Kapan

Kapan (Armenian: Կապան), is a town in southeast Armenia and the capital of the Syunik Province. It is located 316 kilometres (196 miles) south of the capital Yerevan, on the northern slopes of Mount Khustup, in the valley of Voghji River. According to the 2011 census, the population of Kapan is 43,190, slightly declined from 45,711 in the 2001 census. Kapan is the most populous town in the Syunik Province and the entire region of southern Armenia.

The town was known as Ghapan (Armenian: Ղափան) during the Soviet period.

Etymology

The word Kapan originates from the Armenian verb kapel (կապել), meaning "to lock", and points to an old Armenian geographic term for valleys surrounded by interlocked mountain chains.

History

The area of modern-day Kapan was first mentioned in the 5th century as a small settlement. Historically, the town was part of the Baghk canton of Syunik, the 9th province of the historic Kingdom of Armenia (Armenia Major). By the end of the 10th century, the ruler of Syunik; prince Smbat II, moved to the town of Kapan and founded the Kingdom of Syunik, proclaiming himself a king under the protectorate of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia.

Kapan (disambiguation)

Kapan may refer to:

Jamamadí language

Madí—also known as Jamamadí (Yamamadí, Yamamandi, Yamadi) after one of its dialects, and also Kapaná or Kanamanti (Canamanti)—is an Arawan language spoken by about 800 Jamamadi, Banawá, and Jarawara people scattered over Amazonas, Brazil.

The language has an active–stative clause structure with an agent–object–verb or object–agent–verb word order, depending on whether the agent or object is the topic of discussion (AOV appears to be the default).

The dialects of Jamamadi that are or were once spoken include Bom Futuro, Pauini, Mamoria, Cuchudua, Jaruára (Jarawara, Yarawara), Kitiya (Banawá, Banawa Yafi, Jafí), and Tukurina. Pama, Sewacu, Sipo, and Yuberi were either dialects or closely related languages.

Phonology

The phonology is illustrated here with the Jarawara dialect:

Vowels

Consonants

The glottal stop [ʔ] has a limited distribution.

The liquid /r/ may be realized as a trill [r], flap [ɾ], or lateral [l]. The palatal stop /ɟ/ may be realized as a semivowel [j].

The glottal fricative /h̃/ is nasalized. See rhinoglottophilia.