Hunn Zapotec Grammar English

7/29/2019 Hunn Zapotec Grammar English

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A Sketch of Mixtepec Zapotec Grammar

Eugene S. Hunn, Akesha BaronUniversity of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-3100

Roger Reeck

SIL, La Ceiba, HondurasMeinardo Hernndez Prez, Hermilo Silva CruzSan Juan Mixtepec, Oaxaca, Mxico

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction1.1. Current status of Mixtepec Zapotec.Table 1.Status of Zapotec in representative towns of the Sierra de Miahuatln region.1.2. Linguistic research on Mixtepec Zapotec.1.3. Outline of this grammatical sketch.

2. Phonology.2.1. Mixtepec Zapotec phonemes.Table 2.Mixtepec Zapotec phoneme inventory in the practical orthography.Table 3.Minimal pairs that illustrate the fortis-lenis contrast.Table 4.Minimal pairs that illustrate simple versus glottalized vowels.Table 5.Minimal pairs that illustrate tone contrast.2.2. Syllabic structure.3. Syntax.3.1. Pronouns3.1.1. Personal pronouns.3.1.2. Interrogative pronouns.3.1.3. Relative pronouns.3.2 Verbs.3.2.1. Verb stem forms.3.2.1.1. Simple verb stems.3.2.1.2. Compound verb stems.3.2.1.2.1. Adverbial stem suffixes.3.2.1.2.2. Nominal and adjectival stem suffixes.3.2.1.2.3. Compound verbal stems.3.2.2. The tense/aspect system.3.2.3. Irregularities in the verbal paradigms.3.2.3.1. Morphophonemic accommodations for aspect prefixes.3.2.3.2. Stem changing verbs.3.2.3.3. Irregular first person conjugations.3.3. Nouns.3.3.1. Nouns derived from verbs.3.3.1.1. Agentives.3.3.1.2. Stative verbal nouns.3.3.1.3. Abstract nouns from stative verbs.Table 6: Derivation of nouns and adjectives from verbs.


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3.3.2. Compound nouns.3.3.2.1. Plant names.3.3.2.2. Animal names.3.3.2.3. Place names.3.3.2.4. Personal Names.

3.4. Adjectives.3.4.1. Normal order in adjectival phrases.3.4.2. Numbers.3.4.3. Colors.3.4.4. Possessive forms.3.4.5. Comparative constructions and expressions of quantity.3.4.5.1. Reduplication.3.5. Adverbs.3.5.1. Temporal expressions.3.5.2. Spatial reference.3.6. Prepositions.

3.6.1. Prepositional phrases describing spatial relationships.3.7. Conjunctions.3.7.1. nand.3.7.2. Conjunctions formed with suffixed nthat.3.7.3. Additional conjunctions.3.8. Modals.3.9. Ornaments.4. Sentential word order.4.1. Topical focus particles.4.2. Questions.4.2.1.pWhat?4.2.2. What?p[with respect to nominals]?.4.2.2.2. p-llHow much?.4.2.2.3. p hrWhen?4.2.3. chWho?.4.2.3.1. ch chnWhose?.4.2.4. blHow many?.4.2.5.zhHow?.4.3. Negation.4.3.1. The negative affixd.4.3.1.1.When the negated stem ends in d.4.4.1. Nominal and adjectival predicates.4.4.2. Simple existential assertions.5. Complex and compound sentences.5.1. Embedded clauses.5.1.1. nthat used to introduced embedded clauses.5.1.2. zenwhen used to introduce contemporaneous coordinate clauses.6. Literature cited.7. Texts.8. Verb paradigm tables.


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1. Introduction. Mixtepec Zapotec is a language of the Zapotec family within theOtomangue Phylum. It is spoken by ca. 8,000-12,000 people of five adjacent towns onthe north slope of the Sierra de Miahuatln in Oaxaca, Mexico. This sketch is based onthe speech of one of those towns, San Juan Mixtepec, located at 16 16 N, 96 18 W.

The Zapotec family includes an indeterminate number of languages, reputed to besomewhere between four and 54 (). It is, in fact, impossible to count Zapotec languageswith any certainty, since speech differs among each of the several hundred Zapotec-speaking communities, with mutual intelligibilitythe standard criterion for defininglanguage boundariesdeclining graduallyand not always symmetricallywithintertown distances (Weathers 1975).

Most scholars recognize four genetic divisions within the Zapotec family, with Chatinoclosely allied, but distinct. Two of these divisions are located in the Sierra Norte, a thirdis located south and west of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, adjacent to the Chatino

region. The Zapotec family is comparable in time depth (and thus, presumably, in internaldiversity) to the Romance language family, descendant languages of the language of theRoman Empire, roughly contemporary with Classic Monte Albn.

Mixtepec Zapotec is best placed with this Central Division of the Zapotec family. Despiteconsiderable contact influences with adjacent Zapotec languages to the west, such asthose of the Amatln towns and of Miahuatln, MZ is most closely allied with otherZapotec languages downriver within the Tehuntepec River basin, such as the easterndialects of Mitla Zapotec. This suggests that the Mixtepec towns were settled by amovement up the Tehuntepec River valley from near Mitla. Classic period ruins in SanJuan Mixtepec (Winter 1997) suggest that this occupation dates back at least 1500 years.

