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A Grammar of Tariana, from Northwest Amazonia (Cambridge Grammatical Descriptions)

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The Tariana people, located at the confluence of O°16'52.78"N 68°37'26.37"W, are an Amazonian indigenous group doomed to extinction. Due to endo- and exogenous reasons (i.e. marriage can only take place between speakers of different languages, as speakers of the same language are considered siblings) and, to say the least, for other anthropological reasons. Tariana is spoken actively only by 100 people over a radius of more than 600 kilometers, and each of them can and actively speaks various languages.

Alexandra Aikhenvald has painstakingly gathered over 1700 pages of texts and word lists of this endangered language collected during 5 fieldtrips in the 90's, and with the precision of fine surgeon dissected its grammar. A Grammar of Tariana, from Northwest Amazonia consists of over 700 pages where she initially compiled pertinent data in a descriptive form, and followed by a meticulous breakdown of various grammatical categories in an analytical format. The Tariana phonology comes first after the introductory chapter. Verbs, nouns and adjectives are analyzed next. Morphology and Syntax are looked at from various angles. Valency, evidentiality, TAM (tense, aspect, mood/modality) comes after. Serial verb constructions, nominalization and discourse organization are all investigated in various chapters, leading to a concluding chapter on etymology and semantics of the language. An unfortunately font selection caused the appendix on Tariana-English vocabulary (pages 671-681) slightly confusing as the Tariana words are not distinguished from English by font type or bold/italicization.

An assortment of valuable points have been raised and properly described over 26 chapters. For instance, vowel harmonization in its phonology, and open versus closed word classes in a non-binary format. Postposition particles were meticulously described, being a common trait in most Amazonian languages and also shared with Altaic languages. Prepositional possessors were carefully categorized so that one can properly enunciate inalienable possessions. Various aspects of the language illustrate how little is known of these endangered languages: alienable versus inalienable possession (for instance, body parts cannot exist without a possessor - a word such as foot can only be expressed if with its owner: your foot, my foot; whereas jungle will not require a possessor). Another precious discovery is the presence of three types of causatives.

The Amazonian forest is as rich as its languages with immeasurable chances for new discoveries. Most of its languages are still undescribed extensively. Alexandra Aikhenvald has published thousands of pages surpassing the work of richly-staffed research laboratories. This book is certainly one of the hardest and the richest she has written in her vast notable work in which she has contrasted a number of grammatical moods with her vast knowledge of Germanic, Balto-Slatic, Italic, Semantic and now Amerindian languages. She has carefully written over 350 articles and books altogether... "Professor Alexandra Aikhenvald has been accorded the rare honor of election to be an Honorary Member of the Linguistic Society of America. The number of LSA Honorary members is limited to 60, and they are spread over 25 nations. Only scholars of particular international distinction are accorded this rare honor. Professor Aikhenvald is one of the youngest linguists ever to be recognized in this way." This is a must-read for the language aficionado or linguist.