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6 mai 2022
In this talk I will explore the history of the societies that speak languages from the Tukanoan, Arawakan and Naduhupan linguistic families in Northwest Amazonia. These societies form a multiethnic and multilingual regional system based on circa 50 languages and on the construction of ethnic similarities and differences across in scalar and fractacl ways across the region’s diverse social units.The goal of the talk is to analyze some key process in the development of this complex linguistic and cultural system through a history of about 3000 years. I will highlight how linguistic diversity has expanded over time in the region, the role of inter-ethnic and multilingual relations in that process, and the reflex of social and cultural processes on language change. I will use and discuss data and methods for the reconstruction of the histories of languages and language ecologies, multidisciplinary approaches for interconecting linguistics to the study of human past more broadly, and ethical and epistemological considerations on the dialogue of scientific and indigenous views of the past.
