Arawakan

Introduction

This language family started in South America.  It influenced many other languages.  Arawak people are so amazing.  It had the most speakers, the most languages, the most linguistic diversity, and covered the "largest geographic area" in South America.  Some of the words we use today are from this language family.    

Languages of the Family

There are 56 languages in this family.  They were spoken throughout South America and the Caribbean.  Most of these languages are now extinct.  I will explain some of the languages in great detail. 

Taino: It was the most common language throughout the Caribbean.  This was the language of Taino people.  It was only a oral language, it didn't have a writing script .  They also draw petroglyphs on rocks.  There was eastern and western Taino.  Both dialects were very similar.  Some of their verbs was daka, waiba, and warike.  Those words mean I am, we go, and we see.  There were noun-class suffixes, possessive prefixes, and verb-designing affixes.  My aunt's nurse had a Taino grandmother.  The Tainos lived in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and several other places.  

Garifuna: It is spoken in various Central American countries and parts of the U.S.  Its vocabulary is 70% American (native) and 30% European.  It has African words in it too.  There male and female pronouns in this language.  Most of the words for numbers are French.  The word order is verb-subject-object.   Garifuna people are a mix of Africans, Tainos, and Caribs.      

               

There are other languages, but this will suffice.  

Influence

It was influential to many other South American languages because it was a trade language.  People in precolonial South America spoke to each other in Arawakan languages if they didn't have the same native tongue.   32 other South American languages share vocabulary with it.  This is do to common origin for sum and cultural exchange 4 others.  It also influenced Spanish and English.     

B4 & After the Spanish Conquest

I will write about some of the tribes.  

In the Amazon, Arawaks formed many different tribes that were very distant from each other.  They practiced exogamy, so they learned other languages.  There mode of production was hunting, farming, and fishing.  There wasn't much social stratification in these societies.  Theses tribes are endanger because of mining companies.       

Hunting, fishing, and farming was the mode of production 4 Tainos.  They had their own religion, which influenced Haitian Vodou.  Caribs attacked some of the them and tookova some of the land they were living on.  They were the first Americans to come in contact with the Spanish.  Someone wrote in their diary that the Tainos were more Christians than Christians, because they were so kind.  They touched the swords of the Conquistadors and cut themselves.  They neva seen swords b4.  The Spanish men murdered, raped and enslaved the Tainos.  Infection killed a lot of them as well, because they weren't immune to European diseases.  Some Tainos are still living in Haiti, Guyana, Venezuela, Suriname, and French Guiana.  

Wayyuu tribe is the biggest American tribe in Columbia.  They are known as the people of the sun, sand, and wind.  They live in the desert; their houses are huts made from cacti, palm leaves, and mud.  The women run the household and men farm and work with animals.  Each of their communities have a chief.  They fought the Spanish and the government to keep their land.  The British and the Dutch helped them fight the Spanish by training them.        

Arawaks Today

There are ova half a million speakers of this language family.  Don't forget some of these speakers are not  Arawak.  There are 10,000 of them still alive today.  Most Puerto Ricans have Taino ancestry on their mother side.  There many Dominicans with Taino blood as well.  Ethnic identity as more to do with culture than ancestry.         

Words of Tainos

Several Caribbean countries name are Taino.  Cuba comes from Cubao, Haiti comes from Ayiti, Hispaniola comes from Quisqueya, Bahamas comes from Bahama, Jamaica comes from Yahmahyeke, and Cayman comes from caiman.    

A lot of Spanish and English words come from the Taino words.  I will explain it in detail.  Boricua is a word Puerto Ricans use to identify themselves.  It comes from the Taino word borike'n.  Canoe comes from canoa, barbecue comes from barabicu, and hammock comes from hamaca.  Papaya is a Taino word, so is iguana.  Maize come from maiz and tiburon is a Taino word for shark.  Hurakan was the name of god the storm.  It is the mother of hurricane.  They used cassava 4 making bread, then the Spanish took it to Europe.  The word tuna is Taino.  They called hummingbirds colibri, which is now a Spanish word.  Tabako is the origin of word tobacco.           

Conclusion

Arawakan language family was the biggest language family in South America and the Caribbean.  It has 56 languages and some them are still spoken today.  It influenced many other South American languages.  They had several modes of production b4 the Spanish conquest and Tainos were very kind.   There are many Arawaks alive to day.  Several countries are named after the Tainos.  Also, there many Taino words in Spanish and English languages.  

References

https://hiplatina.com/taino-words-you-already-know/

https://www.sorosoro.org/en/arawak-languages/

http://globalsherpa.org/garifunas-garifuna/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arawak

wikipedia.org

http://www.bigorrin.org/arawak_kids.htm

https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/colombia/articles/a-brief-history-of-colombias-wayuu-tribe/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/what-became-of-the-taino-73824867/