THE MEANING OF “TREE” IN TWO DIFFERENT TUPÍ-GUARANÍ LANGUAGES FROM TWO DIFFERENT NEOTROPICAL FORESTS

Abstract

Data are presented to show whether the terms for ‘tree’ in two different but related languages, Ka’apor or Urubu-Ka'apor (henceforth, Ka'apor) and Mbya-Guarani (henceforth, Mbya), are in fact cognate terms in having the same intensional meanings. These terms are myra (Ka'apor) and yvyra (Mbya). Data gathered from freelisting exercises among the two groups are compared to knowledge of architecture and dynamics of trees, basal area of trees, and local forestry in the two habitats to determine whether psychological salience rankings of taxa listed in the freelists match features of the environment and of the flora. Psychological salience is inferred by Smith's S. The data indicate that philosophical and linguistic axioms regarding trees as 'big and hard' tend to be supported statistically and ecologically with data from the two different languages in the two different forests of this study. Keywords: tree terms, Tupí-Guaraní languages, philosophical deduction, psychological salience