A Susnik Mélange: Culture History, Linguistics, and Ethnography of Speaking

Discussed are four works of B. Susnik, a Paraguayan intellectual, who has had a profound influence on studies of Amerindian history, lang, & culture. The first volume, entitled Dispersion Tupi-Guarani Prehistorica: Ensayo Analitico (Prehistorical Tupi-Guarani Dispersion: Analytical Essay), is a very comprehensive work on the origin & migration of the Tupi-Guarani. It covers the great variety of theories about the original location & dispersion of the Tupi-Guarani & deals with some controversial issues on more recent historic migrations. Estudios Guayaki (Guayaki Studies), consisting of two volumes, focuses on the Ace-Guayaki language spoken by 500-1,000 Paraguayan Indians. The first volume concentrates on the phonetic system, & the second on the lexicon. Lengua Maskoy: Su Hablar, Su Pensar, Su Vivencia (The Maskoy Language: Its Speech, Thought, and Life) is one of the best ethnographies of communication of an Amerindian language to have appeared in recent years. Lengua, a Mascoian lang, is spoken by about 7,000 Indians in the Paraguayan Chaco. This volume concentrates on the broadest aspects of the language & culture of the Lengua. These works provide a vast bibliography in several disciplines & an incredible amount of general information on Chaco Indian groups. A major criticism, however, is that the idiosyncratic lang analysis makes the use of these volumes, for the linguist especially, more difficult than is necessary. AA