1.1. Current status of Mixtepec Zapotec. MZ is not at present endangered. Census figuresfor 2000 (INEGI) report the following totals and percentages of Native Zapotec speakers(five years of age and over) with percentages of those bilingual in Spanish, as follows:

TABLE 1.Status of Zapotec in representative towns of the Sierra de Miahuatln region.Municipio/Agencia Native Speakers

5 yrs old

Percent Percent

Monolingual

San Juan Mixtepec 837 98.6% 21.9%San Pedro Mixtepec 1059 96.6% 4.3%San Lorenzo Mixtepec 156 86.7% 0.6%

San Agustn Mixtepec 18 5.0% 0.0%San ndres Mixtepec 201 98.5% 2.5%San Jos Lachiguir 2659 99.3% 23.8%Santa Catarina Quioquitani 330 91.4% 1.1%Santa Catalina Quieri 833 98.9% 4.9%San Juan Ozolotepec 3 0.5% 0.0%Santo Domingo Ozolotepec 311 36.7% 0.5%


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Names of municipos for which we cite municipal totals are in bold type; the names ofsettlements subordinate to a municipal head town or representing the head town only arein regular type. There are 4662 native speakers of MZ 5 years of age in the five MZtowns, San Juan, San Pedro, San Lorenzo, and San ndres Mixtepec and San JosLachiguir. San Agustn Mixtepec has largely abandoned Zapotec since the mid-1960s,

according to local residents (pers. comm., 2002), but the few remaining speakers mightbe added to those speaking MZ, bringing that total to 4680. In addition, we estimate thatperhaps 3,000 to 7,000 MZ speakers now live outside their natal communities, mostly incities of the Isthmus of Tehuantpec and the Central Valleys in Oaxaca and on the PacificCoast of Oaxaca and Chiapas.

The Yautepec-district towns of Quioquitani and Quieri speak closely related forms ofZapotec and might be considered to speak the same language as those of the Mixtepectowns already enumerated. The several communities included in the census tallies for SanJuan and Santo Domingo Ozolotepec also speak related dialects, though these are at asomewhat greater remove. The head town, San Juan Ozolotepec, is now predominantly

Spanish-speaking. It is not entirely clear what historical, social, political, and/oreconomic factors might account for this pattern of linguistic conservatism and innovation,but it is clearly not simply a matter of geographic isolation, as some of the least isolatedcommunities (e.g., San Jos Lachiguir) are conservative while some more isolated towns(e.g., San Juan Ozolotepec) have nearly abandoned Zapotec.

1.2. Linguistic research on Mixtepec Zapotec. The only linguistic research to date on MZis that of Roger Reeck, begun in 1973 and focused on the San Juan Mixtepec dialect.Reecks Masters Thesis (Reeck 1991) is an abridged trilingual dictionary (MZ-Spanish-English). This thesis includes a characterization of the MZ speech community, aphonological sketch, and discussion of orthographic conventions. Hunns ethnobiological

research (initiated in 1996 in San Juan), relies heavily on Reecks analysis. The SummerInstitute of Linguistics has published a number of booklets in MZ (written withoutmarking tone), which include folk tales and translations of sections of the NewTestatment(Reeck, M., Hermilo Silva, and Meinardo Hernndez 1980;). Native speakersliterate in Spanish (of those >15 years of age: 51% of San Juan, 67% of San Pedro, biasedstrongly toward males: 80% and 85% respectively) can read these without difficulty, butonly two native speakersHermilo Silva Cruz and Meinardo Hernndez Prez, both ofSan Juan Mixtepec -- have mastered writing the language. This sketch draws heavily onmaterial developed in a MZ workshop led by Hernndez Prez held at the University ofWashington in August 2000.1

1.3. Outline of this grammatical sketch. This sketch includes a description of the MZphonological system and the orthography developed for MZ. We describe the consonantsin terms of a pervasive contrasting lenis-fortis series. We note also a few rare consonantphonemes that occur primarily in Spanish loans. We discuss consonant clusters and theaffects of assimilation between adjacent consonants. There are six vowel positions, eachof which occurs in simple and glottalized variants and with anyone of four contrastive

1 We wish to thank the Jacobs Research Fund and the University of Washington for providing financial andlogistic support for this workshop.


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tones. These are illustrated by minimal pairs. We also note briefly somemorphophonemic tone changes.

We describe MZ syntax in terms of traditional parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs,

adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and ornaments (Cordova 1578a:112). We describe

typical word order (VSO; head first) and topic marking and provide a brief sketch ofcompound word formation and derivation. We pay particular attention to the forms ofnames for plants, animals, and places, most of which are compounds.

The core of our account of MZ syntax is our analysis of verbs. We describe verbinflection patterns by person, number, and tense/aspect (the six primary contrastingtense/aspect forms are described). Several common patterns of irregular verbparadigms (a function of person and number) are illustrated, but we are well aware thatthe verb inflection system is far more complex that what we describe here. We note alsosome regular derivational processes, such as those for causatives, and illustrate a numberof productive verb suffixes that have regular adverbial or semantic force.

We describe the most common negative, possessive, comparative, relative, andinterrogative constructions. We describe adjectival and adverbial expressions, such asthose for number, color, and those specifying temporal and spatial relations. We concludeby noting several intriguing semantic subtleties that distinguish a MZ (or Zapotec)cosmovision.

2.1. MZ phonemes (see Table 2) include labial, alveolar, velar, and labiovelar occlusives,in fortis and lenis series, plus alveolar and palatal affricates and fricatives, also fortis andlenis. The three semivowels do not contrast on the fortis-lenis dimension. Labial andalveolar semivowels following velar occlusives are analyzed as unitary labiovelarphonemes. The sound written ngu is analyzed as a unitary consonant phoneme (anazalized labiovelar sonorant). These analytic decisions and orthographic conventions arejustified in more detail in Reeck (1991:262-270). Labial (f) and velar (j, x)fricatives and the palatal nasal () are found only in Spanish loans, as is the silent h(which is not pronounced but written to conform to Spanish orthographic conventions inloan words).

