Arte de gramática da língua brasílica da Nação Kiriri

Mamiani, Luis Vicêncio

Domaine	Traditions non-occidentales
Secteur	Grammaires amérindiennes [4759]
Auteur(s)	Mamiani, Luis Vicêncio
	Datation: 1652-1730 Luis Vicêncio Mamiani is one of many influential Italian Jesuit grammarians in early colonial South America, including, but not limited to, Ludovico Bertonio, Joseph Dadey, Alonso d'Aragona. (Unlike secular government in the colonial age, the domain of missionary enterprises is generally defined by the international composition of its European members.) Mamiani was born in Pésaro, Italy, in January 1652. He joined the Society at an early age, sixteen years old, i.e. in 1668, at Venice. Accordingly, we are less certain as to the particular texts he consulted during his studies at Venice, as compared with the more homogeneous models followed by Portuguese and Spanish Jesuits in this period (Zwartjes 2011, p. 179-180). After finishing his studies in 1684, he was commissioned for the Brazilian mission. In 1686, Mamiani was directed to the Maranhão region to work under João de Barros among the Kiriri natives, founding the church at the Aldeia of Geru (Leite 1949, p. 351). He would spend the rest of his time in Brazil among the Kiriri, and after roughly 12 years, he composed the first Catechism (1698) and grammar (1699) to be printed in the language. He did not remain much longer on the Brazilian mission however, returning to Lisbon in 1701, and to Italy shortly thereafter. He dedicated himself to various facets of the Society, producing a number of important documents, until his death at Rome in 1730.
Titre de l'ouvrage	Arte de gramática da língua brasílica da Nação Kiriri
Titre traduit	Grammar of the Brazilian Language of the Kiriri Nation
Titre court	Arte de gramática da língua brasílica da Nação Kiriri
Remarques sur le titre	Original title: Arte de grammatica da lingua brasilica da Naçam Kiriri composta pelo P. Luis Vincencio Mamiani, Da Companhia de JESU, Mißßionario nas Aldeas da dita Nação.
Période	\|17e s.\|
Type de l'ouvrage	Complete grammar covering phonology, morphology and syntax. Descriptive grammar, Didactic/pedagogic grammar for learners of Kiriri (Kipeá variety).
Type indexé	Grammaire descriptive \| Grammaire didactique \| Grammaire élémentaire \| Grammaire pour étrangers
Édition originale	1699. Lisbon, in the Office of Miguel Deslandes, royal printer.
Édition utilisée	First edition 1699. John Carter Brown call nr. b3072035.
Volumétrie	[16], 124 p., 15 cm. (in-8°). Title vignette: Jesuit trigram. Signatures: A-H (-H7 and -H8)(1 and *8 versos blank). This copy has p. 97 torn on lower margin with no loss of text. This copy has manuscript annotations. Inconsistent capitalization in titles and headers.
