‘face’” (Rzymski et al. 2020).</footnote>
meaning (see 4.1.7). There are examples where the classifier *ugi* refers to the figure or the general appearance of an entity, see Section 4.4.

(158) tkospugiono taye'e
*t-ko-sp-*ugi-*ono* ta-ye'e
3-MID-wash-CLF:face-PL 3NH-PREP
‘They wash their faces in it.’ [T20.026]

### 4.1.26 -ve CLF:pointed

I have elicited the classifier -ve on stative intransitive verbs after having read its description for Old Mojeño in Marbán (1702:88). Created examples with this classifier on transitive verbs and on numerals suggested to native speakers were rejected. In elicitation on intransitive verbs, speakers suggested associations with combs, thorns, or palm hearts, as in (159). It is found only once in the corpus, as part of the nominal stem -en-ro-ve ‘hook’, derived from the verb ‘fish’, given in (160).<fnref n="40" />

(159) tsisove
*t-siso-ve*
3-be_black-CLF:pointed
‘It is black (a comb made of cow horn, a thorn, a palm heart).’ [elicited]

(160) pjoka vkomnu 'cheve, mateka, tyompo eto wakakore, ene etopo to venrovena...
*p-jo-ka* v-komnu 'cheve mateka tyompo eto waka-kore
DEM-NH.SG-PROX 1PL-need salt butter and also 3NH meat-?

*ene* *eto=po* *to* *v-en-ro-ve-na*
and 3NH=PFV ART.NH 1PL-fish-NZ-CLF:pointed-IRR
‘here we need salt, butter and meat and for our fish hooks...’ [T25.165]

### 4.1.27 -'a CLF:ovoid

The -'a category groups entities that are ovoid, typically eggs and eyes, but also testicles. Its main function is derivational, since it attaches to nouns denoting entities to which an ovoid object can be related, such as eyes in a face, and the eggs of a hen, as in (161).

(161) tnikri'iji pjoko wray'a.
*t-ni-k=ri'i=ji* p-jo-ko wray-'a
3-eat-ACT=IPFV=RPT DEM-NH.SG-NAE chicken-CLF:ovoid
‘She ate chicken eggs.’ [T26.020]

### 4.1.28 -'e CLF:convex

The -'e category groups entities that are curved and — seen from an external perspective — convex. It prototypically includes bellies, as illustrated in (162). It can also be used for drums, balloons, skillets, bells, and inflated things, such as the ball in example (163). From this list it seems that the entities concerned are most often not completely filled, in contrast to those classified with -si. However, -'e is attested in the corpus as characterizing bread and sweet potatoes, which *are* completely filled.

(162) tappú'eko pjuena sju'e
*t-appú-*-'e-*ko* p-ju-ena s-ju'e
3-inflate-CLF:convex-ACT DEM-NH.SG-DIST 3F-belly
‘Her belly swelled.’ [T12.009]

<footnote n="40">⁴⁰ The sequence *ve* is also found in *move* ‘comb’, but this root is not synchronically analyzable.</footnote>
(163) tyokchu'eriiko pjo pelota tyutsárono
*ty-okchu-'e-ri-i-ko*          *p-jo*          *pelota*          *ty-utsár-ono*
3-kick-**CLF:convex**-PLURACT-?-ACT DEM-NH.SG ball 3-play-PL
‘They kick the ball and play.’ [Path.C.021]

### 4.1.29 -'i₁ CLF:atmo

There are two -'i classifiers, associated with two different categories of entities; in this section I address the first category of entities. This category is difficult to define, because it comprises intangible entities, typically general elements of the natural environment, such as the weather, the scenery and spatial environment, but also time. Very often, there is no noun phrase expressing the referent categorized by this classifier. This is precisely the case in (164), where it refers to the wind, and in (165), where it refers to the general atmosphere of a place. In (166), it refers to the time of an event, i.e., ‘the death of my father’. This meaning of -'i is very similar to that of -mu'i: it denotes the natural environment, especially for the expression of weather. A major difference is that the classifier -'i is found only on stative intransitive predicates, which is only one of the possible environments of -mu'i.