Table 2.Mixtepec Zapotec phoneme inventory in the practical orthography,consonants.2

labial alveolar palatal velar labiovelar

occlusive:fortis

lenispb

td

c, qu, kg, gu

cu, cwgu, g, gw

affricate:

fortis ts ch

2 This chart is adapted from Reeck (1991:262-270). Due to limitations in our available fonts we havewritten the sixth vowel as E, rather than , as Reeck does. Symbols in brackets are found only in Spanishloans. Sounds with multiple spellings follow Spanish orthographic rules.


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lenis dz dxfricative:

fortis

lenis[f] s

zxzh

[x]

nasal:

fortislenis mm nn [] ngungu

lateral:

fortis

lenisll

vibrant:

fortislenis

rr, rr

semivowel:fortis

lenisww

yy

As a nave native English speaker, Hunn has experienced particular difficulty hearing thefortis-lenis contrast, as this is similar to but not quite the same as the unvoiced-voicedcontrast characteristic of English and Spanish occlusives, affricates, and fricatives. Thecontrast is particularly subtle for nasal and lateral sonorants. In word-final position, lenissonorants are scarcely audible. One strategy useful for learning this distinction is to notehow vowels are shortened when followed by a fortis as opposed to a lenis nasal or lateralsonorant. If still in doubt, one may elicit the word in a construction where the sonorant inquestion is followed by a vowel, e.g., ml- it is a star versus ml- it is a fish.

Table 2.Mixtepec Zapotec phoneme inventory in the practical orthography, vowels.3

vowel (tone)

high

mid

low

front, simple

, , , , , , , , ,

glottalized

i, i, i, ie, e, e, eE, E, E,E

back, simple

, , , , , , , , ,

glottalized

u, u, u, uo, o, o, oa, a, a, a

diphthongs e, E, u, o, ae, E, u, o, ae, E, u, o, ae, E, u, o, a

i, e, E, o,ai, e, E, o,a

i, e, E, o,ai, e, E, o,a

3 This chart is adapted from Reeck (1991:262-270). Due to limitations in our available fonts we havewritten the sixth vowel as E, rather than , as Reeck does. Symbols in brackets are found only in Spanishloans. Sounds with multiple spellings follow Spanish orthographic rules.


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The vowel system is perhaps easier for a native English speaker than for a native Spanishspeaker, as the sixth vowel is the familiar of Englishhat or cat. The simpleversus glottalized vowel contrast is also not entirely foreign to English speakers, as weare accustomed to the glottalized vowel of the admonitions uh-uh and oh-oh. MZglottalized vowels sound much like these admonitive interjections when word final or

when followed by a lenis consonant, but are reduced before fortis consonants to apreglottalization of the following consonant. One should be aware also that glottalizationmay be transferred to the preceding word in compounds or phrases, e.g., gz+ lugazlyou will bathe (Reeck 1991:265).

The following minimal (or near minimal) pairs illustrate the more subtle MZphonological distinctions.

Table 3.Minimal pairs that illustrate the fortis-lenis contrast.word initial or medial word final

b vs. p bsomen vs. psfish rbswallow vs. rphave

c/qu vs. g/gu cccoconut vs. gcdid it rclshade vs. rglburpcu/cw vs. g/gw rcwwear vs. rgwget stuckch vs. dxd vs/ t tiearth vs. didust mdtick vs. mtskunkdz vs. ts dznhoney vs. tsn13 rtsbreak vs. rdzget wetl vs/ l mlstar vs. mlfishm vs. m prmprize vs. dmowln vs. n gnI planted vs.gnI sawr vs. rr rbtenate vs. rrbpour liquids vs. z sdsilk vs. zd salt rgsturn back vs. rgzbathex vs. zh xneight vs. zhnskirt mxchigger vs. mzhdove

Table 4.Minimal pairs that illustrate simple versus glottalized vowels.i vs. ii dznhoney vs. dzinworke vs. ee mlfish vs. melsnakeE vs. EE mcooked beans vs. mE moonu vs. uu rlshow vs. rlu be showno vs. oo rnlisten vs. roncrya vs. aa ninarrow vs. niawould have done

Tone is of moderate significance in MZ, though native speakers literate in Spanish canread MZ text without tone being marked. In fact, native speakers find written diacritics

specifying tone to be distracting. However, tone is not readily predictable, so must bewritten for the benefit of non-native speakers seeking to learn the language. (It is also thecase that tone systems vary substantially among even closely related Zapotec languages.)

There are four tones in MZ: low, rising, falling, and high, roughly in order of frequency(see Reeck 1991 for more detail). Tones are most readily heard on simple vowels in wordfinal position or preceding lenis consonants. A trailing fortis consonant shortens thevowel, making tone less apparent. Tone is especially difficult to determineeven for


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linguistically trained native speakersfor glottalized vowels. However, examples offalling and high tones on glottalized vowels are few, thus simplifying matters somewhat.Tone is tricky on diphthongs, as these involve a glide which simulates a falling tone. Theactual pitch of a given high or low tone and of the onset of a rising or falling tone alsovaries (for a given speaker) depending on the height of the vowel (an i with low tone

sounds higher than an a with the same tone) and the context of the preceding tone (thesecond of two successive low tones is lower than the first, for example [Reeck1991:264]). Finally, the tone of a syllable spoken in isolation may well be different thanthe tone of the same syllable in a compound or sentence. For example, ygtree ispronounced yg in the compounded plant names yg-guirpine tree and yg-guilcustard apple tree. Native speakers cannot identify tone consistently without a great

deal of systematic practice, but will be highly amused by the awkward efforts of thenovice to master these subtleties.

