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Mitla Zapotec

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Mitla Zapotec
(San Pablo Villa de Mitla)
Didxsaj
Pronunciation[didʒˈsaʰ]
Native toMexico
RegionMitla Valley, Oaxaca
Native speakers
(20,000 cited 1983)[1]
Oto-Manguean
Language codes
ISO 639-3zaw
Glottologmitl1236

Mitla Zapotec, or Didxsaj,[2] is an Oto-Manguean language of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Guelavia Zapotec is reported to be 75% intelligible, but the reverse is apparently not the case.[1]

Phonetics, phonology, and orthography

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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

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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

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

x-cojb Maria

[ʃ-ko̤b maria]

POSS-dough Maria

'Maria's dough'

x-cu'n=reni

[ʃ-kuʔn=ɾeni]

POSS-tortilla=3pl

x-cu'n=reni

[ʃ-kuʔn=ɾeni]

POSS-tortilla=3pl

'their tortillas'

Verb morphology

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Aspectual morphology

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Briggs analyses Mitla Zapotec as having six aspects, each of which has an ablative ('go and V') and non-ablative variant. They are

  1. continuative, e.g., ka' 'to take' ka-ká'-ni 'he continually takes'
  2. habitual, e.g., wi 'to see' r-wi-ni 'he habitually sees'
  3. completive, e.g., sloh 'to begin' gu-sloh-ni 'he began'
  4. potential, e.g., sæu 'to close' gu-su-ni-ni 'he is going to close it'
  5. unfulfilled, e.g., llux 'to finish' nu-llûx-ni 'he didn't finish'
  6. 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

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Person marking is shown with a set of post-verbal clitics, which are used for both subjects and objects[7]

singular plural
1st person =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

Gu-kwaʔts=ǽ=lu

POT-hide=1sg=2sg

'I am going to hide you.'

Ba-saʔN=ǽ=tú

COMPL-leave=1sg=2pl

Ba-saʔN=ǽ=tú

COMPL-leave=1sg=2pl

'I left you (pl).'

Syntax

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The most basic word order is VSO. However, SVO also occurs, especially with a topicalized subject.

go

nigui=re

man=this

Zä nigui=re

go man=this

'This man went away'

Narä

I

r-hui=ä́

HAB-see=1sg

la'tu

2pl

Narä r-hui=ä́ la'tu

I HAB-see=1sg 2pl

'I see you (pl).'

R-ahp

HAB-have

byûz

child

llîbr

book

R-ahp byûz llîbr

HAB-have child book

'The child has a book'

References

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  1. ^ a b Mitla Zapotec at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Stubblefield & Stubblefield (1991:18)
  3. ^ Briggs, Elinor (1961). Mitla Zapotec Grammar. p. 3-4.
  4. ^ Stubblefield, Morris and Carol (1991). Diccionario Zapoteco de Mitla. Instituo Linguistico de Verano. p. 198.
  5. ^ Stubblefield & Stubblefield (1991:211,218)
  6. ^ The stem loses the aspiration feature in this form.
  7. ^ 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.
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