Nombre de signes	75000
Reproduction moderne
Diffusion	The rarity of Mamiani's grammar is recognized in numerous works (Adam 1897, Garcia 1942, etc.), and the copies that we possess now are based upon exemplars originally belonging to private collections. In his message to the reader in the re-edition of this grammar, Galvão (1877, p. VI) indicates that they are in possession of “the first and only edition known to exist in [Brazil]”, namely that found in the collection of the Biblioteca Nacional at Rio de Janeiro. According to Vale Cabral (apud Garcia 1942, p. XV), this version was donated from the collections of king D. José I from the Real Bibliotheca in Ajuda, Portugal. As concerns the version analyzed in this entry, i.e. the version in the John Carter Brown Library, a comparable history can be traced. The work was donated from the private collection of Lord Stewart of Rothesay (ibid.), however, before this it had been purchased by father Huet, bishop of Auranches. This can be noted in the manuscript note in the after matter of grammar (Arte, p. 125): “This book comes from Mr. Huet, Bishop of Auranche, for which he paid twelve shields [i.e., crowns] at a public sale [i.e., an auction]” (‘Ce livre vient de Mons(ieu)r Huet, Evêque d'Auranche, a qui il avoit couté douze êcus dans une vente publique’). Besides one copy at Paris and a second copy, now found at the Biblioteca Nacional at Rio de Janeiro from the Salvador Mendonça collection, we are not aware of any more exemplars of the original (Garcia 1942, p. XV-XVI). A German translation was performed by the German linguist, Hans Conon von der Gabelentz (1807-1874): 2nd ed., 1852. Grammatik der Kiriri-Sprache. Aus dem Portugiesischen des P. Mamiani übersetzt. F.V. Brodhaus. Leipzig. However, this version is heavily criticized by Galvão (1877, p. VI), calling our attention to a number of alternations and omissions in the translation. With this, he justifies his personal commission of a reprint on the part of the Biblioteca Nacional, claiming it to be the ‘Second Edition’: 3rd ed., 1877. Arte de Grammatica da Lingua Brazilica da nação Kiriri composta pelo p. Luiz Vincencio Mamiani, da Companhia de Jesus, e missionario que foi nas aldêas da dicta nação. Segunda Edição publicada a expensas da Bibliotheca Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. Typ. Central de Brown & Evaristo. This page number is not found in the original pagination, but lies opposite p. 124, i.e. the final page of the original document.
Langues cibles	Língua Brasílica da Naçam Kiriri (alternatively: Karirí, Quiriri). Mamiani describes the Kipeá variety, as spoken on the Aldeia of Geru, whose church he founded (Leite 1949, p. 351). Although none survive today, Garcia (1942, p. XXVI) distinguishes four recorded dialects of Kiriri, whose names apparently derive from the names of Aldeias in which they were originally spoken after resettlement: Kipeá, Dubucuá, Pedra-Branca and Sabujá. It is now generally accepted that Kiriri forms a branch of the Macro-Jê language complex, as proposed by Rodrigues (1986).
Métalangue	Portuguese, with a notable amount of intermittent terms and phrases in Latin
Langue des exemples	Língua da nação Kiriri (Kipeá Kirirí)
Sommaire de l'ouvrage	No pagination is provided for the introductory materials. The suggested pagination is my own. Ao Leytor [p. i-v], Licenças da Ordem [vi-ix], Licenças Do Santo Officio [x-xi], followed by a blank page before original pagination begins. Arte Da Lingva Kiriri: Primeira Parte: Da Orthographia, Pronunciação, Declinação dos Nomes, & Conjugação dos Verbos (p. 1-49): I. Das letras que ße ußão na lingua, & da Pronunciação (1-6), II. Dos generos, numeros, & caßos das Nomes (6-9), III. Dos Pronomes (9-12), IV. Das Declinaçoens dos Nomes, Verbos, & Prepoßiçoens pelos Pronomes (12-25), V. Da divißão, & conjugação dos Verbos. (26-35), VI. Da Conjugação gèral de todos os Verbos (35-47), VII. Dos verbos irregulares (47-49). Parte segvnda da arte da lingva kiriri: a Syntaxe, ou conßtruição das oito partes da Oração (50-124): Capitulo I. – Da conßtruição do Nome (50-62): I. Do Nome Subßtantivo, Abßoluto, Composto, & Derivado (51-54), II. Do Nome Adjectivo (54-58), III. Do Nome Relativo (58-60), IV. Do Nome Comparativo, & Superalativo (61-62); Capitulo II. Da Syntaxe do Pronome (62-71): I. Dos Pronomes Poßßeßßivos (63-68), II. Do Pronome Reciproco (68-71); Capitulo III. Da Syntaxe dos Verbos (71-97): I. Dos Verbos Subßtantivos (72-74), II. Dos Verbos Paßßivos, & Neutros, Simplices, & Compoßtos (75-77), III. Dos Verbos Negativos (77-80), IV. Advertencias ßobre os Pronomes, Modos, & Tempos dos Verbos (80-86), Dos caßos communs dos Verbos (86-90), VI. Dos Caßos proprios dos verbos. (91-97); Capitulo IV. Da Syntaxe dos Participios (97-99), Capitulo V. Da Syntaxe das Prepoßiçoens (99-104), Capitulo VI. Da Syntaxe dos Adverbios (104-116): I. Divißão, & Explicação dos Adverbios (104-113), II. De algumas Particulas, que se ußão na Lingua (113-116); Capitulo VII. Da Interjeição (116-117), Capitulo VIII. Da Conjunção (118-119), Capitulo IX. Da Syntaxe de todas as Partes da Oração entre ßi (120-124). A short hand-written message is found opposite this final page, i.e. p. 124, see the ‘Distribution’ section of this entry for information regarding its significance.
