Heartbeat of the sierra:
Rarámuri LAnguage alive
The Rarámuri (also known as Tarahumara) people are an Indigenous group settled in what is known as the Sierra Madre Occidental, residing in the mountains of Chihuahua. They call themselves Rarámuri (pronounced ralámuli), which translates to Spanish as “corredor a pie” (foot runner).
The Rarámuri people
The Rarámuri language is deeply connected to the natural and cultural environment of its speakers. Terms related to the flora, fauna, topography and traditional practices of the Rarámuri people are of great importance.
So what about the Rarámuri language?
Click on us!
Rarámuri language: where culture shapes words and reveals the heart of its people.
Agglutination & Reduplication
Suffixes
Nouns
Verbs
Phonology
Useful words/phrases
Phonology
The importance of preserving indigenous languages
How can we support?
Why should we care?
¡ariosibá, Matétera ba!
To understand the language, is to understand the people.
REferences
- Aguilera, D., & LeCompte, M. D. (2007). Resiliency in Native languages: The tale of three Indigenous communities’ experiences with language immersion. The Journal of American Indian Education, 46(3), 11–36. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ794258
- Alvarado García, M. (2007). Procesos morfofonológicos y supletividad como mecanismos para expresar la categoría gramatical de número en tarahumara. Dimensión Antropológica, 40, 29–53. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/dimension/article/view/2360
- Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
- Caballero, G. (2022). A grammar of Choguita Rarámuri: In collaboration with Luz Elena León Ramírez, Sebastián Fuentes Holguín, Bertha Fuentes Loya and other Choguita Rarámuri language experts (Comprehensive Grammar Library, 5). Language Science Press. https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/328
- Effendi, R. (2019, October 4). Lorena runs accompanied by her sister Talina [Photograph]. Vogue Mexico. https://media.vogue.mx/photos/5d926540ddb1de00080abfd5/master/w_1920%2Cc_limit/Maria-Lorena-ramirez-corredora-raramuri-mexicana.jpg
- Harrison, K. D. (2007). When languages die: The extinction of the world’s languages and the erosion of human knowledge. Oxford University Press.
- Kipp, D. (2002). Okoyi: To have a home. In J. Barreiro & T. Johnson (Eds.), American Indian millennium: Renewing our way of life for future generations (pp. 22–23). First Nation Development Institute.
- Rahui y Rokó. (2022, March 17). Rahui y Rokó capítulo 1: Aprende saludos y formalidades rarámuri con nosotros [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1EW4lI62Jk
- Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
- Vocabulario. (2025). ¿Cómo se saluda en tarahumara? Vocabulario: Idiomas, frases y palabras. https://vocabulario.com.mx/blog/como-se-saluda-en-tarahumara/
Heartbeat of the sierra:
Rarámuri LAnguage alive
Photography: Rena Effendi. Title: Lorena runs accompanied by her sister Talina. Source: Vogue.
Linguistic family
The Rarámuri language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. Rarámuri belongs to a sub-family, named Taracahitan, a group of languages spoken in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Other Uto-Aztecan that are in geographic proximity to Rarámuri are Guarijío, Yaqui, Mayo, Northern Tepehuan and O’ob Nook Pima.
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Tribal and Indigenous languages are filled with knowledge, secrets, history that without them, we risk losing sociocultural and intellectual heritages (Kipp, 2002). This heritage includes medicinal knowledge, religion, cultural practices, traditions, music, art, human relationships and all Indigenous ways to interpret science, history, astronomy, philosophy, psychology and anthropology (Aguilera & LeCompte, 2007). It is estimated that pharmaceutical companies earn approximately $85 billion per year in profits from medicines derived from plants whose healing properties were first known to Indigenous peoples (Harrison, 2007, p. 15). Who knows how we could have discovered the properties of these plants without the knowledge provided by Indigenous people and their languages?
Preserving the Rarámuri and other Indigenous languages is not only important for the Indigenous community, but for us as a society. These languages carry ancestral knowledge about nature, tradicional medicine, and the vision that tribes had about the world. Linguistic diversity helps us to promote respect and tolerance for different lifestyles, and enriches culture.
Aguilera, D., & LeCompte, M. D. (2007). Resiliency in Native languages: The tale of three Indigenous communities’ experiences with language immersion. The Journal of American Indian Education, 46(3), 11–36. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ794258
Harrison, K. D. (2007). When languages die: The extinction of the world’s languages and the erosion of human knowledge. Oxford University Press.