(164) chin chin takepripo eto mraka'i mraka'ipo.
*chin*          *chin*          *ta-ke=pripo*          *eto*          *mraka-'i*
woosh woosh 3NH-be_like_this=CONC.MOT.PFV 3NH strong-CLF:atmo

*mraka-'i=po*
strong-CLF:atmo=PFV
‘Now comes the strong (wind) “woosh, woosh”, it’s already strong.’ [T17.030]

(165) tmopkumori'ini, wo'tseriji tgiwa etotse tmopkumo tmotna'ri'iji
*t-mopku-mo=ri'i=ni*          *wo'=tse=r=iji*          *t-giw-a*
3-be-CLF:fabric=IPFV=PST no=contrast=UNQ=RPT 3-rain-IRR

*eto=tse*          *t-mopku-mo*          *t-motna-'=ri'i=ji*
3NH=contrast 3-be-CLF:fabric 3-keep_quiet-CLF:atmo=IPFV=RPT
‘It (the sky) was dark, but it was not raining, in fact it (the sky) was dark and it was quiet.’ [T19.053]

(166) tyere'ipo muepenira ma... ma tataeni
*t-yere-'i=po*          *mu-epen-ira*          *ma*          *tata=eni*
3-last-CLF:atmo=PFV 3M-die-EV.NZ ART.M my_father=PST
‘The death of my late father occured long ago.’ [T48.015]

### 4.1.30 -'i₂ CLF:fruit

The second -'i category groups entities that are spherical with a type of protrusion, or ‘neck’ in Gill’s (1957:37) words. It typically includes birds and fruits (due to their heads and stems, respectively). Example (167) illustrates its use for ‘fruit’, and (168) for ‘bird’. This category also includes containers with a handle, such as bottles, pots, and cups, as well as udders. The entity that is classified can be soft or hard. This category can also be used for containers that are neither round nor have a neck, such as cans, barrels, tanks, coconuts, and houses. Example (168) illustrates how this classifier associates with beer bottles.

(167) to tagiigire, tayukjo'iko pjuena to'i
*to*          *ta-giigire*          *ta-yukjo-'i-ko*          *p-ju-ena*          *t(a)-o'i*
ART.NH 3NH-arrow 3NH-pierce-CLF:fruit-ACT DEM-NH.SG-DIST 3NH-fruit
‘The arrow, it pierces that fruit.’ [Loc.L.030]
(168) schuno'ikpo su mayeno
s-chuno-'i-k=po su ma-yeno
3F-parboil-CLF:fruit-ACT=PFV ART.F 3M-wife
'His wife parboils it (the bird).' [T21.089]

(169) siete, ocho, nueve'i jmani nae... naeesanri'i
siete ocho nueve-'i j-ma-ni na-ee-sa-n=ri'i
seven eight nine-CLF:fruit DEM-NH.PL-PROX 3PL-drink-HAB.P.NZ-PL=IPFV
'Seven, eight, there are nine bottles.' (lit. '...nine are these bottles.') [T40.129]

### 4.1.31 -'o CLF:body

The -'o category is usually used to refer to animate bodies, whether human or not. In (170), it is used for 'bulls' and in (171) for 'children'. The corpus shows some occurrences where it extends to inanimate bulky objects, such as a motorcycle seat or a bunch of firewood. It is very likely lexicalized with the adjective 'chi'chu 'small', the morphophonemically unexpected form 'chi'cho'o being regularly used for 'child'.