Table 5.Minimal pairs that illustrate tone contrasts.low rising falling high

ie yrawmdtick

ysweat bathmdmoney

yalso

E nlEloose nlEhotu gtdead gtmay killo

chnext tolzhhairychwho?

lzhbeard

a mbnrobscbecause

mbnsadscsuffer

mbnmiss mbnlive

iiee

EEuuoo golyolk golI agedaa ba tomb bawill lieui bulooked buguavaay byrebozo byI wonderia rilfreeze rilendie guillake

bzifluteguil corn

bziwell

2.2. Syllabic structure. Mixtepec Zapotec words for the most part have a single vowelnucleus, that is, the exhibit the following canonical forms: (C)(C)CV(V)(C)(C), whereVV represents either a diphthong or a glottalized vowel. Deviations from these forms aremost often either compounds or Spanish loans. For example: by-guit, literally rebozo+ tortilla, a special woven cloth for covering tortillas; kwyhorse, < Spanish caballo.Polysyllabic Spanish words typically lose the terminal vowel. The stressed vowel (thepenultimate in regular Spanish words, which becomes the final vowel in the truncatedMixtepec Zapotec form) takes falling tone.


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3. Morphosyntax.

3.1. Pronouns

3.1.1. Personal pronouns. Subject, direct and indirect object, and possessive pronouns areinvariant and follow the verb (subject first, then object) or possessed noun. The firstapproximation is straightforward, as follows:

na I, me, my, mine lbr na 'my book'lu you, your, yours (sing.) lbr lu 'your (singular) book'm he/she, him/her, his/her(s) lbr m 'his/her book'n we, us, our, ours (incl.) lbr n 'our (inclusive) book'n we, us, our, ours (excl.) lbr n 'our (exclusive) book't you, your, yours (pl.) lbr t 'your (plural) book'zh they, them, their, theirs lbr zh 'their book'

"He gave you my book," would be, "Bded m lu lbr na."

The third person singular pronouns, however, vary by sex and age of speaker andreferent, as well as by animacy. Pronoun choices in this instance may also indexfamiliarity and/or respect. The form cited above, m, is only used by adults of either sexfor male or female persons of equal or superior age/status. A number of other third personsingular pronouns double as nouns. The most frequently employed are as follows:

m only used by adults of either sex for male or female persons ofequal or superior age/status

ndzop by adults referring to a young femalendip by adults referring to a young malenguig by adults referring to a young person of either sexmgu used to refer to an adult malemEd by adults referring to a childwn by adults referring to a childm used to refer to an animal (> mushrooms, acorns)C-,V-w pronominal suffixes used to refer to inanimate entities

3.1.2. Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. These are treated in detail below insection 4.2. The most common interrogative pronouns are:

pWhat? [with respect to nominals];chWho?;ch-chnWhose?;

3.1.3. Relative pronouns link subordinate and independent clauses. The particle nthatmost often serves this function.


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Grs m n n dn gux ntsb m.All wild animals are timid. [All animals that there are [in] wild bush [are] timid.]

3.2. Verbs.

3.2.1. Verb stem forms. Verb stems may be simple or compound.

3.2.1.1. Simple verb stems may have the canonical forms (C)V(V) (C)(C). Noun andadjective stems very rarely begin with a vowel (except for many Spanish loans) andfrequently begin with two consonants, verb stems are commonly of the form V, -VV, -VC, -VVC and never begin with two consonants. This suggests that the tense/aspectprefix functions as an integral part of the word morphophonemically. A sample of simpleverb stems is listed below:

r- a lie downr- b swallow

r- can hit, bump intor- ded giver- t dier- ee dancer- lb read, countr- ol play (an instrument)r- w eatr- rie leave, go outr- t sellr- u see, lookr- t kill

r- xel send

3.2.1.2. Compound verb stems. Compound stems may be composed of a simple stem plusand adverbial suffix (which may be more or less productive), of a simple stem plus anoun or adjective, of two simple stems, or of a simple stem plus a stem with an aspect orderivational prefix.

3.2.1.2.1. Adverbial stem suffixes. The following productive stem suffixes contributeadverbial clarification to the action of the verb:

-qualso:

briequi-qusucceed also < rriequisucceed;dw-quhas eaten already < rweat;Wn-qu-w.Its good also.

-lalready:Dw-l na.I have already eaten.gn-lmay see, take care of already < rnsee, take care of [idiomatic polite

expression];


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gl-lhas matured already < rlget old, mature, e.g., Bd gl-l hr ngaguis n? Perhaps the hour that we may eat has arrived?

Q: P gg-l bzia? Are the beans cooked yet? A: Gg-l-w. They are alreadycooked. < rgboil, cook by boiling;

Q: P ri-l zhmcal l luu? Are you sleepy yet? [literally, Exists already

your sleep to you? < ribe located, exist, live;-lsone another < lsfellowman, mankind:rcan-lshit one another < rcanhit;rlE-lsget angry at everyone < rlEget angry;rt-lskill one another < rtkill;

-niwith:rc-niaccompany/help < rcdo/make;rdl-nito fight with < rdlfight;riad-nibring


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-didzword, language, message:rdl-didz-niquarrel, argue < rdlfight + -niwith;rgal-didzinsult < rgalto be touched;rnb-didzask < rnbask for;

rz-didzchat, converse < rzstand up, appoint;-ldzcenter, town:rc-ldzwant < rchappen, be done, be able;rbn-ldzfeel sad, betrayed < rbnbe piled up ?;rib-ldzbe in a hurry < rib?;rl-ldzbelieve < nlcertain, truerne-ldzsigh < rnespeak;rian-ldzforget < rianremain, stay, be left ;

