The countable-massive distinction in the Uaçá Kheuól

Abstract

This paper describes the main contrasts of the count/mass distinction of the Kheuól do Uaçá nouns. Kheuól do Uaçá is a French-based creole language spoken by two distinct indigenous peoples, Karipuna and Galibi-Marworno, who share the same territory (Terras Indígenas do Uaçá and Juminã) at the Oiapoque municipality, Amapá state, Brazil, in the French Guiana border. Both varieties of the Kheuól do Uaçá are underdocumented, especially the Galibi-Marworno described in this paper. Almost all nouns combine with numerals (kwak ‘flour’ is the only exception); almost all quantifiers and quantity modifiers show no restriction in combination with notionally count and mass nouns (un de thoa ‘some’ only combine with notionally count nouns); and all nouns can be pluralized with the plural definite article -iela. Whereas almost all nouns can be counted, the relevant contrast is held in the capacity of notionally mass nouns to be open for unbounded denotations. This capacity can be captured by the fact that notionally mass nouns recover the third person singular pronoun i/li as anaphora for sortal names in bare noun phrases contexts (neutral for number); on the other hand, notionally count nouns recover the third person plural pronoun ie as anaphora at the same contexts.