Region Guianas ISO 639-2 arw | Ethnicity Lokono (Arawak) | |
Native speakers (2,500 cited 1980–2000) Language family ArawakanNorthernTa-ArawakanArawak | ||
Lokono (Lokono Dian, literally 'people’s talk' by its speakers), also referred to as Arawak (Arowak/Aruák), is an Arawak language spoken by the Lokono people of South America in eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. While the term "Arawak" has been used in reference to this people, Lokono more accurately reflects the speakers' own language, as the name has been historically extended to cover the eponymous Arawak language family.
Contents
Lokono has an active–stative syntax.
Consonants
William Pet observes that an additional /p/ does occur in loans.
Vowels
Pet notes that phonetic realization of /o/ varies between [o] and [u].
Grammar
The personal pronouns are shown below. The forms on the left are free forms, which can stand alone. The forms on the right are bound forms (prefixes), which must be attached to the front of a verb, a noun, or a postposition.