-l[meaning uncertain] < lface:rbz-lwelcome a visitor < rbzwait, live, dwell;rgun-lcast spell with evil eye < rgunstrike, hit someone;rqui-lpretend, fake < rquihit, affix, shoot

rrie-lbe able to do something < rriego out, leave;rs-lbegin < rspenetrate, soak ?;rsiab-ldiminish < rsiablower [the price];rsib-lshow up, appear < rsib?;rzie-lcross oneself < rziebe painted, decorated;

-nwith the foot < nfootrcan-nkick < rcanhitrril-nstumble < rrilbe wrapped

3.2.1.2.3. Compound verbal stems. These are compounded of the aspect marker plus thefirst stem followed by the second stem, with or without aspect or derivational prefixes:

rc-lybless < rchappen, be able;rc-lybless < rchappen, be able;rn-ctbuse up, finish something < rndo + potential aspect ofrdbbe used up,

finished;zi-cawent to sell < rigo + rcasell;zi-twent to buy < rigo + rtbuy;zi-wzwent to buy [intrans] < rigo + rz buy [intrans], with the stative prefix

w-;

3.2.2. The tense/aspect system. The canonical verb inflectional paradigm involves aninvariant stem with a mandatory tense/aspect prefix. The prefix may varymorphophonemically (as will be indicated below). We refer to these invariant stems asClass I verbs. An example is rlldz 'believes' (note: this involves a compound stem: r-marks the habitual aspect, which is used as the canonical verb form; + - l- ''; + -ldz'center'):

Habitual aspect:rlldz na I believerlldz lu you (singular) believe


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rlldz m he/she believesrlldz n we (inclusive) believerlldz n we (exclusive) believerlldz t you (plural) believerlldz zh they believe

Completive aspect (also the singular imperative, with no trailing pronoun):blldz na (et cetera)Imperative:

blldz [no pronoun appended]Future aspect:

zlldz na (etcetera)Potential aspect:

glldz na (etcetera)Progressive aspect:

nlldz na (etcetera)Irrealis aspect:

nlldz na (etcetera)An additional continuative aspect appears to be in play, but is poorly documented in

our materials. Examples include:

znquiwas leaning against, and still is < rznquilean against; this contrastswith the future snquileaned against;

zrieleft, but has not returned < rrieleave; this contrasts with the futurezrieleft;

Bdz dz zi m. He/she left late in the afternoon [and has not returned]. rigo; contrasts with future zi[in tone] and completive g.

3.2.3. Irregularities in the verbal paradigms.

3.2.3.1. The regular morphophonemic accommodations for the aspect prefixes are asfollows:

r- invariantb- before lenis and sonorant consonants (except b) and vowels;

w- before b;p- before fortis consonants;

z- before lenis and sonorant consonants (except z) and vowels;0- before z;s- before fortis consonants;

g- before lenis and sonorant consonants (except g) and a, o, and u;gu- [pronounced g] before eand i(as in Spanish);c- before ch, s;y- before c, qu;

n- invariant (except that stem-initial i-V is written y-V);n- before all consonants;

ni- before a, e, o, and u;


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0- before i.

3.2.3.2. Stem changing verbs. Several Class I verbs are irregular in the completive aspect,changing the stem vowel (often, but not always, without change of tone). The stem vowelis invariant in the other aspects. The following are the most common patterns:

Stem vowel u to ein the completive:rn 'do' bn 'did'rt 'kill' bt 'killed'

Stem vowel a to o in the completive:rc 'be, make' gc 'was/were, made'rz 'bathe' gz 'bathed'

Stem vowel eto u in the completive:rt 'die' gt 'died'

Stem vowel o to iin the completive:rn 'hear' bn 'heard'

3.2.3.3. Irregular first person conjugations. Many verbs have contrasting stem forms forcertain categories of subject pronouns. These may otherwise inflect quite regularly. Wedefine a series of verb classes in terms of these patterned irregularities. As noted above,Class I verb stems are invariant across subjects. Class II verb stems show an irregularstem pattern for first person plural only. Class III verb stems show irregularities for firstperson singular only. Class IV verb stems are doubly irregular, with one stem change forfirst person plural and another for first person singular. Other patterns may be noted, butwe have not yet analyzed them. They are infrequent.

1s 2s 3s 3p 2p 1p

I

II

III

IV

An example of a Class II verb is rzc 'think, imagine, suffer' (which exhibits a number ofadditional irregularities):1s rzc bzhac sc nzc nzc ysc1p, 2, 3 rziac bzhiac siac nziac nziac siac

An example of a Class III verb is rc'buy':1s rc pc sc nc nc yc1p, 2, 3 rca pca sca nca ncayca

A Class IV verb is r'go':1p r bi z ni ny g


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1s ri bi zi ni ny gui2,3 ri gy ze ne ny tsi

The patterning of these stem changes is complex, but not entirely unpredictable. Onepattern common to Class II verbs is the insertion of -diV-/-dzV- between the aspect prefix

and the base stem (sometimes doubling the vowel of the base stem), with a variety oftone shifts. The following exhibit the range of variation within this type:

1st singular, 2, 3 1st plural'plant, cultivate' rn rdzin'see, take care of' rn rdzin'enter, pass' rdd rdied'carry, bring' ry rdzey'live, be' ri rdzi'hear' rn rdzin'sing (as a bird)' rol rdziol

'cry' ron rdzion'eat' rw rdziow'kill' rt rdziut'cook' rug rdziug'think, imagine, suffer' rzc rdziac

A common pattern in Class III verbs involves doubling (glottalizing) the base stem vowel(with or without a tone change). This pattern is occasionally reversed (the cases marked*) and may be combined with a Class II type change in Class IV verbs.

