| Macorix | |
|---|---|
| Mazorij | |
| Native to | Dominican Republic, possibly neighboringHaiti |
| Region | two populations: northern coast, bordering thePeninsula of Samaná |
| Ethnicity | Macorix |
| Extinct | 16th century |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
 Precolombian languages of the Antilles. Macorix Ciboney Taíno,Classic Taíno, andIñeri were Arawakan,Karina andYao were Cariban.Guanahatabey,Ciguayo, and Macorix are unclassified. | |
Macorix (also spelledMaçorís orMazorij) was the language of the northern coast of what is today the Dominican Republic. Spanish accounts only refer to three languages on the island: Taíno, Macorix, and neighboringCiguayo. TheMacorix people appear to have been semi-sedentary and their presence seems to have predated the agriculturalTaíno who came to occupy much of the island. For the early European writers, they shared similarities with the nearbyCiguayos.[1] Their language appears to have been moribund at the time of theSpanish Conquest, and within a century it was extinct.[2]
Upper Macoris was spoken on the north-central coast of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Magua fromPuerto Plata toNagua, and inland toSan Francisco de Macorís and further. It was also distributed on the southeast coast ofHispaniola aroundSan Pedro de Macorís.[3]
Lower Macoris was spoken in the northwestern part of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Magua fromMonte Cristi toPuerto Plata, and from the coast inland to the area ofSantiago de los Caballeros.[3]
Little is known of Macorix apart from it being a distinct language from Taino and neighboring Ciguayo. A negative form,baeza[baˈesa], is the only element of the language that is directly attested.Baeza could be Arawakan (though not Taino orIñeri), analyzable asba-ésa 'no-thing' = 'nothing'. (Cf.Manaoma-esa 'no, not',Paresisma-isa 'not'. The negative prefix isba- inAmarakaeri which, even if it is related to the Arawakan languages, is not close enough to be relevant here.)
There are also some non-Taino toponyms from the area that Granberry & Vescelius (2004) suggest may beWaroid:
| Name | Warao parallel | Warao meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Baho (river) | baho-ro | 'shroud, dense (forest)' |
| Bahoruco (region) | baho-ro-eku | 'within the forest' |
| Mana (river) | mana | 'two, double' |
| Haina (river) | ha-ina | 'many nets' |
| Saona (island) | sa-ona | 'full of bats' |
(Cf. a similar list atGuanahatabey language.)