Dialectal Differentiation in the Guarani language spoken in Corrientes (Argentina)

LEONARDO CERNO

Münster

Jornada; 44. Studentischen Tagung Sprachwissenschaft; 2008

Universität Münster (Alemania)

Scholars give the name "Guarani" to an indigenous language spoken nowadays by near 5.000.000 non-indigenous persons in Paraguay and regions next to this country (Northeast of Argentina and Southeast of Brazil). In this dialectal area, the language spoken in the province of Corrientes (Argentina) has been considered a particular dialect of the language spoken in Paraguay (Melia 1992; Dietrich 2002). Less known than "Paraguayan Guarani", the "Correntinean" variety has been early typified as fully influenced by its contact with Spanish (Gregores & Suarez 1967). A recent work shows further differences, in phonetics, syntax and lexicon, which could be used to characterize this variety as opposed to "Paraguayan" Guarani (Dietrich 2002). In this paper I provide some other phonetic, morphological and lexical evidences of the variation in the Guarani language spoken in Corrientes, as well as a systematization of these dialectal features. The corpus of this study proceeds from my own field work in rural areas of Corrientes and from some recent academic works on the Paraguayan Guarani (also called "Yopará"). I also provide a full overview of the historical and sociolinguistic backgrounds of both "Correntinean" and "Paraguayan" varieties of Guarani. In this way, I try to support the hypothesis that the Guarani spoken in Corrientes has been re-shaped in the context of its particular sociolinguistic situation in Argentina, quite different from that of Paraguay.