6. Lecsyony Xop: Caseidy Lia Len Ingles “Elena is learning English”

This lesson introduces several different new verb forms. Perfective verbs are presented in section §6.1, along with the concepts of verb stems and bases. Section §6.2 presents imperatives, and section §6.3 sentences with indefinite objects. Section §6.4 presents progressive verbs. Section §6.5 introduces the concept of irregular verbs, and section §6.6 verbs that can be used in more than one sentence pattern. The use of cuan “and, with” is described in section §6.7.


Fot Teiby xte Lecsyony Xop. Geraniums on a patio in Tlacolula.

Ra Dizh

as [a’s] 1. hi, hey; 2. (used before an imperative; see lesson)

as nia [a’s nniìa’] 1. hi there; 2. (used before an imperative; see lesson)

bdua [bdùùa’] banana

bolz [bo’oollz] bag

bxady [bx:àady] chapulin (edible grasshopper)

campan [campa’nn] bell

cuan [cuahnn] / quën [quëhnn] and; with

cha [chah] one; a, an (with breadstuffs — see lesson)

Dizhsa [Dìi’zhsah] Zapotec language

Dizhtily [Dìi’zhtiilly] Spanish language

guan [gùu’ann] bull

guetxtily [guehtx:tiilly] bread; loaf of bread

Ingles [Ingle’s] English language

Jwany [Jwaany] Juan

lapy [la’py] pencil

Lia Petr [Lia Pe’tr] Petra

mansan [mannsaan] apple

na [nah] now

nai [nài’] yesterday

pwert [pwee’rt] door

rata zhi [ra’ta’ zh:ih] every day

rbeb [rbèe’b] rides (an animal)

rbix [rbi’ihx] rings (of a bell)

rnab [rnààa’b] asks for; sends for (someone) to join them

rnalaz [rnnahlààa’z] remembers (someone); misses, thinks about (someone)

rnyity [rnyi’ihty] gets lost; is missing (something), has lost (something); misses (something)

rsan [rsàa’ann] leaves (something) behind

rseidy [rsèèi’dy] learns (something); teaches (someone) (something)

rtaz [rtàa’az] hits

rxyeily [rxye’illy] opens (something)

ryulaz [ryu’lààa’z] likes (a person) § not used in perf.

rzhyeily [rzhye’illy] opens, gets opened (of a door, for example)

teiby [te’ihby] one; a, an

wi [wii] guava

zhomrel [zh:ommreel] hat

zhyet [zhye’et] cat

Lecsyony 6, Video 1. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Xiëru Zalo Ra Dizh

1. As you study more Zapotec, you will learn other words and expressions that end in xtily [xtiilly] (or sometimes tily [tiilly]), such as guetxtily and Dizhtily. This word or ending (derived from a word borrowed from Spanish Castilla “Castile” (a part of Spain)) is a clue that the item referred to — such as bread or the Spanish language — was introduced to Zapotec speakers long ago by early Spanish settlers in Oaxaca.

2. Rnab is often used to refer to an immigrant in the United States sending for someone once he has begun to earn money and found a place to live. Thus, Rnab Jwany Bed means “Juan sends for Pedro (to come and join him in the United States).”

§6.1. Perfective verbs

Below are some Zapotec sentences that refer to the past.

Bzhuny mniny.

“The child ran.”

Bzhyeily pwert.

“The door opened.”

Bdeidy mniny liebr zhyap.

“The boy gave the book to the girl.”

Bduax becw.

“The dog barked.”

Bsan zhyap liebr.

“The girl left the book behind.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 2. (With Dr. Felipe H. Lopez.)

These sentences have verbs in the form, with b- prefixes. The most common way to make a verb perfective is to drop the r- from the habitual form of the verb and substitute a b-. (The abbreviation for “perfective” is “perf.”.) Perfective verbs refer to actions that are completed, normally in the past.

 

Rzhuny and bzhuny are two of the Zapotec verb “run”. A stem usually includes a prefix (such as r- or b-) plus a , which for “run” is zhuny. (In this case, and for most verbs, the base is the same in both stems of the verb. As you’ll learn later, some verbs have different bases in different stems.) Rzhuny is the habitual stem of the verb, and bzhuny is the perfective stem. Similarly, the habitual stem of the base duax “bark” is rduax and the perfective stem of “bark” is bduax.

