Tapirapé greetings: tekateka expresions

Abstract

Nowadays it is acknowledged that culture and grammar, or more extensively,
language and culture cannot be seen apart of each other. The field of
Ethnosyntax, brought to light by the beginning of the 1990´s decade, provide
us with the tools to comprehend how human beings categorize, think and use
their languages in unique ways in their daily lives. This paper presents the
greetings system used daily by the Tapirapé, an indigenous people of the state of
Mato Grosso. Although the language is at risk in face of the increasing contact
with Portuguese, that system has a significant vitality and importance among
them. The data analysis under the theoretical framework of Anthropology
and Anthropological Linguistics (Boas, Sapir and Whorf, and more recently,
Hymes) and of the so called Ethnosyntax (Enfield, Wierzbicka and Pawley)
shows us that the greetings, by reflecting the traits of politeness, courtesy and
kindness are deeply rooted in the way of being a – tekateka – a Tapirapé.