View source for User:Mjk388/Toba-Maskoy language

{{distinguish|Toba Qom language}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Toba-Maskoy
| nativename       = ''Enenlhet''
| states           = [[Paraguay]]
| ethnicity        = {{sigfig|2,060|2}} (2007)<ref name=e18/>
| speakers         = {{sigfig|1680|2}}
| date             = 2007
| ref              = e18
| familycolor      = American
| fam1             = [[Gran Chaco]] languages
| iso3             = tmf
| glotto           = toba1268
| glottorefname    = Toba-Maskoy
| region           = [[Chaco (Paraguay)|Paraguayan Chaco]]
| fam2             = [[Mascoian languages|Mascoian]]
}}

'''Toba-Maskoy''', also known as '''Enenxet''', '''Enenlhet''', or '''Maskoy''', is one of five languages in the ''[[Mascoian languages|Mascoian family]]'', and one of the several languages of the sparsely inhabited [[Chaco (Paraguay)|Paraguayan Chaco]] region.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39724238|title=Peoples of the Gran Chaco|date=1999|publisher=Bergin & Garvey|others=Elmer S. Miller|isbn=0-89789-532-0|location=Westport, Conn.|oclc=39724238}}</ref> It is mainly spoken on a 74,000-acre reservation in East Chaco near Puerto Victoria and Puerto Guaraní.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gordon|first=Raymond G., Jr.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/60338097|title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World|last2=Grimes|first2=Barbara|date=|publisher=SIL International|year=2005|isbn=1-55671-159-X|oclc=60338097}}</ref> Toba-Maskoy is currently a threatened language at risk of [[Extinct language|extinction]]. According to a 2007 census, there are 1,680 speakers.

== Official status ==
Toba-Maskoy is not an official language of Paraguay. 

== Geographic Distribution ==
Toba-Maskoy is spoken within the Gran Chaco region near Puerto Victoria, in northern Paraguay.

The Gran Chaco is an extensive lowland plain stretching across a number of countries in central South America, including areas of northern Argentina, Paraguay, southeastern Bolivia, and Southern Brazil. It is home to over twenty languages, called Chaco languages, though some are now extinct. Chaco languages are categorized into six linguistic families: [[Guaicuruan languages|Guaicuruan]], [[Matacoan languages|Matacoan]], [[Mascoian languages|Mascoian]], [[Zamucoan languages|Zamucoan]], [[Tupi–Guarani languages|Tupí-Guaranían]], and [[Charruan languages|Charrúan]] (now extinct).

=== Dialects/Varieties ===
Toba-Maskoy is one of the six members of the Mascoian family of languages of Paraguay. The other five languages of the family are [[Enxet language|Enxet]] (Southern Lengua), [[Enlhet language|Enlhet]] (Northern Lengua), [[Kaskihá language|Kaskihá]] (Guaná), [[Sanapaná language|Sanapaná]] (Saapa), and [[Angaité language|Angaité]] (Enenhlet).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Campbell|first=Lyle|date=2013-10-25|title=Language Contact and Linguistic Change in the Chaco|url=http://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/ling/article/view/16268|journal=Revista Brasileira de Linguística Antropológica|volume=5|issue=2|pages=259–291|doi=10.26512/rbla.v5i2.16268|issn=2317-1375}}</ref>

== History ==
Toba-Maskoy was derived from Paraguay, specifically in the Chaco region of the Alto Paraguay department.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=__RCYFbzA0IC&oi=fnd&pg=PA218&dq=toba+maskoy&ots=qTbmqLz9CB&sig=legdmbS9NqTAnG9ERCDfkU67Zfg#v=onepage&q=toba%2520maskoy&f=false |title=Language Planning and Policy in Latin America |last=Gynan |first=Shawn N. |date=2007 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-006-7 |editor-last=Baldauf |editor-first=Richard B. |volume=vol. 1 |chapter=Language Planning and Policy in Paraguay |editor-last2=Kaplan |editor-first2=Robert B.}}</ref>