Building a Perfective Stem from a Habitual Stem
prefix- base
habitual r- zhuny “runs”
perfective b- zhuny “ran”

Just as in habitual sentences, one noun phrase in a perfective sentence may be focused. With an ordinary noun, focus indicates strong emphasis (indicated by underlining in the English translation). You should almost always put a noun followed by re “this” or re “that” in the focus position before the verb, but for these noun phrases, focus does not have the same emphatic meaning, so the “this” and “that” phrases are not underlined in the translations.

Zhyap bsan liebr.

The girl left the book behind.”

Becw re bduax.

“This dog barked.”

Manyser re bguad Lia Len.

“That bee stung Elena.”

Fot bsan zhyap.

“The girl left the photograph behind.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 3. (With Dr. Felipe H. Lopez.)

Nai [nài’] “yesterday” can be used to tell when a perfective event occurs:

Nai bzhuny mniny.

“The child ran yesterday.”

Bzhuny mniny nai.

“The child ran yesterday.”

Nai bguad manyser Lia Len.

“The bee stung Elena yesterday.”

Bguad manyser Lia Len nai.

“The bee stung Elena yesterday.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 4. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Nai is an , a word that gives more information about the event or state named by the verb — for instance, when or how or where that event or state occurs. Most often, adverbs go before the verb, but sometimes they may come at the end of the sentence (after the object, if there is one). It is so common for adverbs to go at the beginning that they don’t usually express a focus meaning — thus, the first nai example above doesn’t really have to be translated “The child ran yesterday”.

 

You’ve learned that both “this” and “that” phrases and adverbs like nai often go before the verb in a Zapotec sentence. But what if a sentence contains more than one of these items, or one of these plus another phrase that the speaker wants to focus? Normally, only one phrase can come before the verb, so in such cases the speaker needs to make a choice as to which item is most important.

Nai bzhuny mniny re.

“That child ran yesterday.”

Mniny re bzhuny nai.

That child ran yesterday.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 5. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Try making up some other such sets of sentences, and see what your teacher thinks.

Tarea Teiby xte Lecsyony Xop.

Part Teiby. Select the perfective verb form from the choices in parentheses that will make a good Zapotec sentence, as in the example. Then translate the sentences you make up. (Use underlining to represent focus in your English translations when needed.)

Example. (Bsudieby, Bdieby) nyis.

Answer. Bdieby nyis. “The water boiled.”

a. Mniny re (bxyeily, bzhyeily) liebr.

b. (Bduax, Bgyan) becw.

c. Nai (bcyetlaz, bsan) mes.

d. (Bdieby, bsudieby) mna nyis.

e. (Bzhyeily, bxyeily) pwert nai.

Part Tyop. Translate the following sentences into Zapotec, using perfective verbs. Remember that “this” and “that” phrases normally come at the beginning of the sentence, and that other focused noun phrases are underlined in the translations.

a. This cat jumped.

b. The teacher opened the door yesterday.

c. The boy hit that bull.

d. The cat left the fish behind.

e. The dog woke up the horse.

f. Miguel gave the book to the girl.

g. Yesterday the scorpion stung Juan.

h. The water boiled.

i. The woman boiled the water.

j. The woman boiled the water.

k. The woman boiled the water yesterday.

l. The woman boiled this water yesterday.

Some verbs work differently from the ones in the examples above. Compare the following habitual and perfective verbs:

Rnalaz Jwany mes.

“Juan remembers the teacher.”

Mnalaz Jwany mes.

“Juan remembered the teacher.”

Rnab mna guet.

“The woman asks for the tortilla.”

Mnab mna guet.

“The woman asked for the tortilla.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 6. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Verbs whose habitual stem starts with rn have perfective stems that start with mn. In other words, before a verb base beginning with n, the perfective prefix is not b-, but m-.

Building a Perfective Stem for a Verb Base Starting with n
prefix- base
habitual r- nab “asks for”
perfective m- nab “asked for”

(Speakers may vary. Some speakers may use b- as the perfective prefix before n. You should follow your teacher’s usage.)

 

Here is another habitual/perfective pattern:

Rbany Lia Petr.

“Petra wakes up.”

Wbany Lia Petr.

“Petra woke up.”

Rbix campan.

“The bell rings.”

Wbix campan.

