Evidentiality in Ninam of Alto Mucajaí

Abstract

Evidentiality, as a grammatical category, has been identified as a common feature among the languages of the Amazon region, including the Yanomami languages. This paper presents new findings on the evidentiality system used in Ninam of Alto Mucajaí, a Yanomami language located along the banks of the Mucajaí River in Northern Brazil. These findings were obtained through the review of data collected in 1970 and the analysis of data collected between 2021 and 2022. Older data from Ninam indicated that the language had a five-term system and that, fifty years later, it has been reduced to a three-term system. This evidentiality system is composed of VISUAL, HEARSAY, AND UNSPECIFIED markers. The appearance and placement of evidentiality markers are affected by tense/aspect morphemes and the presence of adverbs. In addition, evidentiality is a grammatical category exclusively found in the main clause.