Zoogocho Zapotec
# Zoogocho Zapotec

Zoogocho Zapotec, or Diža'xon, is a Zapotec language of Oaxaca, Mexico.

It is spoken in San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Oaxaca, Santa María Yalina, Tabehua, and Oaxaca City.

As of 2013, about 1,500 "Zoogochenses" live in Los Angeles, California. Classes are held in the MacArthur Park neighborhood to preserve the Zoogocho Zapotec language.

The language is also known as Tabehua, Yalina, Zapoteco de San Bartolomé Zoogocho, and Zoogocho.

## Phonology

### Vowels

| | Front | Back |
| - | - | - |
| Close | i | (u) |
| Mid | e | o |
| Open | a | a |

There are a total of five vowels in San Bartolomé Zoogocho Zapotec. The /u/ sound is used in loanwords. Phonation types include: VV, VhV, V'. VV stands for double vowels that produce a creaky voice, vowels which include an h in between them produce a breathy sounds such as in the word yáhà, and vowels such as V' are checked vowels.

### Tones

Tones include high, mid, low, rising and falling. Lower tonal qualities are seen more commonly in breathy tones, while checked vowels have a higher tone quality. Although it's common for breathy to have a lower tones and checked vowels commonly have higher tones, this is considered a distinct phenomenon and tone can't be predicted based on phonation types.

Example: yáhà 'weapon’

### Stress

In Zoogocho Zapotec, stress is most commonly found on the penultimate syllable of a stem. Stress is not found in words that are made of more than one root, in this situation, the stress(accent) will fall on the second root.

Example: Ni'ihe 'nixtamal'; Yeten 'the tortilla

### Syllable Structure

(C)CV(V)(C)(C), there are no restrictions on phonation type on the vowels in this type of syllable set up.

### Consonants

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Retroflex | Velar | Labio- velar | Uvular | Glottal |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | | | k | kʷ | | ʔ |
| Plosive | voiced | b | d | | | ɡ | | | |
| Affricate | voiceless | | | tʃ | | | | | |
| Affricate | voiced | | | dʒ | | | | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | | s | ʃ | ʂ | | | | |
| Fricative | voiced | | z | ʒ | ʐ | | | ʁ | |
| Nasal | voiced | m | n | | | | | | |
| Nasal | voiceless | | n̥ | | | | | | |
| Rhotic | Rhotic | | (ɾ) | | | | | | |
| Lateral | voiced | | l | | | | | | |
| Lateral | voiceless | | l̥ | | | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | | | j | | | w | | |

A few sounds also occur in loanwords from Spanish: /f/, /ɾ/, /ɲ/, /x/, /r/, /ɲ/, and /x/.

## Morphology

### Nominal Morphology

Nominal means to be categorized in a group of nouns and adjectives, the morphology occurs in a noun phrase.

x-migw=a’

POSS-friend=1SG

x-migw=a’

POSS-friend=1SG

‘my friend’

x-kuzh

POSS-pig

lalo

lalo

x-kuzh lalo

POSS-pig lalo

‘Lalo’s pig’

x-dao=be’

POSS-corn.tassel=3SG.INF

x-dao=be’

POSS-corn.tassel=3SG.INF

‘his corn tassel’

**Possession**

Possession is indicated by placing the possessor or possessive pronoun after the item possessed (Inherent possession is the items being possessed) which is marked prenominally with prefix x- , the possessed nominal then is developed by a pronominal clitic or noun phrase.

**Pronominal Clitic**

Or noun phrase is pronounced like an affix. Clitics play a syntactic role at the phrase level.

### Verbal Morphology

No tense in this language. Zoogocho Zapotec relies on 'temporal particles' za, ba, na, gxe, or neghe.

**Primary Aspect**

Events that are still occurring, occurred, or will occur over a period of time. The continuative aspect of the examples is dx- .

dx-e-ban-e’

CONT-FREQ-wake=3F

yogo

every

zhaha

day

dx-e-ban-e’ yogo zhaha

CONT-FREQ-wake=3F every day

‘She wakes up every day.’

bi

what

dx-aog

CONT-eat

zxoana

Juan

bi dx-aog zxoana

what CONT-eat Juan

‘What is Juan eating?’