(170) ene tiñere'o to toro.
ene t-iñe-re-'o to toro
and 3-inspire_awe-NZ-CLF:body ART.NH bull
'And the bulls are (physically) impressive.' [T27.021]

(171) nuti nanosípo nae pno 'chi'cho'ono
nuti n-a-nosí=po na-e p-no 'chi'cho-'-ono
1SG 3SG-IRR-stay=PFV 3PL-PREP DEM-H.PL small-CLF:body-PL
'I can stay with the little ones (i.e., children).' [T29.015]

### 4.1.32 -'ugi CLF:eye

The -'ugi category strictly refers to eyes, as exemplified in (172). Note that there is a nominal root ugi for 'eye' (without the initial glottal stop), that always occurs with a classifier. It takes the classifier -a for ovoid items to denote 'eye' and the classifier -mo for thin and flexible entities to denote 'eyelid'. It can metaphorically extend to 'color patches' (see Section 4.4).

(172) esu tyamo'ugi
esu ty-amo-'ugi
3F 3-swell-CLF:eye
'Her eyes are swollen.' (lit. 'She is eye-swollen.') [T42.071]

## 4.2 Semantic parameters relevant for the classifier system

This section addresses the semantics of the classifier system taken as a whole and aims at highlighting which semantic parameters are relevant for the system. The semantic features used in this section are taken from Allan (1977), Frawley (1992), Aikhenvald (2000:272–275), and Denny (1986). Out the three major semantic domains that Aikhenvald gives for classifiers, “physical properties” is by far the major parameter in Mojeño Trinitario, as is the case for most Arawak languages (Dunn & Rose to appear), “animacy” is rather a marginal parameter, and “function” does not seem to be relevant.

Within the domain of physical properties, mostly relevant for a large set of 'shape classifiers' (see Table 15), the relevant parameters are extendedness (shape and dimensionality), interiority and boundedness, consistency, and quantity. There are several classifiers that denote properties with one, two, or three dimensions, so that dimensionality is never sufficient to distinguish different categories. Categories are more crucially distinguished by the shape that defines them, as well as by the consistency (mainly the opposition between flexibility and rigidity) and emptiness (see the contrast between -gi '1D, cylindrical' and -ño 'tubular', and possibly between -ku 'space enclosed by parallel boundaries' and -ju'e
'interior of a bounded entity'). Quantity is only relevant in the classifier -muri 'group'. The definitions of the shape classifiers are rather fine-grained: for example, the four classifiers -si, -'i, -'e and -pu'i could all be defined as a category for spherical entities, but -'i requires a protrusion, the rarely used -pu'i may refer to some entity with a smooth or floppy outline, -'e seems to take a particular perspective focusing on the exterior outline, and often referring to empty elements, in contrast to -si, which most often associates with filled entities.

Among the cross-linguistically defined parameters or sub-parameters of physical properties, some are not relevant in Mojeño Trinitario. Direction and orientation are irrelevant. For instance, the classifier -gi referring to cylinders could classify a standing tree or a fallen one, and if it is fallen, its orientation does not matter. Size is never a primary component of the definition of a classifier, so that the classifier -gi for cylinders can associated with either trees or seeds. Size is only relevant indirectly in terms of properties such as 'thin' and 'long', and is never the single feature contrasting a pair of classifiers. Size contrasts may be partially involved in some pairs of classifiers, however, as in the case of -no ~ -ne 'curved and elongated' which mostly associates with large animals, and -'o 'body' which mainly associates with medium-sized one; but note that neither classifier is restricted to animals. The material feature is not involved in the system either, except perhaps in the case of the 'liquid' classifier, which can also be interpreted as a form of consistency, or in the contrast between the two rarely used -pa '1D, long, thin and pointed' and -ve 'thin and pointed, hard' classifiers, where most entities associated with -pa are made of metal (except for palm fronds, ribs, and hairs), while the small number of entities associated with -ve are made of plants or animal parts (e.g., combs are made of cattle horn), with the exception of fishing hooks, which are metallic at least in the present-day Mojeño culture. Finally, arrangement is not a central feature in the classifier system. It is part of the definition for the -pa 'mass' classifier, and maybe for the -'o 'body' classifier, which can associate with dense aggregates of objects, such as bundles of sticks.