Objectif de l'auteur	Mamiani aimed to provide the same instruments to missionaries working in the hinterlands of the Brazilian interior, namely in the Aldeias of majority Kiriri areas, as those available at the maritime missions among the various Tupi groups (Mecenas Santos 2012, p. 173). The Kiriri mission was newly formed, only being founded between 1650 and 1660 by Pe. João de Barros in north-western Bahia (Garcia 1942, p. XXVI, Zwartjes 2011, p. 175), and these resources were not yet available. Although Mamiani does concede the presence of a number of “other good missionary linguists” (Arte, p. ii) among his colleagues, he also reveals the struggles that even these more veteran missionaries had to face: “the pronunciation, and phrases, are so confusing in this language that even our good linguists cannot agree as to how to best write or pronounce many words” (1942 [1698], p. ii). Therefore, Barros commissioned the newly-arrived Mamiani especially with the task of “compiling a grammar for the sake of the Kiriris' souls” (Arte, p. ii). By extension, Mamiani (iii-v) exposes his intention in forming a grammar that is “easy [to use]” for novices who needed to learn the languages “without Masters, or books”. This final point highlights the paucity of learning materials for novices on the Kiriri missions, who still had to rely solely on usage in the field for acquiring language competence, and the ambitions of Mamiani in rectifying this situation by forming a written and grammatical standard of the language as per the Jesuit tradition.
Intérêt général	Besides being the first to describe this language, much of the interest in this work lies in the depth with which Mamiani captures the more deviant aspects of Kiriri grammar, as compared with the Greco-Latin tradition. For instance, Zwartjes (2011) demonstrates that Mamiani provides a primitive description of the animate-inanimate distinction (2011, p. 196, apud Arte, p. 12, 60), the ‘exotic’ VSO order of phrasal constituents (p. 197, apud Arte, p. 121-122), the right-branching nature of the language (ibid.), among others. Additionally, Mamiani's work has fostered the study of ergativity with Kiriri as a case study, and on comparative grounds (see Zwartjes 2011, p. 198-201, Rodrigues 1999, Robiero 2002, Larsen 1984, etc.). The fact that Mamiani's grammar is used in such a broad array of modern linguistic studies reveals the accuracy and completeness of his work, especially considering his time.