The completive aspect is usually marked as b-, gw-, gud-, or g-. This aspect reflects the completion of the event occurred.

b-e-ban=e’

COMP-FREQ-wake=3F

b-e-ban=e’

COMP-FREQ-wake=3F

‘She used to wake up.’

ga

where

gud-ao=be’

COMP-eat=3SG.INF

yet

tortilla

ga gud-ao=be’ yet

where COMP-eat=3SG.INF tortilla

‘Where did he eat the tortilla?’

The potential aspect refers to an event that has not yet happened or an event that has not been specified. This aspect is marked by gu- or gw-.

gw-e-ban=e’

POT-FREQ-wake=3F

gw-e-ban=e’

POT-FREQ-wake=3F

‘She will wake up.’

dx-bez=a’

CONT-hope=1SG

w-aow

POT-eat

bidao

child

yeth

tortilla

dx-bez=a’ w-aow bidao yeth

CONT-hope=1SG POT-eat child tortilla

‘I hope the kid eats the tortilla.’

bate’

when

y-egh=o’

POT-drink=2S

nis

water

bate’ y-egh=o’ nis

when POT-drink=2S water

‘When are you going to drink water?’

The stative aspect is referred to as the prefix n- or by nothing at all. This aspect has multiple uses, such as, expressing the states and conditions and habitual meaning.

m-ban=a’

STAT-live=1SG

m-ban=a’

STAT-live=1SG

‘I am alive.’

kuzh

pig

la

FOC

n-dxe=be’

STAT-carry=3SG.INF

ke?

no

kuzh la n-dxe=be’ ke?

pig FOC STAT-carry=3SG.INF no

‘He’s carrying a pig, right?’

nake

how

gud-itgh=le

COMP-play=2PL

kate

when

n-ak=le

STAT-be=2PL

bidao=na’

child=DET

nake gud-itgh=le kate n-ak=le bidao=na’

how COMP-play=2PL when STAT-be=2PL child=DET

‘How did you all use to play when you were children?’

Maria

Maria

n-ak-dx=e’

HAB-be-more=3F

benhe

person

zxen

large

ka

than

xoan

Juan

Maria n-ak-dx=e’ benhe zxen ka xoan

Maria HAB-be-more=3F person large than Juan

‘Maria is larger than Juan.’

Table 4.1 Conjugation in gw- :

| | Conjugation in gw- |
| - | - |
| Potential | gw- |
| Completive | b- |
| Continuative | dx- |
| Stative | n- |

## Orthography

### Dillawalhall Zapotec Alphabet

a, b, ch, chh, d, e, f, g, i, j, k, l, ll, lh, m, n, nh, o, p, r, rh, s, sh, t, u, w, x, xh, y, z.

### Vowels

Vowels are as follows.

| A/a, E/e, I/i, O/o | A’/a’, E’/e’, I’/i’, O’/o’ | A’A, a’a, E’E, e’e, I’I, i’i O’O/u’u |
| - | - | - |
| Ba: Tumba De: ceniza Bi: No, negación Do: mecate (con u para nuevas generaciones) | La’: Oaxaca Ye’: enfermedad de la piel Li’: aguijón Yo’: casa | Za’a: elote Ze’e: pared Zi’i: está pesado Yo’o: vamos |

### Consonants

Consonants are as follows.