Kipp, D. (2002). Okoyi: To have a home. In J. Barreiro & T. Johnson (Eds.), American Indian millennium: Renewing our way of life for future generations (pp. 22–23). First Nation Development Institute.
Support organizations dedicated to preserving and documenting endangered languages.
Recognize the heritage and influence that Indigenous languages have in our modern vocabulary.
Support programs that look to implement Indigenous language education in educational programs.
Explore online (and other) sources to discover more about these languages.
Honor our Indigenous roots and recognizing the importance of their language and traditions.
Reflect on what could be lost if these languages disappear.
Caballero (2008): Reduplication causing vowel changes.
- wi'ká 'to be lost (singular)'
- i'wíga 'to be lost (plural)'
Verb morphology often includes changes such as change in sounds, accents, and vowels. They are usually triggered by suffixation.
Morphophonological changes
Since Rarámuri relies heavily on suffixes to indicate tense, mood, and aspect these suffixes also define the verb's position within the hierarchy; these hierarchical positions are called verbal domains.
Hierarchy and suffixation
Reduplication:
- Singular: maná "to put a thing in a container."
- Plural: amaná "to put multiple things in a container."
Affixation:
- The prefix na- is used to mark plural.
Number making
Alvarado García (2007) illustrates the following ways Rarámuri indicates number:
- Reduplication.
- Through the use of suffixation and preffixation.
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Alvarado García, M. (2007). Procesos morfofonológicos y supletividad como mecanismos para expresar la categoría gramatical de número en tarahumara. Dimensión Antropológica, 40, 29–53. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/dimension/article/view/2360
Suffix dominance
Rarámuri is mainly a suffixing language, meaning that most grammatical and derivational information is added to the end of words. Preffixes are rare, so suffixes are the prime modifiers of word meanings and grammatical functions.
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
- Suffixes are used to indicate tense, aspect or mood.
- For example, suffixes like -ki (Past, 1st person), -čane (Evidential), and -e (Imperfective) are added to the verb root suku 'scratch' to express different verbal categories.
- sukú-ki, having the suffix -ki (past, 1st person) can be inferred to mean "I scratched."
- sukú-čane, having the evidential suffix -čane (indicating something that the speaker does not witness directly) can be inferred to mean "[apparently] scratched."
Useful words and phrases:
By learning common phrases and conversation starters, we help to preserve endangered languages and contribute to keeping alive the heritage and culture of many indigenous groups that are facing the dangers of having decreasing numbers of speakers. Not only that, but we help to foster understanding and recognizing the importance of expanding linguistic variety.
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
Vocabulario. (2025). ¿Cómo se saluda en tarahumara? Vocabulario: Idiomas, frases y palabras. https://vocabulario.com.mx/blog/como-se-saluda-en-tarahumara/
Rahui y Rokó. (2022, March 17). Rahui y Rokó capítulo 1: Aprende saludos y formalidades rarámuri con nosotros [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1EW4lI62Jk
- w: A soft "u" in Spanish (similar to its use in English). Example: warú (great, big).
- g: Like the "g" in "goat" or "garden." Example: gemá (blanket).
- a: Like the "a" in Spanish but held longer. Example: ratabá chi (heat of the sun).
- e: Like the "e" in Spanish but held longer. Example: é name (where 'name' is part of the Rarámuri word for creature; animal).
- i: Like the "i" in Spanish but held longer. Example:
mí si (cat).
- o: Like the "o" in Spanish but held longer. Example: wó (ground).
- u: Like the "u" in Spanish but held longer. Example:
cú chi (small).
- s: Like the "sh" in "short." Example: siríame (traditional ruler).
- ’ (Saltillo): It's a brief pause or "glottal stop," similar to the sound in the middle of "uh-oh." Example: se’wá (fly).
*Note: the source from which this information was drawn is in Spanish, as well as the way in which the vowels sound. So it is hard to perfectly match these sounds to English.
Some phonology:
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
Some phonology:
- w: A soft "u" in Spanish (similar to its use in English). Example: warú (great, big)
- g: Like the "g" in "goat" or "garden." Example: gemá (blanket).
- a: Like the "a" in Spanish but held longer. Example: ratabá chi (heat of the sun).
