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Article published In: Studies in Language
Vol. 42:3 (2018) ► pp.505–528

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Quechuan terms for internal organs of the torso

Synchronic, diachronic, and typological perspectives

 | University of Tübingen
Published online: 19 October 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.16081.urb
Abstract
This article discusses the terminology for the major internal organs of the torso across the Quechuan language family. From both semasiological and onomasiological points of view, differences in the synchronic organization of the semantic field across individual Quechua varieties as well as the diachronic developments that brought them about are described. Particular attention is also paid to semantic reconstruction within the field at the proto-Quechua level, and, with recourse to recent efforts at internal reconstruction, also beyond. Another recurrent theme is the interrelation between lexical data and the conceptions of anatomy and bodily functions encountered in quechua-speaking communities. A major conclusion is that an engagement with such perspectives allows for a considerably richer understanding of lexical organization in synchrony and diachrony than linguistic data alone could provide.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The Quechuan language family
  • 3.Extant linguistic and anthropological perspectives on the body in the Quechuan-speaking Andes
  • 4.Data and sources for the present study
  • 5.*šunqu and the ‘heart’
    • 5.1Extension and intension of reflexes of *šunqu
    • 5.2Lungs and liver, black and white *šunqus
    • 5.3‘Heart of people’ and ‘heart of animals’
  • 6.The lungs, beyond *šunqu
  • 7.The stomach, beyond *šunqu
  • 8.*ñati(n) and the liver
  • 9.The early prehistory of the semantic field
  • 10.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (59)
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2022. Red, black, and white hearts: ‘heart’, ‘liver’, and ‘lungs’ in typological and areal perspective. Linguistic Typology 26:2 ► pp. 349 ff. DOI logo
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