Mitla Zapotec
Mitla Zapotec, or Didxsaj,[2] is an Oto-Manguean language of Oaxaca, Mexico.
| Mitla Zapotec | |
|---|---|
| (San Pablo Villa de Mitla) | |
| Didxsaj | |
| Pronunciation | [didʒˈsaʰ] |
| Native to | Mexico |
| Region | Mitla Valley, Oaxaca |
Native speakers | (20,000 cited 1983)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | zaw |
| Glottolog | mitl1236 |
Guelavia Zapotec is reported to be 75% intelligible, but the reverse is apparently not the case.[1]
Phonetics, phonology, and orthography
Mitla Zapotec has the following consonants:[3]
- Fortis: p, t, k, kw, s, ʃ, m:, n:, l:
- Lenis: b, d, g, gw, z, ʒ, m, n, l
- Neutral: ɾ [flap r], r [trill r], f, x, ʔ, h, w, y.
/f/ is rare in native words.
- Mitla Zapotec has six vowels: /a, æ, e, i, o, u/. The vowel /æ/ is written ⟨ä⟩ in the practical orthography.
Vowels contrast in phonation, with a difference between modal phonation, breathy phonation, and creaky phonation. For example
- gihts [gi̤ts] 'paper'
- be'ts [bḛts] 'louse'
Noun morphology
Mitla Zapotec has little noun morphology. Pluralization is indicated by a plural proclitic /re=/, as in the following example
re=guejdx
[re=ge̤dʒ]
PL=village
'villages'
Alienably possessed nouns have a prefix ʃ- (spelled ⟨x⟩ in the popular orthography), as in the following examples (cited first in practical orthography, then in IPA).[4]
x-cojb
[ʃ-ko̤b
POSS-dough
Maria
maria]
Maria
'Maria's dough'
x-cu'n=reni
[ʃ-kuʔn=ɾeni]
POSS-tortilla=3pl
'their tortillas'
Verb morphology
Aspectual morphology
Briggs analyses Mitla Zapotec as having six aspects, each of which has an ablative ('go and V') and non-ablative variant. They are
- continuative, e.g., ka' 'to take' ka-ká'-ni 'he continually takes'
- habitual, e.g., wi 'to see' r-wi-ni 'he habitually sees'
- completive, e.g., sloh 'to begin' gu-sloh-ni 'he began'
- potential, e.g., sæu 'to close' gu-su-ni-ni 'he is going to close it'
- unfulfilled, e.g., llux 'to finish' nu-llûx-ni 'he didn't finish'
- incomplete, e.g., re 'to invite' zu-re-ni 'he will invite'
The following example shows the aspectual inflection of three verbs in Mitla Zapotec.[5]
| habitual | unreal | continuative | potential | definite future | completive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /ɾ-baʰnː/ | /ni-baʰnː/ | /ka-baʰnː/ | /gi-baʰnː/ | /si-baʰnː/ | /bi-baʰnː/ | ' wake up' |
| /ɾ-aʰdʒ/ | /nj-aʰdʒ/ | /kaj-aʰdʒ/ | /g-adʒ/[6] | /s-aʰdʒ/ | /guʰdʒ/ | ' get wet' |
| /ɾ-uʰn/ | /nj-uʰn/ | /kaj-uʰn/ | /g-uʰn/ | /s-uʰn/ | /b-eʰn/ | ' do, make' |
Person marking
Person marking is shown with a set of post-verbal clitics, which are used for both subjects and objects[7]
| singular | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | =ǽ | =nú | |
| 2nd person | =lu | =tú | |
| 3rd person | ordinary | =ni | =reni |
| respect | =bá | ||
| male to male | =xí | ||
The following examples show examples of verbs with aspect and person marking
Gu-kwaʔts=ǽ=lu
POT-hide=1sg=2sg
'I am going to hide you.'
Ba-saʔN=ǽ=tú
COMPL-leave=1sg=2pl
'I left you (pl).'
Syntax
The most basic word order is VSO. However, SVO also occurs, especially with a topicalized subject.
Zä
go
nigui=re
man=this
'This man went away'
Narä
I
r-hui=ä́
HAB-see=1sg
la'tu
2pl
'I see you (pl).'
R-ahp
HAB-have
byûz
child
llîbr
book
'The child has a book'
References
- Mitla Zapotec at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- Stubblefield & Stubblefield (1991:18)
- Briggs, Elinor (1961). Mitla Zapotec Grammar. p. 3-4.
- Stubblefield, Morris and Carol (1991). Diccionario Zapoteco de Mitla. Instituo Linguistico de Verano. p. 198.
- Stubblefield & Stubblefield (1991:211,218)
- The stem loses the aspiration feature in this form.
- Briggs, Elinor (1961). Mitla Zapotec Grammar. Instituto Linguistico de Verano. p. 63-4.
- "Mitla Zapotec (zaw)". Summer Institute of Linguistics in Mexico. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
- Briggs, Elinor. 1961. Mitla Zapotec grammar. Mexico City: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano and Centro de Investigaciones Antropológicas de México.
- Stubblefield, Morris and Carol Stubblefield. 1991. Diccionario Zapoteco de Mitla. Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, Mexico.
- Stubblefield, Morris & Carol Stubblefield, compilers. 1994. Mitla Zapotec texts. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.