=== The decline of the language ===
The peoples of the Paraguayan Chaco were able to maintain their independence from White colonizers up until 1885. In 1825, the Paraguayan government had mandated the presentation of all land titles, deeming unclaimed areas as fiscal property and giving them ‘legal’ possession of the Chaco. Although the tribes were initially unaffected by this, in 1885, the government sold an expanse of the land in order to repay foreign debt.<ref name=":4" /> From here, the colonization of the Chaco progressed gradually through the region, and by 1924, it was occupied by the military. The [[Chaco war|Chaco War]] took place from 1932 to 1935, through which Paraguay won against Bolivia over the possession of the northern Chaco region. By this point, the languages of the Mascoian family were only spoken in the central and eastern areas of the Chaco near the [[Paraguay River]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Breithoff|first=Esther|title=Conflict, Heritage, and World-Making in the Chaco|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv13xprzz.7|pages=28–57|publication-date=2020|chapter=‘Sin vencedores ni vencidos’: The Chaco and its forgotten war|publisher=UCL Press|isbn=978-1-78735-806-5}}</ref> For all of the tribes, colonization had brought much poverty, starvation, and sickness upon their people; their populations had rapidly decreased and they were forced to work for their colonizers, under whom they were now much more sedentary and compliant. It was through this process of colonization and the resulting dynamic of inferiority-superiority of Indian and Western culture that the use of the native languages began to decline as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kidd|first=Stephen W.|year=1995|title=Land, Politics, and Benevolent Shamanism: The Enxet Indians in a Democratic Paraguay|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/158202|journal=Journal of Latin American Studies|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=27|issue=1|pages=43-75|via=JSTOR}}</ref> This was particularly the case for Toba-Maskoy speakers, and by the 1980s, most spoke only or primarily [[Guarani language|Guaraní]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Hanratty|first=Dennis M.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/44212689|title=Paraguay: a country study|last2=Meditz|first2=Sandra W.|publisher=Federal Research Division|year=1988|oclc=44212689}}</ref>


The linguistic status of Toba-Maskoy was described in 1977 as dire or moderately stable depending on the area. In [[Puerto Casado]], the eastern region of the Paraguayan Chaco, the majority of adults were bilingual in Toba-Maskoy and Guaraní due to their work. They tended to speak in Guaraní throughout the day, regardless of if they were comfortable using Toba-Maskoy in the home or not. The school in Puerto Casado did not have a bilingual program for indigenous languages, and though most children were able to understand Toba-Maskoy, they had no desire to speak it. Due to its lack of reinforcement, Toba-Maskoy was predicted to die in the Puerto Casado area.<ref name=":2" /> Within other areas, mainly located in the central regions of the Chaco, Toba-Maskoy was given a relatively stable prognosis. The adults spoke the language more consistently than Guaraní or any other culturally prevalent language, regardless of if they were bilingual or not, and the children were taught the language and spoke it with their parents at home. The language was predicted to continue for at least another two generations. <ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Klein|first=Harriet Manelis|last2=Stark|first2=Louisa R.|date=1977|title=Indian Languages of the Paraguayan Chaco|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30027605|journal=Anthropological Linguistics|volume=19|issue=8|pages=378–401|issn=0003-5483|via=JSTOR}}</ref>

A 1992 census reported 2,057 speakers.<ref>{{Citation|last=Baldauf|first=Richard B., Jr.|title=Language Policy and Planning in Latin America: Ecuador, Mexico and Paraguay|work=Language Planning and Policy in Latin America, Vol. 1|volume=1|publication-date=2007|publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=9781847690067|last2=Kaplan|first2=Robert B.}}</ref> 

== Vocabulary and Grammar ==
It is believed that around 1870 some Toba chiefs immigrated from Argentina escaping constant victimization of their peoples, thus settling in Alto Paraguay. Since that transitional period, the language suffered both linguistically and culturally.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Durante |first=Santiago |date=2011 |title=Las lenguas del Gran Chaco: situación socio-lingüística y políticas lingüísticas |url=https://ddd.uab.cat/record/89226 |journal=Language Design |volume=13 |pages=115–142}}</ref> The state of the language was further damaged by the effects of the Chaco War of 1932-1935.<ref name=":3" /> To this day it is rare to find grammar or writings in Toba-Maskoy due to a significant loss in the linguistic elements.