Parties du discours	Mamiani generally follows the Alvaristic model, i.e. that laid out in the widely-used Ratio Studiorum program of Manuel Álvares (see Rosa 2013, p. 63-68). As is typical of grammars in the Alvaristic vein, the work is divided into two sections: the first dedicated to phonology/orthography and associated features, i.e. noun declensions and verbal conjugations, while the second is dedicated to the eight ‘sacred’ parts of speech and syntax. Beginning this first section with the topic of phonology, according to Batista (2005, p. 131), Mamiani is true to the classical design in presenting the phonetic inventory of his target language against a clear alphabetical schematic (Arte, p. 1-6). Following Mamiani's presentation of the sound units of Kiriri, he traces the conjugation and morphological systems of the language, exposing several idiosyncratic qualities of various lexical categories with a pedagogical aim (see Batista 2005). He also utilizes this section to offer extensive word lists, as described below in the ‘Illustrative corpus’ section of this entry. The second part is labelled “On the Syntax, or construction of the eight parts of speech” (Arte, p. 50), clearly following the Alvaristic model. Mamiani equally follows the traditional internal organization of the eight parts, i.e. the four declinable parts of speech (Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Participle) preceding the four indeclinables (Preposition, Adverb, Interjection, Conjunction), with a chapter dedicated to each. The treatment of certain distinctive features of Kiriri are carefully embedded into the Alvaristic matrix model. For instance, the chapter on verbs (Arte, p. 71-97) includes various sub-chapters, “Dos casos comuns dos verbos” (86-90), “Dos casos proprios dos verbos” (91-97), etc., which include lists of prepositions compartmentalized by the verbs with which they are associated, also being presented separately in the chapter on prepositions (99-104). This represents one of several facets of Kiriri grammar, which are not adequately captured in the traditional Alvaristic model. Mamiani closes his grammar with his equivalent of the traditional chapter on syntax, entitled “Da Syntaxe de todas as Partes da Oraçaô entre ßi” (120).
Innovations term.	Mamiani explains that neither nouns, nor verbs, have diversity in their endings with regards to case and tense (Arte, p. 9-10), which forces him to devise clever circumlocutions for the complex system of particles, including the ‘artigos dos pronomes’, that characterize the morphological behaviour of Kiriri. A notable term here is the term ‘quasi’ (from Latin qua(m) si, ‘as if, nearly’), which he uses to claim that the pronominal particles/prefixes, central to the morphology of the language, are not declensions, but rather ‘quasi declinaçoens’ (Zwartjes 2011, p. 193, apud Arte, p. 10). Mamiani also uses the term ‘quasi’ to describe so-called ‘quasi materias’ (Arte, p. 52) and ‘quasi adverbios’ (Arte, p. 113). In this way, Mamiani describes linguistic features that do not have direct parallels in the Greco-Latin tradition by making reference to their most relatable counterparts therein. ‘Vogal entremeya’ (‘æ’) (Arte, p. 1), used to describe the intermediate, front vowel, which is “between A and E” (ibid.). Originally proposed by Azevedo (Zwartjes 2011, p. 184-185).
Corpus illustratif	In Chapter IV of the first part of this grammar, a clear division is made between the textual description of the “quasi declinaçõens” (Arte, p. 12-14) and a “conjugation” table (15), followed by pages of word lists for each of the five declensional classes (17-25). This division is overtly marked by an ornate, floral display illustration at the foot of p. 14. The table (Arte, p. 15) is clearly labelled “Divißão das Declinaçoens dos Nomes, Verbos, & Prepoßiçoens pelos artigos dos Pronomes”, and neatly occupies the entire page of the text. Further vocabulary lists are provided in the following Chapter, i.e. V, dedicated to verbal conjugation classes (p. 28-35). Perhaps, the clearest word-list is found in the chapter dedicated to adverbs (p. 104-113). The extent of the illustrative corpus is better justified in the re-formatting of the 1877 edition. This was an explicit aim of Galvão in commissioning this edition, stating that “[they] only modified [the presentation] of the work, italicizing all Kiriri words so that they stand out in the text and organizing the examples in vocabulary format to facilitate study” (Galvão 1877 [1699]: VI-VII): cf. 1877 [1699], p. 13-35, 87-93. Compared with the other (Tupi-based) works of the Brazilian colonial grammar tradition, Mamiani integrates an exponentially higher number of examples into his work. He also provides a considerable number of example phrases in each section of his grammar. This extensive range of illustrative material is demonstrated in Lucien's comparative grammar of the Kiriri language family (1897, p. iii), wherein he confirms that, although Mamiani does not provide a separate vocabulary document, he was able to “extract two considerable Kipeá vocabularies from Mamiani's grammar” that he could use in his dialect comparisons.
Indications compl.