1st singular 1st plural, 2, 3'give' rdd rded'cause to give' rtd rted'buy' rc rca'get tired'* rdzag rdzg'arrive' rdzin rdzn'speak, say' rn rne(2nd, 3rd only)'hit, stick' rqui rquia (2nd, 3rd only)'begin' rslo (1st, 2nd sing.) rsl'weigh, measure' rtx(1st, 2nd sing.) rtix

3.3. Nouns.

3.3.1. Nouns derived from verbs.

3.3.1.1. Agentives. The prefix ng- before a verb stem may derive an agentive noun. Forexample, ngtix[< rtixmeasures], literally measurer, inch worm; ngz [< rzbuys, penetrates, soaks through], literally buyer, penetrator, God of Lightning [cf.

Cocijo]; nguat [< rcuatto be deaf] deaf, deaf person;ngbch [< rbchbelazy] lazy. This prefix also serves as an animate prefix in a number of animal names


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for which the stem is unanalyzable. For example, ngrgwspiny lizard, ngldzfly,ngxgweevil, ngxop[agentive + six], six-point buck deer.

3.3.1.2. Stative verbal nouns. These are derived from verb stems by one of several stativeprefixes:

w-: wchup whistling < rchup whistle; wgagrowing milpa < rgastretch, get longer; wgubsearching < rgubsearch, look for; wguibwashing ncuan +n;n-nit is necessarypr-nbecause;

pr-nbecause;sc-nbecause;tl-nif;zaat-nwhere;zenwhen [relative pronoun] > zen +n;zh-nshe/he/they who, whoever, that which;

3.7.3. Additional conjunctions include:

dlif by chance, if, for fear ofnic-leven though, in spite of

Zh n n-d gn didz, nicl mzdra rne zh l zh b rn-d zh-w.If a person doesnt listen to reason, even though they tell him over and over he will not

listen.

nic-xeven thoughprbut < Spperobut;


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Sl bded na r ldz lu rbdz na lu, pr b chot rquibd.This morning I passed by your house and called you, but no one answered.

prqubecause < Spporquewhy;scbecause;

...sc tlpta-w rly zh rn zh-w.

...because whatever there is to do they do it happily.

tlif;tlnif;

Tln guind n n gcd s, scqu m tln guind xil m gcd csb m.If we had no legs we couldnt walk; likewise if a bird had no wings it couldnt fly.

zenso that;

zen-in order that;zenwhen [relative pronoun] > zen +n;

Zen blzh g na cf, gn na nips ban ndxi zhn ts.When I finished drinking my coffee, I saw that all that was left were the dregs.

zh-nshe/he/they who, whoever, that which;

Zhn rchob ngud g rln rlyni zh ngud...Whoever raises chickens goes to show that they like chickens...

zig-nas soon as;

Zign rsl t guilgudz, nn lugw tsi mnrzcn l zhn rn rmd.As soon as a disease starts, it is necessary that the sick person go immediately to the

person who is a healer.

3.8 Modals.

nnit is necessary, have to, must

Nn g na mndd.I have to/must go on an errand

3.9. Ornaments

bd. maybe;bzhguil. Please;dinWho knows?;blsurely, doubtless, always;


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mas. OK;x-quzh lu.Thank you (sing). [< rguzhpay];

4. Word order. The normal word order is VSO. For example, zguzh na luI will payyou and zguzh lu naYou will pay me. Reflexive verbs simply repeat the pronoun:

gw-y na naI bit myself.

4.1. A topical focus on the subject or object is marked by moving the subject or objectahead of the verb and preceding it with a focus particle. For example, la na zguzh luIwill pay you; la m zi gn doz He has gone to cultivate the corn field.

4.2. Questions. Questions normally begin with an interrogative particle or pronoun.These are illustrated below. They include:

pWhat? [with respect to nominals],pWhat? [with respect to adjectival qualities];

chWho?;ch-chnWhose?;blHow many?;p-llHow much?;p hrWhen? [literally What hour?];zhHow?.

4.2.1.pWhat? [with respect to nominals and verb objects].

Q: P-w? What is it?Q: P n? What is [this] here?Q: P rn-s lu? What are you doing? A:La na n-s.Im just here.Q: P rcldz lu gw lu? What would you like to eat?Q: P rn lu? What do you see?

4.2.1.1.palso serves as a general interrogative particle:

Q: P n Bd? Is Peter here? A: Guindm. He is not.

4.2.2. What?p[with respect to adjectival qualities]?. Q: P clr lbr rc? Whatcolor is this book?.

4.2.2.1 Where?p:

Q: P tsi lu? Where are you going?. Asking where requires that an appropriateverb be selected.Q: P n lp? Where is the pencil? A:N-w ld mzh.Its between the tables.;P l nc ldz lu? [At] where is your house [built]?;P z mnrd? Where is Meynardo [standing]?;P zhob lbr? Where is the book [lying/placed]?;


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Pndxi Sn Wn GbE? Where is San Juan Mixtepec [spread out]?;

4.2.2.2. p-llHow much?: Q: P-ll nn-? How much is it worth/What does itcost?

4.2.2.3. When? p hr,p dz,p mEWhen? [literally What hour, day, month?];4.2.3. chWho?:

Q: Ch l lu? What is your name? A: Bd l na.My name is Pedro.;Q: Ch zh lu? Who are you/what is your occupation? A: Mastr na. Im a

teacher.

Q: Ch nc lu? Who are you/what is your ethnicity? A: Grngw na. Im agringo [without negative connotations].

4.2.3.1. ch chnWhose?:

Q: Ch chn lbr ri? Whose book is this? A: Chn na-w.It is mine.

4.2.4. blHow many?:

Q: Bl z x-pEd lu? How old is [how many years has] your child?