Some basic linguistic features of Toba-Maskoy can be recovered through the writings of W. Barbrooke Grubb in his missionary accounts of his time in the Paraguayan Chaco. Grubb recounted his experiences with the people of the land, particularly the [[Enxet|Lengua people]], who spoke variations of Enxet, Enlhet, and Toba-Maskoy, all members of the Mascoian family.

It is also possible to infer some aspects of the linguistic traits and grammar of Toba-Maskoy by observing the characteristics of other languages within the Mascoian language family, or even through the other languages of the Gran Chaco region. 

=== Linguistic influences ===
W. Barbrooke Grubb's accounts record some occasions of Spanish and Guaraní influence in the vocabulary. Some of the examples he notes are the Toba-Maskoy word 'waitkya,' which is rooted from the Spanish 'vaca,' and 'lawa' from the Spanish 'clavo.' For Guaraní, he notes the Toba-Maskoy form 'káá' from the Guaraní root 'cáá.'"<ref name=":1" />

== Phonology ==
Though little is known about the specific phonological system of Toba-Maskoy, the languages of the Mascoian family are generally characterized by simple vowel systems, as well as certain vowel alternations which may suggest the presence of [[Vowel harmony|vowel harmony]].<ref name=":0" />

In regards to consonants, Mascoian languages contain /ɫ/ and glottalized sonorants /m’, n’, ŋ’, w’, y’/, all of which are uncommon among the other linguistic families of the Chaco.<ref name=":0" />

== Syntax ==
=== Word order ===
Unlike the SVO ordered languages of the Guaicuruan, Matacoan, and Zamucoan families, Toba-Maskoy has a [[Verb–subject–object|verb–subject–object (VSO)]] basic word order.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Grubb|first=W. Barbrooke|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/794523477|title=An Unknown People in an Unknown Land|publisher=Seeley, Service & Co. Limited|year=1925|isbn=978-3-86347-127-9|edition=4|oclc=794523477}}</ref> 

=== Verb alignment ===
The majority of the languages of the Gran Chaco can be characterized by an [[Active–stative alignment|active-stative verb alignment]], including those of the Mascoian family;<ref name=":0" /> this seems to be supported by Grubb's writings:

"To make quite certain of a sentence, e.g., 'The tiger killed the man,' it is necessary to say, 'The man is killed [neuter verb] ; the tiger's killing' (Abmatneyi enthlit, niptana apkyakhe). In an ordinary narrative the tiger will have formed the subject, and the simple statement, '(He) killed the man,' would be sufficiently clear."<ref name=":1" />

== Morphology ==
=== Demonstratives ===
As is the case with many other South American languages, Chaco languages are characterized with [[Grammatical gender|grammatical gender]], and the masculine-feminine gender distinction in Mascoian languages is exhibited through the variation of demonstratives used to modify each noun.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

Beyond gender-varied demonstratives, Chaco languages typically contain an extensive system of demonstratives which may change based on a wide range of semantic parameters.<ref name=":0" />

=== Pronouns ===
Pronoun inflections of Toba-Maskoy are exhibited as prefixes to the given noun or verb.<ref name=":1" /> In his book, Grubb provides examples of the prefixes attached to various words to communicate pronouns. He displays the appearances of the possessive pronoun prefix for 'my':
{| class="wikitable"
|+Possessive pronoun 'my'<ref name=":1" />
!Word
!Prefix
!Root
!Translation
|-
|e-mik
|e
|mik
|my hand
|-
|ne-thlit
|ne
|thlit
|my waist
|-
|ah-aktik
|ah
|aktik
|my eye
|-
|sik-tahanama
|sik
|tahanama
|my bed
|-
|sel-nakta
|sel
|nakta
|my goods
|-
|sey-ipso
|sey
|ipso
|my cigar
|}