Influence subie	As we have shown above, see the ‘Author's goals’ section in this entry, there was a growing group of linguists already present on the various Kiriri Aldeias at the moment of Mamiani's arrival. Consequently, he writes about consulting older missionary linguists (‘conferi com os nossos Religiosos linguas mais antigos’) (Mamiani 1942 [1698], p. iii) during the twelve years he dedicated to acquiring the language before composing his Catechism and this grammar (ibid.). Perhaps most importantly, Leite (1949, p. 351, 1965) suggests that Mamiani consulted an earlier Arte e Prosodia of Kiriri by João de Barros, essentially preparing it for the printing press. Seeing as Barros' original work is non-extant, we cannot say to what extent Mamiani's work is (un)original, and no mention of an original grammar is made by Mamiani within his grammatical corpus. In fact, he claims that “[this is] a language, […] which has no books from which one can learn it” (‘[hé] uma lingua, […] q[ue] não te[m] livros, por onde se apre[n]da’) (Arte, p. v). It is clear that Mamiani follows the Latin grammar framework established by Álvares (Zwartjes 2002, 2011, p. 180-183). It is also possible that Mamiani was influenced by the grammatical tradition of Tupi in Brazil, perhaps familiar with the works of Anchieta and Figueira, because, as Zwartjes (2011, p. 182) claims, “comparisons are made between Kipeá and the língua geral [i.e. the Tupi varieties described and used on Jesuit missions in coastal Bahia and Maranhão], not only in his grammar but also in his catechism”.
Influence exercée	The Kiriri textual tradition among missionaries is dwarfed by other contemporaneous traditions, e.g. Tupi languages, Quechua, Aymara, etc. Almost exactly one decade after the Mamiani's back-to-back publications, the French Capuchin missionary, Bernard de Nantes published his Katecismo indico da língua Karirís (1709). Although Nantes does not mention Mamiani by name, in the ‘Ao leytor’ section of his work (Nantes 1709, p. v), he justifies the publication of his work, stating that “although the title of this Catechism may make the work seem useless given the other Catechism in the same language, which was published only a few years ago, […] you will see that these are different languages”. He is clearly referring to Mamiani's Catechism (1698), which is written in the Kipeá dialect, compared with the dialect spoken in the São Francisco river region, i.e. Dzubucua, in which Nantes' Catechism is written (Nantes 1709, p. v). After a lacuna of over a century and a half, the German linguist, Carl Friedrich von Martius (1794-1868), recorded comparative vocabulary lists for several Brazilian languages in his work Beiträge zur Ethnographie und Sprachenkunde Amerikas zumal Brasiliens (1867), including two Kiriri dialects: the dialect of Pedra Branca and that of Sabuya. He claims that “after collecting the relevant vocabulary […], the majority corresponds with Mamiani's grammar” (1867, p. 215). Shortly after the publication of Martius' work, the French linguist, Adam Lucien (1833-1918), produced a comparative grammar in his American language family series, Matériaux pour servir à l'établissement d'une grammaire comparée des dialectes de la famille Kariri (1897). In the introduction, he confirms that the works of Mamiani and Nantes form the basis of his work, with the former providing the grammatical matrix (1897, p. i-iv). More recently, Mamiani's grammar has proven invaluable for comparative Macro-Jê studies and reconstruction endeavours (see Rodrigues 1999, Ribeiro 2002, etc.).
Renvois bibliographiques	Adam L. 1897; Anchieta J. de 1595; Case J. 2017; Figueira L. 1621; Fiore G. di 2007; Gabelentz H. C. 1852; Larsen T. W. 1984; Leite S. 1949; Leite S. 1965; Mamiani L. V. 1699; Mamiani L. V. 1877; Mamiani L. V. 1942; Martius K. F. 1867; Nantes B. de 1709; Nantes B. de 1709; Oliveira Batista R. de 2005; Ribeiro E. R. 2002; Rodrigues A. D. 1999; Rosa M. C. 2013; Zwartjes O. 2002; Zwartjes O. 2011
Rédacteur	Case, Justin · Zwartjes, Otto
Création ou mise à jour	2017-11