4.2.5.zhHow?:

Q: Zh gy lu? How did it go [with you]? A: Wn-. It [went] well.Q: Zh l guie ri? What is the name of this flower?Q: Zh psed lu rne lu didz-z? How did you learn to speak Zapotec?

4.3. Negation.

Co. No.; Co, s-d na.No, I wontgo.;ld, ld no, not;

4.3.1. To assert to the contrary, affixd to the verb or noun. For example:

Gc-d csb mgun.The bird cant fly.Gr-d-.Not yet.;Guin-dl m. The animal has no name. [Literally, the animals name does not exist.];Guin-d-. There is none/It is not.Nn-d na. I dont know.Nl-d-.[true/certain + neg + inanimate pronoun] It is not true.;Pso-d-.It is not adobe. Ladr-w.It is brick.Rl-d m.The suns not out. [Literally, the sun does not show itself. Note that the sunis treated as a person, requiring the pronoun m.]wn-dbad [literally, not good < wngood < Sp. bueno]


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4.3.1.1.When the stem to be negated ends in d, adddor the doubled dbecomes fortis t+ .

bziudpurse, Bziud-.It is a purse. Bziud-d-w.It is not a purse.

psomething, ptdnothing, zero;Rmd-d-w. orRmt-w.It is not a medicine. Contrast, Rmd-. It is a medicine.

4.4.1. Nominal and adjectival predicates may lack a verb. For example:

Mastr m.She is a teacher. Alternatively, Mastr nc m.She is a teacher. < rchappen, be done, be able

MEd-scul na.I am a student. [Literally, School-child I.];Ndp li.The earth is hard. [Literally, Hard/strong earth.];Nzhni-w. It is red.Sc-w. Thats the way it is.

4.4.2. Simple existential assertions employ nthere is/are/was/were andguindthereis/are/was/were not. For example:

N n qui. Here there are rocks.Q: P n tgr n? Are therejaguars here? A1N m. There are. A2: Guind m.

There arent.

5. Complex and compound sentences.

5.1. Embedded subordinate clauses.

5.1.1. nthat is used to introduced embedded subordinate clauses: Din pll timp, nbi zh g,... Who knows how long [it was], that they were there, ...

5.1.2. zenwhen is used to introduce contemporaneous coordinate clauses. La zhgbl, zen la Dm bdzn.They had already returned, when Owl arrived.

6. Literature cited.

Black, Cheryl. 1994. Quiegolani syntax. Ph.D. dissertation. University of California,Santa Cruz.

Briggs, Elinor. 1961.Mitla Zapotec Grammar. Instituto Lingstico del Verano, Mxico,D.F.

Butler, Inez M. 1976. Reflexive constructions of Yatzachi Zapotec.International

Journal of American Linguistics 42:331-337.


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Crdova, Fray Juan de. 1578a.Arte en lengva apoteca, Casa de Pedro Balli, Mxico.Reeditado como Juan de Crdova,Arte del idioma zapoteco, bajo la direccin ycuidado de Nicoln Len, Imprenta del Gobierno dn la Escuela de Artes, Morelia,1886. Una edicin facsimilar de la edicin de 1886 fue publicada por EdicionesToledo, Mxico, D.F., 1987.

Crdova, Fray Juan de. 1578b. Vocabulario en lengva apoteca, Pedro Charte y AntonioRicardo, Mxico. Una edicin facsimilar fue publicada como Juan de Crdova,Vocabulario casstellano-zapoteco, con introduccon y notas de Wigberto JimnezMoreno, Biblioteca lingstica mexicana, 1, Instituto Nacional de Antropologa eHistoria, SEP., Mxico, 1942.

Earl, Robert. 1968. Rincn Zapotec clauses.International Journal of AmericanLinguistics 34:269-274.

Egland, Steven T. 1978.La Integibilidad Interdialectal en Mxico: Resultado de Algunos

Sondeos. Instituto Lingstico del Verano, Mxico, D.F.Fernndez de Miranda, Mara Teresa. 1964. Los prstamos espaoles del zapoteco de

Mitla.Anales de antropologa 17:259-274..

Galant, Michael R. 1998. Comparative constructions in Spanish and San Lucas Quiavin

Zapotec. Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles.

Grimes, Barbara F. et. al. 1996.Ethnologue. Summer Institute of Linguistics, Dallas,Texas. http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/.

Hunn, Eugene S. 1998. Mixtepec Zapotec ethnobiological classification: A preliminarysketch and theoretical commentary.Anthropologica 40:35-48.

Hunn, Eugene S. 2000. La Etnobiologa en El Vocabulario en Lengua apoteca deFray Juan de Crdova en Comparacin con la Actual de San Juan Mixtepec.

Cuadernos del SurNo. 15.

Jones, Ted E., and Ann D. Church. 1985. Personal pronouns in Guelava Zapotec.S.I.L. Mexico Workpapers 7:1-15.

Jones, Ted E., and Lyle M. Knudson. 1977. Guelava Zapotec phonemes. Pp. 163-180in Studies in Otomanguean Phonology, William R. Merrifield, editor. S.I.L. /University of Texas, Arlington.

Junta Columbina, eds. 1982. Vocabulario CastellanoZapoteco. (Facsimile version ofthe 1893 publication). H. Auntamiento Popular de Juchitn, Juchitn, Oaxaca.

Leal, Mary. 1950. Patterns of tone substitution in Zapotec morphology.InternationalJournal of American Linguistics 16:132-136.


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Leal, Mary and Otis Leal. 1954. Noun possession in Villa Alta Zapotec.International

Journal of American Linguistics 20:215-226.