As for the animacy domain, the human parameter is highly relevant only in the -na classifier when used with its specific 'human' meaning, and gender is completely irrelevant. The animacy domain is not primary for any of the other classifiers, as it does not distinguish between classifiers. Although it is difficult to imagine some classifiers associating with animate entities, such as -pa'i '2D, bare ground' or -omo ~ -e 'liquid', most classifiers are neutral in terms of animacy. For example, classifiers like the -'o 'body' and the -muri 'group' classifiers very often associate with animate referents (see 4.1.31 and 4.1.9) but can nevertheless also be associated with inanimate entities. In (173), -'o associates with a body of water, and in (174) with rolls of fabric. In (175), -muri associates with ears of corn.

(173) tsi'oopo to une ónogi

t-si-'o-o=po          to          une          onogi
3-be_much-CLF:body-MID=PFV ART.NH      water       there
'There had been a flood there' [T38.102]

(174) to 'attajri'i 'muirijirich'o te piesa, mittu'orich'o.

to 'attaj=ri'i 'muiri-ji=rich'o te piesa mittu-'o=rich'o
ART.NH fabric=IPFV all-CLF:amorph=still PREP.NH piece(Sp) be_thick-CLF:body=still
'Fabric was still sold by the piece, it was thick.' [T25.084]

(175) ene suvemuu'ogierekoo'i jma spunu... spoñono

ene s-uve-muu-'o=giereko=o'i      j-ma          spoñ-ono
and 3F-embrace-CLF:group-ACT=CONT=IPFV DEM-NH.PL corn-PL
'And she holds the bundled ears of corn.' [T40.010]

Similarly, shape classifiers that often associate with inanimate entities can also associate with animae entities. In fact, most animals are by default categorized depending on their shape, as summarized in Table 14.
<table><caption>Table 14. Categorization of animal groups with shape classifiers</caption><thead><tr><th>animal groups</th><th>shape classifier</th><th>gloss of the classifier</th><th>definition of the category</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>insects</td><td>-si</td><td>CLF:sphere</td><td>3D, sphere</td></tr><tr><td>fish</td><td>-pe</td><td>CLF:blade</td><td>2D, flat, rigid with sharp boundaries</td></tr><tr><td>snakes</td><td>-pi</td><td>CLF:fili</td><td>1D, narrow, long, thin and flexible, filiform</td></tr><tr><td>big animals</td><td>-no ~ -ne</td><td>CLF:back</td><td>curved and elongated</td></tr><tr><td>birds</td><td>-i</td><td>CLF:fruit</td><td>3D, sphere with protrusion</td></tr></tbody></table>

To close the discussion of the human and animacy parameter in the Mojeño Trinitario classifier system, I present counts made for the seven-text sample (see the Appendix).<fnref n="41" /> The 168 tokens of classifiers are distributed as follows: as far as humanness is concerned, 123 classifiers associate with a non-human referent, 33 with a human referent, and eleven with the body part of a human referent. As for animacy, 105 classifiers associate with an inanimate referent, and 62 with an animate referent.

Other associations can be made between shape classifiers and animate entities. For example, the classifier -si '3D, sphere' can refer to an animal on the basis of its shape as in (176) but most often evokes a human entity by pointing to their 'head' as in (177), and the classifier -mo '2D, flat, large, and generally flexible' can associate with dogs, possibly because they are skinny, as in (178).