He also provides examples of the first person singular pronoun 'I' when used as the subject of verbs:
{| class="wikitable"
|+First person singular pronoun 'I'<ref name=":1" />
|-
!Word
!Prefix
!Root
!Translation
|-
|ik-thlingkyi
|ik
|thlingkyi
|I go
|-
|e-wanchi
|e
|wanchi
|I am able
|-
|el-anaiyi
|el
|anaiyi
|I make
|-
|ey-apaschi
|ey
|apaschi
|I send
|}
=== Verb affixes ===
Mascoian languages also contain a complex set of directional verb affixes, which attach to the verb to inflect location or direction.<ref name=":0" /> 

Here, Grubb provides examples of the affixes attached to the word for 'to lead':
{| class="wikitable"
|+Toba-Maskoy verb affixes, with 'to lead'<ref name=":1" />
!Word
!Root
!Affix
!Translation
|-
|yintim-kyi
|yintim
|kyi
|to take, lead, as horse or child
|-
|yintim-akthleyi
|yintim
|akthleyi
|to take there, or again
|-
|yintim-anteyi
|yintim
|anteyi
|to lead here
|-
|yintim-akme
|yintim
|akme
|to lead in this direction for first time
|-
|yintim-aha
|yintim
|aha
|to lead about from place to place
|-
|yinto-waiyi
|yinto
|waiyi
|to lead from . . . to this place.
|-
|yinto-wukme
|yinto
|wukme
|to lead to a distant place
|}
=== Genitive noun classifier ===
Chaco languages, particularly those of the Guaicuruan, Maskoian, and Zamucoan families, are distinguished by the rare use of a genitive noun classifier (also called possessive classifier) construction, which is specifically utilized when relating to the possession of domestic animals. In these cases, it is not possible to use a direct possessive term, such as 'our chicken'; the possessive domestic animal classifier is necessary.<ref name=":0" />

=== Honorifics ===
According to Grubb's writings, Toba-Maskoy commonly employs forms of [[Honorifics (linguistics)|honorifics]] when the language is regarding or being spoken to the women of their tribes. Toba-Maskoy honorifics prescribe the use of different honorific prefixes, and in some cases, even completely distinct words, to express the different status of the women. The variation for when the speaker is addressing a woman is a form of Addressee honorifics, and the variation for when they are speaking about a woman is a form of Referent honorifics.<ref name=":1" /> Grubb provides one example:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Toba-Maskoy Addressee honorifics<ref name=":1" />
!Toba-Maskoy
!Translation
!Addressee
|-
|kato ikto 
|eat thy food 
|''addressing a woman'' 
|-
|ito apto 
|eat thy food
|''addressing a man'' 
|}
== Language sample ==
The following language sample was provided in a 1977 issue of ''Anthropological Linguistics'' to display the similarities and differences between the Toba-Maskoy language of the Mascoian family, the [[Toba Qom language]] of the Guaicuruan family, and the "Lengua" language of the Mascoian family. Lengua has since been separated into two distinct languages, [[Enlhet language|Northern Lengua]] and [[Enxet language|Southern Lengua]]. 

