User:Taj.bell/Emerillon language

Emerillon ( French pronunciation: [emeʁijõ]) (alternate names Émérillon, Emerilon, Emerion, Mereo, Melejo, Mereyo, Teco) is a Tupi–Guarani language spoken in French Guiana on the rivers Camopi and Tampok. The speakers of Emerillon, also known as the Teko people, refer to their language as Teke. Emerillon is mutually intelligible with Wayãpi, a language indigenous to French Guiana and Brazil.

History of the population
The first reports of contact between the Emerillon and Europeans date from the early eighteenth century, when the Emerillon lived in an area similar to that which they now call home. Before migrating to French Guiana, it is unknown where they might have lived. They were estimated to have a population of 350 to 400 people in 1767, and they lived in villages on the Maroni's left bank. The Emerillon-speaking areas within French Guiana.

The Emerillon were more nomadic than other Indians in the region, according to early observers: mainly hunters, the Emerillon grew only enough manioc to meet their basic needs. They used bark to make their primitive hammocks because they couldn't cultivate cotton. They did, however, make manioc graters for exchange. They were devastated by warfare in the nineteenth century, to the point that they were forced to serve as slaves the Oyampik, their former enemies. By the late 1800s, the Emerillon had formed a strong bond with Creole gold prospectors, their numbers had been decimated by epidemic diseases, and they had become highly acculturated, speaking Creole and dressing in Western garb. Dogs were historically kept by the Emerillon, who now breed them specifically for trade with the Wayana in exchange for beads. Wild fruits, honey, butterflies, reptiles, hog plums, palm cabbages, guavas, mushrooms, Brazil nuts, and sweet tree beans were also collected by the Emerillon .Men mainly use bows and arrows to fish, but they also use hooks and lines and poison on occasion. Previously, the Emerillon relied on primitive hooks, traps, nets, and spears. Dugout and bark canoes are used for transportation. The rifle is the most popular hunting weapon today. Bows and arrows, as well as axes, harpoons, and traps, were used by the Emerillon in the past. The Emerillon hunted agoutis, armadillos, anteaters (killed for their skins rather than their flesh), peccaries, deer, manatees, monkeys, otters, sloths, tapirs, and capybaras with the help of trained dogs. Dogs were historically kept by the Emerillon, who now breed them specifically for trade with the Wayana in exchange for beads. The Emerillon were unable to sustain their ideal of proper marriage, preferentially with a cross cousin, due to a decrease in numbers. While they continued to oppose marriage outside the tribe in principle, intertribal unions produced a number of children. A number of families were also raising Creole-fathered children. The Emerillon allow for a large age gap between spouses; not only can an old man marry a young girl, but so can some young men marry elderly women. Polygyny is still prevalent; one 19-person group included a man, his two wives, their children, and the man's son with his wife and half-Creole daughter. The couvade is still followed: after the birth of a child, a man must refrain from doing any hard work for eight days. While they have shamans, nothing is known about Emerillon cosmology. Their representatives, one of whom is paid by the French government, are not well-known.

Even when their numbers were higher, the Emerillon lived in small villages of 30 to 40 people, with only a few reaching 200. Villages were often relocated due to a variety of factors, including soil depletion, wars, trade needs, and a variety of customary reasons for abandoning the settlement (such as the death of an inhabitant). For defense against raids, villages were set back from rivers. A village, which was politically autonomous, was led by a headman and, on rare occasions, a council. Intertribal conflict was very common. Bows and arrows (which were rarely poisoned), axes, shields, and clubs were used by warriors, but blowguns were almost never used. The Emerillon went to war to exact vengeance for previous attacks as well as to acquire captives and slaves; captured men often married the daughters of their captors. As a form of vengeance, the Emerillon committed cannibalism. Puberty rituals served as a forewarning of imminent marriage. Boys were forced to endure labor ordeals, while girls were isolated and forced to follow food taboos. The deceased are buried with their personal belongings, covered in hammocks and sometimes in wooden coffins.

The language
Emerillon is only used along the French Guiana borders with Surinam and Brazil. There are only four hundred Emerillon speakers in the world. Although there are a limited number of speakers, Emerillon is still taught as a first language to children. Its name derives from mereñõ, a name given to members of the Emerillon tribe. They often refer to themselves as the Teko people – which translates to "human being" in Wayãpi. Emerillon is the eponymous term for their language which belongs to the Tupí-Guaraní family. An identifying characteristic of the language is nasal harmony. The language is still being passed on to the children as the native language, however French, Portuguese and Wayampí are becoming secondary languages. The effect is mainly limited to borrowing of the lexicon of the European languages, however the language is considered endangered.

Grammar
Emerillon is spelt phonetically based on the International Phonetic Alphabet, independent of French orthography. The system uses the letter ɨ for the close central unrounded vowel between i and u; e is pronounced é [e]; ö is a front rounded vowel (like Ö|German ö); vowels with a tilde are always nasal (ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ); b is prenasalized as [ᵐb].

Geographic distribution
The remaining Emerillon live in settlements in French Guiana on the Camopi, a tributary of the Oiapoque River, and on the Tampok, a tributary of the Maroni River (near Brazil and Suriname, respectively).

Dialects/Varieties[edit]
(Alternative names Émérillon, Emerilon, Emerion, Mereo, Melejo, Mereyo, Teco) The Emerillon people speak Teke, which is mutually intelligible with Waypi, a French Guiana and Brazilian language.

Sounds/Phonology
Emerillon is spelt phonetically based on the International Phonetic Alphabet, and not according the French orthography. The spelling uses the letter ɨ for the close central unrounded vowel between i and u. e is always pronounced é, vowels with a tilde are always nasal (ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ), ö is like the German Ö|O umlaut, and b is pronounced mb. All letters are pronounced.

Examples
A short examples of the language system used is how they often refer to themselves as the Teko people – which translates to "human being" in Wayãpi. The "E" in Teko is always pronounced é, vowels with a tilde are always nasal (ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ), ö is like the German Ö|O umlaut, and b is pronounced mb. All letters are pronounced.