(176) moverasi to sipono

movera-si to sip-ono
many-CLF:sphere ART.NH turtle-PL
‘There were many turtles.’ [elicited]

(177) te pjo tapeno... tyuchsiikoo'i

te ty-uch-si-V-ko=o'i
PREP.NH DEM-NH.SG 3NH-house.POSD 3-exit-CLF:sphere-PLURACT-ACT=IPFV
‘In its home (doghouse), it wants to put its head out (only the half can be seen).’
[Answer to the question: ‘Where is the dog?’] [Loc.S.071]

(178) ene mojomontsero tata jmani pye'ono paku

ene mojo-mo-n=tse=ro tata j-ma-ni p-ye'-ono paku
and mangy-CLF:fabric-PL=contrast=UNQ sir DEM-NH.PL-PROX 2SG-GPN-PL dog
‘But there are mangy (they have scabies), sir, your dogs here.’ [T10.014]

The semantics of the classifiers discussed to this point are grounded in tangible properties of referents in the experiential world. There are two classifiers that do not, however: -mu'i 'space and time, visual experience' and -i 'atmosphere, intangible'. These associate with referents that are cannot be pointed out in the world in same way because they are not tangible: they are not defined through physical properties (though -mu'i can refer to visual properties).

## 4.3 Semantic sets of classifiers

By investigating the semantic parameters relevant to Mojeño Trinitario classifiers, three semantically distinguished sets of classifiers have been identified in the preceding section: shape classifiers, the human classifier, and classifiers for intangible entities. Generally speaking, these classifiers are semantically broad, with more diffuse and disparate meanings than those of nouns, being able to associate with a broad range of referents (see the possible referents listed in the last two columns of Table 13). Two other sets of classifiers can be identified, this time based on their particular semantic extension: unique classifiers, and the classifier -na in its generic function. The semantic extension of these latter classifiers is described in this section.

<footnote n="41">⁴¹ In this appendix, Humanness is coded with “h” for human, “nh” for nonhuman, and “bodypart” for bodyparts of human referents. Animacy is coded with “i” for inanimate, and “a” for animate. The code “n/a” applies to one example where the classifier -mu’i is not associated with a referent (see Section 4.1.10).</footnote>
Five semantic sets of classifiers are thus distinguished in Mojeño Trinitario, based on semantic parameters and semantic extension. They are listed in Table 15, with the the classifier -na occurring both as a semantically specific classifier used for humans and a generic classifier, depending on the part of speech of its host. Note that these semantically based sets of classifiers do not show further differentiation among themselves, other than their semantics, except for the reduced morphosyntactic distribution of -na CLF:H/CLF:GNR, which does not appear on active verbs (see 4.1.11).

<table><caption>Table 15. Semantically based sets of classifiers</caption><thead><tr><th>primary semantic domain</th><th>semantic sets of classifiers</th><th>list</th><th>number of categories</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="15">physical properties</td><td rowspan="15">shape classifiers</td><td>CLF:plank</td><td rowspan="15">22</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:cyl</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:interior</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:amorph</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:path</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:fabric</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:group</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:back</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:tube</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:liquid</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:mass</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:needle</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:ground</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:blade</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:fili</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:island</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:sphere</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:pointed</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:ovoid</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:convex</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:fruit</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:body</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">animacy<br/>other</td><td>human classifier</td><td>CLF:H</td><td>1 (na)</td></tr><tr><td>classifiers for intangible entities</td><td>CLF:setting</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>CLF:atmo</td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="8">body parts + manioc</td><td rowspan="8">unique classifiers</td><td>CLF:digit</td><td rowspan="8">7</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:face</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:manioc</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:foot</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:hand</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:face</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:eye</td></tr><tr><td>CLF:GNR</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">universal</td><td rowspan="2">generic classifier</td><td></td><td rowspan="2">1 (na)</td></tr><tr><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