| B/b Beb: ceniza Bid: chinche | CH/ch chop: dos Bach: ya | CHH/chh Chhak: algo que se está haciendo Nhachh: entonces Chho’: tos | D/d Da: ven De: ceniza Déd: lejos Dé: hay dud |
| - | - | - | - |
| F/f Yej fre: floripondio | G/g Ga: 9 Bgab: escalera Go: camote Nhaga’: mi oreja | J/j Jed: gallina Bej: pozo Jia: gallo Yetj: caña | K/j Ka’: así Beko’: perro Ki: así Nhake’: es Nhaka’: soy |
| L/l Lao: lazo de penca de maguey Bel: culebra Bél: pescado Lí: cierto, verdadero | LL/ll Lli’: abajo, al sur Lla: día Bell: tigre Yill: cicatriz | LH/lh Lhao (rhao): tu nombre Lhillo’ (rhillo’): tu casa Lhe’ (rhe’): tú Zilh (zirh): por la mañana | M/m (hay pocas palabras) Mechho: dinero Llome (llom): canasta Dam: tecolote |
| N/n Na’: hoy, ahora Ne’: ten Bene’: persona | NH/nh Nhi: aquí Nhile: nixtamal Nha’: ahí Nholhe: mujer Bnha’: lávate Benhi’: claridad | P/p (pocas palabras) Padioxh: saludo Tap: 4 Pita’: arcoiris | R/r (pocas palabras, se usa para escribir préstamos del español) Rob: arroba Ros: rosa, arroz Rós: Rosa |
| RH/rh (Existen pocas palabras. Niños y jóvenes actualmente la usan en lugar de LH/lh. Por lo que lo pueden escribir con esta letra aunque lo pronuncien con RH) Rhiz: pequeño Rhito: Margarita | S/s Sib: alto, refiriéndose a casa, pared, árbol. Se usa también chhá’ (arriba) Sa’o: pedazos de vidrio Bes: riega (objetos) Bsa’: raspa o pon en movimiento algo Nhis: agua | SH/sh Shi: 10 Sha’: cazuela Shod (shud): zopilote Gash: Amarillo Bsha’: cambia | T/t Tap: 4 To: 1 Bat: cuándo Btao: maíz aposcahuado |
| W/w Wí: naranja Wag: leña Wekoell: Músico Weya’: Danza Tawa’: mi abuela Wenllin: trabajador | X/x Xjollo’: Zoogocho Xao: tu papá Xop: 6 Bex: tomate Bxin: aura Bxide’: estropajo | XH/xh Xhiko’: Tu perro Xhis: barañas Bxhidw: beso Xhiga’: jícara Xop: 6 | Y/y Ya: fierro Yag: árbol Beye’: hielo Laya’: mi diente Yade: Yaté |
| Z/z Za: frijol Beza’: zorra Nhez: camino Bzinha’: ratón | | | |

## Syntax

### Sentence Structure

Zoogocho Zapotec uses Verb Subject Object sentence structure. It is possible to use Object Verb Subject, and Subject Verb Object but they only occur in special situations.

Sentence Structure :

| Verb Subject Object (VSO) | Object Verb Subject (OVS) | Subject Verb Object (SVO) |
| - | - | - |
| dx-aogoCONT-eatbe’ko’dogyettortilladx-aogo be’ko’ yetCONT-eat dog tortilla‘The dog is eating tortillas.’ | yettortilladx-aogoCONT-eatbe’ko’dogyet dx-aogo be’ko’tortilla CONT-eat dog‘Tortillas, the dog is eating.’ | be’ko’=n’dog=DETdx-aogoCONT-eatyettortillabe’ko’=n’ dx-aogo yetdog=DET CONT-eat tortilla‘It’s the dog that’s eating tortillas.’ |

**Noun Phrases**

Adjective-Noun Order: The ordering of adjectives and nouns.

When asked to cite adjectives in isolations native speakers will invariably put da the inanimate classifier in front of the adjective.

Da is used as an inanimate classifier, bi is a classifier for small things and be is an animate classifier. These three classifiers can be used in sentences when agreeing with the head noun. The reason behind the conditioning for this remains undetermined.

**Plural Markers**

Not always present in plural noun phrases, and plurality is either recovered from context or from verbal marking. Ka is used to mark a plural noun

**Demonstratives**

Demonstratives follow their nouns, and either appear by themselves as in or with a classifier as in.

**Determiners**

The determiner is a clitic which has three main variants; one which occurs following a non-nasal consonant as in is =en’, one which occurs with words ending in n or nh is =na’, as in , and, finally, the one which occurs after a vowel is =n or =na’ in free variation as in . Determiners occur at the end of a noun phrase.