- e: Like the "e" in Spanish but held longer. Example: é name (where 'name' is part of the Rarámuri word for creature; animal).
- i: Like the "i" in Spanish but held longer. Example:
mí si (cat).
- o: Like the "o" in Spanish but held longer. . Example: wó (ground).
- u: Like the "u" in Spanish but held longer. Example:
cú chi (small).
- s: Like the "sh" in "short." Example: siríame (traditional ruler).
- ’ (Saltillo): It's a brief pause or "glottal stop," similar to the sound in the middle of "uh-oh." Example: se’wá (fly).
*Note: the source from which this information was drawn is in Spanish, as well as the way in which the vowels sound. So it is hard to perfectly match these sounds to English.
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1 1
Rarámuri is a highly agglutinating language, meaning that suffixes are added to verbs in a specific order to convey different meanings. Choguita Rarámuri (a dialect) has a hierarchical structure with 6 different domains, and demonstrates how multiple suffixes can be combined to create complex verbs.
Agglutination
Reduplication involves repeating part or all the word to convey intensity, plurality or repetition, though the use of reduplication can vary depending on the language and morphology. In Rarámuri, "a-", "u-", "a’-", and "i’-" function as reduplication markers to indicate that the verb's action applies to multiple items or subjects. Verbal reduplication for example: *see table below
Reduplication
&
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Reduplication changed the meaning of the verb from a singular action to a plural one. The reduplicated form "a-mána" indicates that the action of "putting something in a container" is now being done with multiple objects.
Alvarado García, M. (2007). Procesos morfofonológicos y supletividad como mecanismos para expresar la categoría gramatical de número en tarahumara. Dimensión Antropológica, 40, 29–53. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/dimension/article/view/2360
Morphology of the word "Rarámuri"
rará (foot) + muri (to run) = foot runners. This word is also used to refer to people in general. Meanwhile, chabóchi is used for mestizos (only one parent is Rarámuri) (Estrada, 2012, cited in Sandoval Gutiérrez et al., 2021).
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
Language vulnerability
In some Rarámuri-speaking communities, the language is learnt by children, who are monolingual until they enter elementary school. From 1st to 4th grade, schools switch between Rarámuri and Spanish in order to introduce children to Spanish. When they enter 5th grade, education switches to Spanish only. The schooling process mainly promotes literacy in Spanish, in order to increase Spanish proficiency in Indigenous communities. The only written materials in Rarámuri are a few sections of the official textbooks. All of these put together increase the threat of Rarámuri being spoken less and less.
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Nouns
Rarámuri nouns don't make consistent use of suffixes to distinguish between singular and plural. Rarámuri makes uses of reduplication and suppletion (using completely different root words for singular and plural), and internal changes to the word to make a distinction between plural and singular.
- For example, as explained in the Agglutination & Reduplication pop-up, the "a-" indicator in amára functions as a reduplication marker to indicate plurality ('more than one daughter').
- Suppletion can be expressed in the Rarámuri word for child. While "towí" means child, and "kúruwi" means children, it's easy to mistakenly analyze "-wi" as the common particle, with "to-" and "kúru-" as singular/plural roots. However, as far as we know "towi" and "kúruwi" are their own roots.
- Sometimes, the word can switch from singular to plural through an internal change, like consonant changes. For example the Rarámuri word for small bowl is "bitori" with b and t, and the plural is "pirori," with p and r.
Alvarado García, M. (2007). Procesos morfofonológicos y supletividad como mecanismos para expresar la categoría gramatical de número en tarahumara. Dimensión Antropológica, 40, 29–53. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/dimension/article/view/2360
A little bit of syntax
In Rarámuri, the personal pronoun or noun goes first, followed by an optional complement, then an adjective and finally a verb. For example: Tamujé we warú ju We are runners go. More or less, this means "we are the ones who run." Similar to other Uto-Aztecan langiuages, it follows SOV order (subject - object - verb).
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
Caballero, G. (2022). A grammar of Choguita Rarámuri: In collaboration with Luz Elena León Ramírez, Sebastián Fuentes Holguín, Bertha Fuentes Loya and other Choguita Rarámuri language experts (Comprehensive Grammar Library, 5). Language Science Press. https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/328
Rarámuri Language Alive Infographic
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Transcript
Heartbeat of the sierra:
Rarámuri LAnguage alive
The Rarámuri (also known as Tarahumara) people are an Indigenous group settled in what is known as the Sierra Madre Occidental, residing in the mountains of Chihuahua. They call themselves Rarámuri (pronounced ralámuli), which translates to Spanish as “corredor a pie” (foot runner).