The set of unique classifiers, which have very specific meanings and associate with essentially one type of referent each, consists of seven classifiers. Their semantic extensions are much more restricted than that of the other classifiers. Six of the unique classifiers associate with body parts, while one -pa classifier associates with manioc, a staple in traditional Amazonian societies. There are several interesting remarks to be made on the form and meaning of the body part classifiers, which are given in Table 16. First, two of these unique classifiers are used for ‘face’ (-miro and -ugi), and neither the small number of textual examples nor elicitation with consultants have yielded insight regarding the semantic distinction between them. Second, the ‘eye’ classifier -'ugi and one of the ‘face’ classifiers -ugi differ only
by one consonant, the initial glottal stop. Third, the forms of last four body part classifiers in Table 16 show seem to be related to their associated nouns by switching syllable order.<fnref n="42" />

<table><caption>Table 16. Unique body part classifiers</caption><thead><tr><th>form</th><th>gloss</th><th>associated noun</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>-miro</td><td>CLF:face</td><td>-miro 'face'</td></tr><tr><td>-ugi</td><td>CLF:face</td><td>-miro 'face'</td></tr><tr><td>-'ugi</td><td>CLF:eye</td><td>-ug'a 'eye'</td></tr><tr><td>-pewo</td><td>CLF:foot</td><td>-iype 'foot'</td></tr><tr><td>-pewo'u</td><td>CLF:hand</td><td>-wupe 'hand'</td></tr><tr><td>-giwu</td><td>CLF:digit</td><td>-wugi 'finger'</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>-iwgi 'toe'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Finally, the last semantic set consists solely of the generic use of the -na classifier, when found on numerals and numeral-like quantifiers. It stands out from the corpus study that -na is overwhelmingly favored on numerals, where it is found in 204 out of 271 occurrences of classifiers on numerals and numeral-like quantifiers. As the huge variety of examples and work in elicitation sessions shows, it can be used for any type of referent. Allan (1977:300) mentions that some languages have a 'general or residual classifier', i.e., "a classifier used of a large number of heterogeneous inanimate objects, some of which may be alternatively classified by more specialized classifiers". It is not absolutely clear whether the classifier -na with its generic meaning falls under that category. It is used on almost all tokens of numerals in discourse, whatever the semantic properties of the referent it associates with, and could theoretically be replaced with more specialized classifiers. But since it is a default classifier for any referent, it therefore does not play any role in categorization in this morphosyntactic context. The classifier -ji could also be considered less specific than other classifiers. It seems to be able to associate with a greater variety of referents than other classifiers, -na excepted.

## 4.4 Semantic shifts

Now that each semantic set of classifiers has been discussed, a few words are in order about the semantic extensions from the concrete meanings, explored in Sections 4.1 and 4.2, to more abstract meanings.

In a cross-linguistically very common manner, items with body-part meanings have, via metonymy, undergone semantic extension to relational location meanings. When construed with these more abstract meanings, these classifiers are not restricted to associating with animate referents. The classifier -miro, for example, exhibits its body-part meaning 'face' in (179), and its locative meaning 'in front of' in (180), a common grammaticalization pattern (Heine & Kuteva 2002:167). The classifier -je, whose core meaning is 'stomach', as in (181), exhibits its more abstract meaning, 'interior', in (182), another common grammaticalization pattern (Heine & Kuteva 2002:53).

(179) pvepkomrocha ma piapiaru pim'a pjo mamiro.

p-v-epko-mro-ch-a ma pi-apiaru
2SG-INV-cover-CLF:face-ACT-IRR ART.M 2SG-uncle

p-im-'-a ma-miro
2SG-watch-ACT-IRR DEM-NH.SG 3M-face

'Uncover the face of your uncle to look at his face.' [T06.121]

<footnote n="42">⁴² This does not mean that the syllables were actually reordered in the historical development of these four classifiers. A close look at the data suggests that a compound of two nominal roots in one order grammaticalized into a classifier, and later a sequence of the same roots in the other order lexicalized into the present body-part nouns.</footnote>
(180) **tochmiruchworepuiji** to Ú'arii'i
**t-och-mir-u-ch=wore=pu=iji**
3NH-exit-**CLF:face**-APPL3-ACT=once again=PFV=RPT ART.NH Jucumari=IPFV
'The Jucumari appeared in front of them.' [T19.161]

