Indian Languages Database
Record Details
Saggio di storia americana o Sia storia naturale, civile, e sacra de regni, e delle provincie spagnuole di terra-ferma nell’America meridionale.
Rome: Luigi Perego erede Salvioni stampator Vaticano nella Sapienza, 1780-1784
Physical Description: 4 v. : ill., maps ; 21 cm. (8vo) v.3: xvi, 430, [2] p.
Call number: H780/ G474s
Accession number: 06826
Notes: Volume 3, book 3, “Delle lingue degli Orinochesi” (p. 135-213), contains vocabularies, specimens, and material on the origins, grammar, and pronunciation of indigenous languages of the Guianas and Orinoco region, with references to Tamanaca, Sàliva, Jarùro, Maipure, and Ottomaca languages. Includes a discourse in 2 Orinoco languages: "Ragionamento in Maipure sulla creazione dell'uomo" (p. 208-9) and "Il medesimo ragionamento in Tamanaco" (p. 210-211) with literal Italian translation for each.
Appendix 2, “Delle più celebri lingue Americane” (p. 219-393), consists of 2 parts.
Part 1, “Estratti di varie lingue Americane” (p. 220-272), contains vocabularies and other materials on numerous languages including that of the Aitìni of Santo Domingo, the Inchi, Mossi, Cicchitti, and Guaranesi as well as the Messicana, Araucana, Algonchina, and Hurona languages.
Part 2, “Riflessioni sulle lingue Americane” (p. 273-354), continues the discussion of various languages and concludes with chapter 16, “Cataloghi di alcune lingue Americane per farne il confronto tra loro” (p. 355-393), with 9 comparative vocabularies, mostly trilingual in Italian and various pairings of the above languages as well as Lule, Vilela, Mbaja, and Omagua.
Other native terms are found passim in volume 3, book 1, “Della religione antica degli Orinochesi” (p. 1-34) and volume 3, book 2, “Dell’ introducimento della religione Cristiana tra gli Orinochesi” (p. 35-134).
To access digital facsimile copy of book, click here for volume 1, here for volume 2, here for volume 3, and here for volume 4.
Languages: Algonquin / Arawak / Carib / Chiquito / Guaraní / Lule / Maya / Quechua / Vilela / Wyandot
Genre: Bible selections / Grammar / Specimen / Vocabulary
Region: Brazil / Caribbean Islands / Guianas / Spanish America
