Evidentiality and epistemic mood in Lakondê

Abstract

"Lakondê represents one of the dialects of Northern Nambikwára, which itself belongs to the larger Nambikwára linguistic family. Already the earliest sources locate the Nambikwara groups in central western Brazil in an area near the Bolivian border, where they still live today. The Lakondê’s first official contact with the non-indigenous society occurred during the first half of the twentieth century. Intertribal fighting with the enemy group Cinta- Larga (Tupí-Mondé Family) and with other Northern Nambikwára subgroups, as well as illnesses brought into the region by non-Indians since the second half of the 20th century progressively reduced the number of the Lakondê Indians and eroded their autonomy as a people. Today, the remaining Lakondê total seven individuals; only one woman still has knowledge of her mother tongue"