(181) 'nuuji eto taewkujecho, taewkujecho, tyo'kopo, tsokpo
'nuuji eto ta-ew-ku-je-cho
right_after 3NH 3NH-beat-CLF=path-CLF:interior-ACT

**ta-ew-ku-je-cho**
3NH-beat-CLF=path-CLF:interior-ACT

**ty-o'-ko=po**
3-vomit-ACT=PFV

**t-sok=po**
3-defecate=PFV

'Immediately there was thumping in her belly, there was thumping in her belly, she vomited, she defecated.' [T12.016]

(182) ene tyompo te smeno masiopjechpo
ene t-yom=po te smeno ma-siop-je-ch=po
and 3-go=PFV PREP.NH forest 3M-enter-CLF:interior-ACT=PFV
'And he went within the forest, he entered deep into it.' [T08.011]

Body-part classifiers also show semantic extensions into abstract domains other than location, where, again, they can associate with inanimate entities. The classifier -'ugi, that generally denotes ‘eye’, as in (183), can, via metaphor, be used to refer to the color patches on a multicolor entity, as in (184). The classifier -ugi, with the core meaning ‘face’, as in (185), can, via a common metonymic process (see Heine & Kuteva 2002:130–131), be used to refer to the general appearance of an entity, as in (186).

(183) tyamo'uggierekoo'i
**ty-amo-'ug**=giereko=o'i
3-swell-CLF:eye=CONT=IPFV
'She has swollen eyes.' [T42.072]

(184) mopo'ugi to pyachu
**mopo-'ugi** to **py-achu**
three-CLF:eye ART.NH 2SG-hammock
'Your hammock has three colors.' [elicited]

(185) nkospugi (to nmiro)
**n-ko-sp-ugi** to **n-miro**
1SG-MID-wash-CLF:face ART.NH 1SG-face
'I wash my face.' [elicited]

(186) wo naechogienena eto pjuena úkoji taviuggio.
wo na-echo-gienena eto p-ju-ena úkoji t-avi-ug-gio
NEG 3PL-know-? 3NH DEM-NH.SG-DIST cloud 3-cover-CLF:face-ACT
'And they don't know that the cloud covers it (the sun).' [T25.159]

Semantic extensions to abstract domains are not restricted to classifiers originating from body-part nouns. In fact, the two classifiers that are more commonly used with abstract meanings are shape classifiers. The classifier -pi 'filiform', whose basic association is to rope-like entities, as in (187), also associates with a variety of intangible items, through a metaphor of their being linear: speech and sound, as in (188); cognition, as in (189); and feelings and topics of conversations, as in (190); habits and customs, as visible in the two noun-based habitual nominalisations: v-emtone-re-pi in (191), and ta-ye'e-re-pi in (192). It even associates with the more generic meaning of 'event' in nominalizations, as exemplified in the verb-based nominalization ta-naek-ru-pi, in (193), and the noun-based nominalization pelota-ra-pi in (194). Finally, it can also associate with the meaning of 'time', as in (192).
(187) syustipko pjuena womapi

<table><tr><td>s-yusti-p-ko</td><td>p-ju-ena</td><td>woma-pi</td></tr><tr><td>3F-cut-CLF:fili-ACT</td><td>DEM-NH.SG-DIST</td><td>plastic-CLF:fili</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">'She cuts this plastic thread.' [C&amp;B.F.060]</td></tr></table>

(188) no wchichanoviono naemtiskopripo to vechjiriiwo tkíjare trinranropi.