Lee, Felicia. 1996. Antisymmetry and the syntax of San Lucas Quiavin Zapotec. Ph.D.

dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles.Lopez, Felipe and Pamela Munro. 1999. Zapotec immigration: The San Lucas Quiavin

experience.Aztln 24:129-149.

Lyman, Larry. 1964. The verb syntagmemes of Choapan Zapotec.Linguistics: An

International Review 7:16-41.

Lyman, Larry and Rosemary Lyman. 1977. Choapan Zapotec phonology. Studies inOtomanguean Phonology. Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texasat Arlington, Dallas.

MacLaury, Robert Ethan. 1970. Ayoquesco Zapotec: Ethnography, phononlogy, andlexicon. M.A. Thesis, University of the Americas, Mxico.

Marcus, Joyce. 1980. Zapotec writing. Scientific American 242:50-64.

Marlett, Stephen and Velma Pickett. 1987. The syllable structure and aspect morphologyof Isthmus Zapotec.International Journal of American Linguistics 53:398-422.

Munro, Pamela. 1996. Making a Zapotec dictionary.Dictionaries 17:131-155.

Munro, Pamela and Lopez, Felipe. 1999.Dicsyonaary X:ten Dizh Sah Sann Luuc.San Lucas Quiavin Zapotec Dictionary. Diccionario Zapoteco de San Lucas

Quiavin. Volume 1.Zapotec-English-Spanish Dictionary. Chicano Studies ResearchCenter, Los Angeles.

Nader, Laura. 1969. The Zapotec of Oaxaca. Pp. 329-359 inHandbook of MiddleAmerican Indians, volume 7:Ethnology, part 1, Robert Wauchope and Evon Vogt,editors. University of Texas Press, Austin.

Nellis, Donald and Barbara Hollenbach. 1980. Fortis and lenis in Cajonos Zapotec

phonology.International Journal of American Linguistics 46:92-105.

Nellis, Neal and Jane Nellis. 1983. Vocabulario Zapoteco de la Sierra Jurez. InstitutoLingstico del Verano, Mxico, D.F.

Pickett, Velma et al.. 1988. Vocabulario Zapoteco del Istmo: Castellano-Zapoteco yZapoteco-Castellano, corregido y aumentado. Serie de Vocabularios IndgenasMariano Silva y Aceves 3. Secretara de Educacin Pblica, Mxico, D.F.


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Pickett, Velma. 1960. The Grammatical Hierarchy of Isthmus Zapotec. LinguisticSociety of America, Baltimore, Maryland.

Pike, Eunice V. 1948. Problems in Zapotec tone analysis.International Journal ofAmerican Linguistics 14:161-170.

Radin, Paul. 1930. A preliminary sketch of the Zapotec Language.Language 6:3.

Radin, Paul. 1935. An historical legend of the Zapotecs.Ibero-Americana 9. Universityof California Press, Berkeley.

Rendn, Juan Jos. 1967. Relaciones internas de las lenguas de la familia Zapoteca-Chatino.Anales de Antropologa 4:187-190. Mxico, D.F.

Rendn, Juan Jos. 1975. Estudios de los factores sociales en la diversificacin del Zapoteco.Anales de Antropologa 12:283-318. Mxico, D.F.

Rendn, Juan Jos. 1995.Diversificacin de las lenguas zapotecas. Centro deInvestigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropologa SocialOaxaca, InstitutoOaxaqueo de las Culturas, Mxico, D.F.

Reeck, Roger. 1981. Mixtepec Zapotec kinship terms. In.Proto-Otomanguean Kinship,William Merrifield, editor. International Museum of Cultures, Dallas, Texas.

Reeck, Roger. 1982. Sixteenth-century Valley Zapotec: A challenge for linguistics andethnohistory.Native American Ethnohistory 23 (2):369-375. Joseph Whitecotton andJudith Bradley Whitecotton, editors. University of Oklahoma, Norman.

Reeck, Roger. 1991. A trilingual dictionary in Zapotec, English and Spanish. M.A.Thesis, Universidad de las Amricas-Puebla.

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Stubblefield, Carol. 1981. Mitla Zapotec kinship terms. Pp. 307-308 inProtoOtomanguean Kinship, William R. Merrifield, editor. International Museum ofCultures, Dallas, Texas.

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Texts

La prcw zirie nz ly, zen la t gxti-dx ps, la mri briequi g bdznnixtib.

art la focus/emphasis particleN prcw pericoasp + V n-rie esta saliendo [rrie, progresivo]prep. nz hacaadv ly afuerarel pro zen cuandoart la focus/emphasis particleadj/num t oneN comp gxti-dx big cloud of dust [smoke + dust + large]asp + V p-s burst forth [completivo, r-s alzar]

art la focus/emphasis particlean + N m-ri correcamino [roadrunner]asp + V + sf b-rie-qui left in front [completivo, r-rie+qui]adv g thereasp + V + sf b-dzn-ni arrived with [completivo, r-dzn+ni]pos + N x-dib its feather


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Loxaque brieequia win ro yu laa mEcw biasle pquia lad win, pquiadan win redz, loredz co haxta mEcw bdzieb.

"As soon as the child went outside, the dog jumped on her and she let out so loud a

scream that even the dog got scared."adv + adv lx +qu as soon asasp + V + V b+ rie+ qui past + left + in frontN wn childprep r mouth, edgeN y housefocus la topican + N m+ cw dogasp + V + adv b+ is+ l past + jump + alreadyasp + V p +qui past + hit

prep ld on, towardN wn childasp + V p+ qui past + hitN wn childN rdz shout, cryprep l to, at, onN rdz shout, cryrel pro c over thereprep hxt


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Table 6: Derivation of nouns and adjectives from verbs.

Documents

Hunn Zapotec Grammar English