Toba-Maskoy and Toba Qom are often confused with one another, and this sample serves to display the complete distinctions between the two languages. 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Lexical lists comparing Mascoian and Guaicuruan languages<ref name=":2" />
!Toba-Maskoy (Mascoian)
!Lengua
!Toba Qom (Guaicuruan)
!Gloss
|-
|tahap
|mešʟima
|mala'
|ashes
|-
|ema'
|e'ema'
|netago'
|blood
|-
|askapok
|ašʟapok
|nopinek
|bone
|-
|simhen
|semheŋ
|pi'oq
|dog
|-
|enhaykok
|eŋhayko'
|ltela
|ear
|-
|sepop
|sʟapop
|alwa
|earth
|-
|antota
|sekto
|halyik
|eat
|-
|enaktek
|akta'ak
|na'ayete
|eye
|-
|tasʟa
|ta'asʟa
|novik
|fire
|-
|kilasma
|kelasma'
|qote
|fish
|-
|emenek
|e'emenek
|napia'
|foot
|-
|emek
|e'emek
|lvaq
|hand
|-
|enhekhek
|yiphempak
|lǰaqte
|heart
|-
|yametawa
|yantaw'a
|epaqlavi
|leaf
|-
|eheton
|ahatoŋ
|halame'
|mouth
|-
|petsasep
|aʟta'a
|pe
|night
|-
|enwahek
|awahek
|lmik
|nose
|-
|momaya
|mamey'a
|hawot
|rain
|-
|hapokmenak
|ankepminak
|epaǥlopa'
|root
|-
|eŋempehek
|empehek
|lo'oq
|skin
|-
|neten
|ne'eten
|pigem
|sky
|-
|eten
|e'eten
|nodek lomala'
|smoke
|-
|yaw'a
|yow'a
|woqahñi
|star
|-
|mahat
|mayahet
|nala'
|sun
|-
|enyetek
|eta'la'
|lqote'
|tail
|-
|enlaskok
|ahaskok
|načaǥat
|tongue
|-
|ema'ak
|eŋma'ak
|nowi
|tooth
|-
|yamek
|ya'amet
|epaq
|tree
|-
|yemen
|yiŋmen
|etaǥat
|water
|-
|ikenwana
|kelana
|alo
|woman
|-
|ininek
|ltovi
|eŋkeñek
|breast
|-
|pelten
|pelten
|ka'awoǥoyk
|moon
|}
== External links ==
*{{e18|code=tmf}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M66R37FbEJA Good News Toba-Maskoy Language Movie Trailer]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=Toba-Maskoy at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
^ Gynan, Shawn N. (2007). "Language Planning and Policy in Paraguay". In Baldauf, Richard B.; Kaplan, Robert B. (eds.). Language Planning and Policy in Latin America. vol. 1. Multilingual Matters. ISBN 978-1-84769-006-7.
^ Miller, Elmer S., ed. (2001). Peoples of the Gran Chaco. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-89789-802-7.
^ Durante, Santiago (2011). "Las lenguas del Gran Chaco: situación socio-lingüística y políticas lingüísticas". Language Design. 13: 115–142.
^ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr., ed. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15 ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
^ Hanratty, Dannin M.; Medlitz, Sandra W.; ed. (1990). Paraguay: A Country Study. Washington, D.C. : Federal Research Division, GPO for the Library of Congress.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
^ Baldauf, Richard B.; Kaplan, Robert B.; ed. (2007). Language Planning and Policy in Latin America: Vol. 1. Multilingual Matters.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
^ Klein, Harriet Manelis; Stark, Louisa R. (November 1977). "Indian Languages of the Paraguayan Chaco". Anthropological Linguistics. 19 (8): 378–401.
^ Miller, Elmer S., ed. (1999). Peoples of the Gran Chaco. Bergin & Garvey. ISBN 9780897895323.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
^ Breithoff, Esther (2020). Conflict, Heritage and World-Making in the Chaco: War at the End of the Worlds?. UCL Press.
^ Métraux, Alfred (October–December 1942). "The Linguistic Affinities of the Enimagá (Cochaboth) Group". American Anthropologist, New Series. 44 (4, Part 1): 720–721.CS1 maint: date format (link)
^ Messineo, Cristina; Cúneo, Paola (2011). "Ethnobiological Classification in Two Indigenous Languages of the Gran Chaco Region". Anthropological Linguistics. 53 (2): 132–169.
^ Carpio, María Belén; González, Raúl Eduardo. Grammatical replication: Firstperson non-singular verbal indexes in Eastern Toba, Western Toba (Guaicuruan) and Tapiete (Tupi-Guaraní). Western Michigan University.
^ Campbell, Lyle (October 2013). "Language Contact and Linguistic Change in the Chaco". Revista Brasileira de Linguística Antropológica. 5 (2): 259–291. doi:10.26512/rbla.v5i2.16268}}

{{Languages of Paraguay}}
{{Mataco-Guaicuru languages}}

[[:Category:Languages of Paraguay]]
[[:Category:Mascoian languages]]


{{indigenousAmerican-lang-stub}}