The Rarámuri people
The Rarámuri language is deeply connected to the natural and cultural environment of its speakers. Terms related to the flora, fauna, topography and traditional practices of the Rarámuri people are of great importance.
So what about the Rarámuri language?
Click on us!
Rarámuri language: where culture shapes words and reveals the heart of its people.
Agglutination & Reduplication
Suffixes
Nouns
Verbs
Phonology
Useful words/phrases
Phonology
The importance of preserving indigenous languages
How can we support?
Why should we care?
¡ariosibá, Matétera ba!
To understand the language, is to understand the people.
REferences
Heartbeat of the sierra:
Rarámuri LAnguage alive
Photography: Rena Effendi. Title: Lorena runs accompanied by her sister Talina. Source: Vogue.
Linguistic family
The Rarámuri language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. Rarámuri belongs to a sub-family, named Taracahitan, a group of languages spoken in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Other Uto-Aztecan that are in geographic proximity to Rarámuri are Guarijío, Yaqui, Mayo, Northern Tepehuan and O’ob Nook Pima.
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Tribal and Indigenous languages are filled with knowledge, secrets, history that without them, we risk losing sociocultural and intellectual heritages (Kipp, 2002). This heritage includes medicinal knowledge, religion, cultural practices, traditions, music, art, human relationships and all Indigenous ways to interpret science, history, astronomy, philosophy, psychology and anthropology (Aguilera & LeCompte, 2007). It is estimated that pharmaceutical companies earn approximately $85 billion per year in profits from medicines derived from plants whose healing properties were first known to Indigenous peoples (Harrison, 2007, p. 15). Who knows how we could have discovered the properties of these plants without the knowledge provided by Indigenous people and their languages?
Preserving the Rarámuri and other Indigenous languages is not only important for the Indigenous community, but for us as a society. These languages carry ancestral knowledge about nature, tradicional medicine, and the vision that tribes had about the world. Linguistic diversity helps us to promote respect and tolerance for different lifestyles, and enriches culture.
Aguilera, D., & LeCompte, M. D. (2007). Resiliency in Native languages: The tale of three Indigenous communities’ experiences with language immersion. The Journal of American Indian Education, 46(3), 11–36. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ794258
Harrison, K. D. (2007). When languages die: The extinction of the world’s languages and the erosion of human knowledge. Oxford University Press.
Kipp, D. (2002). Okoyi: To have a home. In J. Barreiro & T. Johnson (Eds.), American Indian millennium: Renewing our way of life for future generations (pp. 22–23). First Nation Development Institute.
Support organizations dedicated to preserving and documenting endangered languages.
Recognize the heritage and influence that Indigenous languages have in our modern vocabulary.
Support programs that look to implement Indigenous language education in educational programs.
Explore online (and other) sources to discover more about these languages.
Honor our Indigenous roots and recognizing the importance of their language and traditions.
Reflect on what could be lost if these languages disappear.
Caballero (2008): Reduplication causing vowel changes.
Verb morphology often includes changes such as change in sounds, accents, and vowels. They are usually triggered by suffixation.
Morphophonological changes
Since Rarámuri relies heavily on suffixes to indicate tense, mood, and aspect these suffixes also define the verb's position within the hierarchy; these hierarchical positions are called verbal domains.
Hierarchy and suffixation
Reduplication:
- Singular: maná "to put a thing in a container."
- Plural: amaná "to put multiple things in a container."
Affixation:Number making
Alvarado García (2007) illustrates the following ways Rarámuri indicates number:
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Alvarado García, M. (2007). Procesos morfofonológicos y supletividad como mecanismos para expresar la categoría gramatical de número en tarahumara. Dimensión Antropológica, 40, 29–53. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/dimension/article/view/2360
Suffix dominance
Rarámuri is mainly a suffixing language, meaning that most grammatical and derivational information is added to the end of words. Preffixes are rare, so suffixes are the prime modifiers of word meanings and grammatical functions.
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Useful words and phrases:
By learning common phrases and conversation starters, we help to preserve endangered languages and contribute to keeping alive the heritage and culture of many indigenous groups that are facing the dangers of having decreasing numbers of speakers. Not only that, but we help to foster understanding and recognizing the importance of expanding linguistic variety.