“The bell rang.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 7. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)


Fot Tyop xte Lecsyony Xop. The bell in the tower of the church in San Lucas Quiaviní.

Verbs whose habitual stem starts with rb do not form their perfective stem with the b- prefix. Many of them use w- instead, as in the above examples.

Building a Perfective Stem for a Verb Base Starting with b
prefix- base
habitual r- bix “rings”
perfective w- bix “rang”

(As you learned in Unida Teiby, w before a consonant may sound like a [u] to you. Listen as your teacher pronounces words like wbany [wbahnny] and wbix [wbi’ihx].)

 

Rata zhi [ra’ta’ zh:ih] “every day” is an adverb (actually, an adverb phrase) that can be used in habitual sentences:

Rata zhi rbix campan.,

Rbix campan rata zhi.

“The bell rings every day.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 8. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Tarea Tyop xte Lecsyony Xop.

Part Teiby. Change each of the following sentences so that they talk about the past, using the perfective stem of the verb. Then translate the new sentences into English. Practice reading each sentence out loud.

a. Rnaz mniny zhomrel.

b. Rsan mna bolz.

c. Rbeb buny guan.

d. Rnab zhyap bdua.

e. Rdeidy mes lapy mniny.

f. Rnudizh doctor Lia Len.

g. Campan re rbix.

h. Plum re rnaz Gyeily.

i. Rbany Bed.

j. Rnudizh doctor buny.

Part Tyop. Create a complete Zapotec sentence by adding a verb to each of the sentences below. (There may be more than one verb that might make sense in each sentence—just choose one.) Be sure to use the correct form of the verb, either the perfective or the habitual—look for clues in the sentence to know which would be best. When you’re done, translate your new Zapotec sentences into English.

a. Nai                                              Lia Len mes.

b.                                              Jwany guetxtily rata zhi.

c. Nai                                              campan re.

d.                                              Lia Petr zhomrel nai.

e. Rata zhi                                              becw.

f. Rata zhi                                              mniny.

g. Becw                                              nai.

h. Banua re                                              Jwany nai.

i.  Lia Len                                              nyis rata zhi.

j. Nai                                              mes Bed.

You’ll learn additional ways to make verbs perfective in later lessons. A few verbs, however, do not have a perfective stem. Here is an example:

Ryulaz buny Lia Petr.

“The person likes Petra.”,

“The person liked Petra.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 9. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Ryulaz “likes” is not usually used in the perfective. Most speakers use the habitual even when referring to the past. (Maybe this is because liking is a sort of habitual thing….)

Tarea Chon xte Lecsyony Xop.

Make up new Zapotec sentences that talk about the past using the perfective stems of the following verbs.  Then translate your sentences into English.

a. rnaz

b. rsan

c. rbeb

d. rnab

e. rdeidy

f. rnudizh

g. rbix

h. rbany

§6.2. Imperatives

Here are some (verb forms used to give commands; abbreviated “imp.”):

Bzhuny!

“Run!”

Btaz becw!

“Hit the dog!”

Bxeily pwert!

“Open the door!”

Mnab nyis!

“Ask for the water!”

Bdeidy liebr mniny!

“Give the book to the boy!”

Lecsyony 6, Video 10. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

The perfective stem of a verb can be used as an imperative. These imperatives are used to give orders to a person the speaker feels superior to or considers to be his or her equal. (Imperatives are just one type of . In Lecsyony Tsë, you’ll learn to form commands that are used to groups of people, to a superior, or in a formal situation.)

 

When you are speaking to a child or someone you are on very familiar terms with, you can add as or as nia before the imperative. By itself, as means “hey” or “hi”, and as nia has a similar meaning. **Revisit translations

As bxeily pwert.

Hey, open the door.”

As nia bdeidy liebr mniny.

Hey, give the book to the boy.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 11. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

You will learn some ways to make commands more polite in Lecsyony Ga.

 

Objects in imperatives are not very often focused, but when they are, the meaning is very emphatic:

Pwert re bxeily!

“Open this door!”

Lia Len bdeidy liebr!

“Give the book to Elena!”

Lecsyony 6, Video 12. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Tarea Tap xte Lecsyony Xop.