<table><tr><td>no</td><td>w-chicha-noviono</td><td>na-emtis-ko=pripo</td></tr><tr><td>ART.PL</td><td>1PL-son/daughter-PL.KIN</td><td>3PL-forget-ACT=PROG.GRAD</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>to</td><td>v-echjiriiwo</td><td>t-k-íjare</td><td>trinran-ro-pi</td></tr><tr><td>ART.NH</td><td>1PL-language</td><td>3-VZ-name</td><td>Trinitario-NZ-CLF:fili</td></tr></table>

'Our children progressively forget our language that one calls "our way of speaking of the Trinitario people".' [T31.014]

(189) nemtiskojnopo; wo tonapii'i pjo nchuti

<table><tr><td>n-emtis-ko=jno=po</td><td>wo t-a-una-pi=i'i</td><td>p-jo</td><td>n-chuti</td></tr><tr><td>1SG-forget-ACT=RES=PFV</td><td>NEG 3-IRR-put_aside-CLF:fili=IPFV</td><td>DEM-NH.SG</td><td>1SG-head</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">'I've forgotten once more; my head isn't good.' [T34.035]</td></tr></table>

(190) tajpukayo pjokroropii'i?

<table><tr><td>taj=puka=yo</td><td>p-jo-kro-ro-pi=i'i</td></tr><tr><td>NH.INDT=DUB=FUT</td><td>DEM-NH.SG-POT.LOC-NZ-CLF:fili=IPFV</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">'What is it going to be about now?' [T20.070]</td></tr></table>

(191) pechapotsero eto vemtonerepi viti trinranono

<table><tr><td>p-ech-a-po=tse=ro</td><td>eto</td><td>viti</td><td>to</td><td>v-emtone-re-pi</td></tr><tr><td>2SG-know-IRR-MID=contrast=UNQ</td><td>3NH</td><td>1PL</td><td>ART.NH</td><td>1PL-work-NZ-CLF:fili</td></tr><tr><td>viti</td><td colspan="4">trinran-ono</td></tr><tr><td>1PL</td><td colspan="4">Trinitario-PL</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">'Listen to the way we work, we the Trinitarios.' [T34.022]</td></tr></table>

(192) svejno eto taye'erepi joka viowsa, tanaekrupi joka viowsa

<table><tr><td>s-vejno</td><td>eto</td><td>ta-ye'e-re-pi</td><td>jo-ka</td><td>vi-owsa</td></tr><tr><td>3F-bring</td><td>3NH</td><td>3NH-GPN-NZ-CLF:fili</td><td>NH.SG-PROX</td><td>1PL-village</td></tr><tr><td>ta-naek-ru-pi</td><td>jo-ka</td><td>vi-owsa</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3NH-start-NZ-CLF:fili</td><td>NH.SG-PROX</td><td>1PL-village</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">'She takes the traditions of our village, the start of our village.' [T47.070]</td></tr></table>

(193) to pelotarapi

<table><tr><td>to</td><td>pelota-ra-pi</td></tr><tr><td>ART.NH</td><td>ball-NZ-CLF:fili</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">'a ball game' [elicited]</td></tr></table>

(194) te'ripkayo te taejgiipi pjoka koje...

<table><tr><td>te'=ripka=yo</td><td>te</td><td>ta-ejgi-i-pi</td><td>p-jo-ka</td><td>koje</td></tr><tr><td>PREP.NH=DUB=FUT</td><td>PREP.NH</td><td>3NH-tail-NZ-CLF:fili</td><td>DEM-NH.SG-PROX</td><td>month</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">'It could be at the end of this month...' [T23.002]</td></tr></table>

The classifier -ku 'path' has as its core meaning a space enclosed by parallel boundaries. It thus associates with hollow spaces, as in (195); paths or rivercourses, as in (196); vehicles (based on the prototype of dugout canoes), as in (197); or rooms with walls, as in (198). More abstractly, it associates with commitments to activities from which one cannot freely leave without having completed them, a metaphorical extension of the notion of traveling down a path or tunnel, which must be followed to its end before it can be exited. Examples of such activities are the military service, as in (199); or a class or