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
Vocabulario. (2025). ¿Cómo se saluda en tarahumara? Vocabulario: Idiomas, frases y palabras. https://vocabulario.com.mx/blog/como-se-saluda-en-tarahumara/
Rahui y Rokó. (2022, March 17). Rahui y Rokó capítulo 1: Aprende saludos y formalidades rarámuri con nosotros [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1EW4lI62Jk
- ’ (Saltillo): It's a brief pause or "glottal stop," similar to the sound in the middle of "uh-oh." Example: se’wá (fly).
*Note: the source from which this information was drawn is in Spanish, as well as the way in which the vowels sound. So it is hard to perfectly match these sounds to English.Some phonology:
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
Some phonology:
- ’ (Saltillo): It's a brief pause or "glottal stop," similar to the sound in the middle of "uh-oh." Example: se’wá (fly).
*Note: the source from which this information was drawn is in Spanish, as well as the way in which the vowels sound. So it is hard to perfectly match these sounds to English.Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1 1
Rarámuri is a highly agglutinating language, meaning that suffixes are added to verbs in a specific order to convey different meanings. Choguita Rarámuri (a dialect) has a hierarchical structure with 6 different domains, and demonstrates how multiple suffixes can be combined to create complex verbs.
Agglutination
Reduplication involves repeating part or all the word to convey intensity, plurality or repetition, though the use of reduplication can vary depending on the language and morphology. In Rarámuri, "a-", "u-", "a’-", and "i’-" function as reduplication markers to indicate that the verb's action applies to multiple items or subjects. Verbal reduplication for example: *see table below
Reduplication
&
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Reduplication changed the meaning of the verb from a singular action to a plural one. The reduplicated form "a-mána" indicates that the action of "putting something in a container" is now being done with multiple objects.
Alvarado García, M. (2007). Procesos morfofonológicos y supletividad como mecanismos para expresar la categoría gramatical de número en tarahumara. Dimensión Antropológica, 40, 29–53. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/dimension/article/view/2360
Morphology of the word "Rarámuri"
rará (foot) + muri (to run) = foot runners. This word is also used to refer to people in general. Meanwhile, chabóchi is used for mestizos (only one parent is Rarámuri) (Estrada, 2012, cited in Sandoval Gutiérrez et al., 2021).
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
Language vulnerability
In some Rarámuri-speaking communities, the language is learnt by children, who are monolingual until they enter elementary school. From 1st to 4th grade, schools switch between Rarámuri and Spanish in order to introduce children to Spanish. When they enter 5th grade, education switches to Spanish only. The schooling process mainly promotes literacy in Spanish, in order to increase Spanish proficiency in Indigenous communities. The only written materials in Rarámuri are a few sections of the official textbooks. All of these put together increase the threat of Rarámuri being spoken less and less.
Caballero, G. (2008). Choguita Rarámuri (Tarahumara) phonology and morphology (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley). eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9jr2f8md
Nouns
Rarámuri nouns don't make consistent use of suffixes to distinguish between singular and plural. Rarámuri makes uses of reduplication and suppletion (using completely different root words for singular and plural), and internal changes to the word to make a distinction between plural and singular.
Alvarado García, M. (2007). Procesos morfofonológicos y supletividad como mecanismos para expresar la categoría gramatical de número en tarahumara. Dimensión Antropológica, 40, 29–53. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/dimension/article/view/2360
A little bit of syntax
In Rarámuri, the personal pronoun or noun goes first, followed by an optional complement, then an adjective and finally a verb. For example: Tamujé we warú ju We are runners go. More or less, this means "we are the ones who run." Similar to other Uto-Aztecan langiuages, it follows SOV order (subject - object - verb).
Sandoval Gutiérrez, F., Domínguez Chavira, C. T., Islas Salinas, P., Beltrán Zamarrón, I., & González Torres, K. I. (2021). Rarámuri nivel inicial: Cuaderno para el docente. Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. https://elibros.uacj.mx/omp/index.php/publicaciones/catalog/view/180/161/995-1
Caballero, G. (2022). A grammar of Choguita Rarámuri: In collaboration with Luz Elena León Ramírez, Sebastián Fuentes Holguín, Bertha Fuentes Loya and other Choguita Rarámuri language experts (Comprehensive Grammar Library, 5). Language Science Press. https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/328