“How do you even know what ideophones mean?”

Using data from the Northern Pastaza (qvc) and Upper Napo Quichua (quw) dialects of Amazonian Ecuador, this paper argues that the semantics of ideophones, a highly marked form class of expressive words, is principled and describable with a combination of sensori-semantic features and a fine-grained typology of gestures, based on insights from Streeck (2008) and others. Specifically, ideophones’ sensori-semantics are broken down into a semantic map consisting of 3 super- and 7 subcategorical distinctions. The greater the number of categories encoded by an ideophone’s semantics, the greater are the range of gestures used. Finally, gesture types identified by Streeck (2008) and others, were found among a very different group of people who are not western, educated, industrialized, rich, or democratic. Further research into ideophones and their gestures may find broader significance for ideophone semantics, and more generally, for the interrelations between language and gesture.

A Framework to Incorporate Biological Soil Quality Indicators into Assessing the Sustainability of Territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon

In Amazonian Ecuador, land-use change from tropical rainforest to different productive purposes is leading to irreversible situations from an environmental perspective. The objective of this paper was to highlight the significance of the biological components in the soils in Amazonian Ecuador, and the importance of considering biological soil quality indexes when assessing environmental impacts in the soils of tropical Pan-Amazonian areas. Since the literature on the subject is dispersed and inaccessible, a bibliographic review was conducted, with the aim of compiling protocols and proposals for practical utilization. We compiled tables, including specific indicators from the biological point of view. We present the available methods for assessing the sustainability of Amazonian territories through the analysis of soil quality. Our contribution facilitates an edaphic perspective to be taken into account in decision-making processes for sustainable territorial development.