Complete the following imperative sentences and then translate them into English. Practice reading each Zapotec imperative out loud. Then, read each one again with as or as nia added.

a.                                              mansan!

b. Mnab                                              !

c.                                              lapy mes!

d. Bcwany                                              !

e.                                              nyis!

f. Wbeb                                              !

g.                                              Dizhsa!

h. Btaz                                              !

i.                                              pwert!

j. Mnudizh                                              !

§6.3. Indefinite objects

Almost all the object nouns you’ve seen so far in Zapotec sentences have referred to specific, identifiable things or people, either names (like Jwany or Lia Petr or Dizhsa) or nouns which could be translated into English with “the”, or which refer to items in a mass, like nyis “water” in

Lia Len bsudieby nyis.

Elena boiled water.”

To refer to a single object, a single item that is not specific or identifiable, you use the word teiby:

Mnaz mniny teiby lapy.

“The child grabbed a pencil.”

Bdeidy Lia Petr teiby liebr mes.

“Petra gave a book to the teacher.”

Teiby mansan mnab Jwany.

“Juan asked for an apple.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 13. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Teiby lapy and teiby liebr are noun phrases. Here, teiby can be translated by the English words “a” or “an”. (As you saw in section S-5, teiby is also the number “one”. If you think about it, these concepts are not that different.)

 

Occasionally, speakers choose not to use teiby even when the object is indefinite. In this book, however, we’ll assume that when the object of a sentence is a single indefinite item, it should be used with teiby.

Tarea Gai xte Lecsyony Xop.

Translate the following sentences into Zapotec. Pay attention to the stem of the verb (habitual or perfective), to focus, and to whether or not the objects are indefinite.

a. The scorpion stung a doctor.

b. The boy grabs a guava every day.

c. The cat woke up a girl.

d. Elena asks for a pencil.

e. The woman remembered the book yesterday.

f. The man opens a door.

g. This child hit the dog yesterday.

h. Petra gave a picture to Miguel.

i. Juan left a book behind.

j. The man feeds the bull every day.

When the indefinite object is a tortilla or a loaf of bread, the word for “a” is different. With these objects, you need to use cha, not teiby, to say “a”:

Mnab Lia Len cha guetxtily.

“Elena asked for a loaf of bread.”

Bdeidy mna cha guet mniny.

“The woman gave the child a tortilla.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 14. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Tarea Xop xte Lecsyony Xop.

Each of the following Zapotec sentences contains a blank. Fill in the blank so that each sentence has an indefinite object. Read your completed Zapotec sentence out loud and then translate each sentence into English.

a. Bgyan Bed                                              becw.

b. Uas bguad manyser                                              mna.

c. Mnaz zhyap                                              guet.

d. Lia Petr rnab                                              guetxtily.

e.                                              mniny mnudizh mes.

f. Wbeb Jwany                                              guan nai.

g. Rata zhi rsan mes                                              liebr.

h. Nai btaz mniny                                              zhyet.

i. Bdeidy doctor                                              guet mniny.

j. Mniny re bguad gyag                                              cabai.

§6.4. Progressive verbs

Here are some sentences with (“prog.”) verbs:

Cazhuny becw.

“The dog is running.”

Zhyet cacwany zhyap.

The cat is waking up the girl.”,

“The girl is waking up the cat.”

Canab buny teiby liebr.

“The man is asking for a book.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 15. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Progressive verbs refer to events that are ongoing relative to some particular point in time. For example, if you hear someone say the sentences above, you know that the actions referred to are taking place at the present time. Zapotec progressive verbs have a prefix ca-, which substitutes for the r- at the beginning of a habitual verb. Progressive verbs are usually translated into English with “is” (or, for other subjects you’ll learn about in the next lesson, “am” or “are”) plus a verb ending in -ing.

Building a Progressive Stem from a Habitual Stem
prefix- base
habitual
r- zhuny “runs”
progressive
ca- zhuny “is running”

In this book, we will use present translations like those above for progressive verbs used as examples. But like habitual verbs, progressive verbs may have other translations within the context of a story. For instance, you might use Cazhuny becw to mean “The dog was running” if you are referring to an ongoing action in the past. Speakers can use adverbs like na [nah] “now” to clarify what time a progressive verb refers to:

Na cazhuny becw.

“The dog is running now.”

Cazhuny becw na.

“The dog is running now.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 16. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Tarea Gaz xte Lecsyony Xop.

Part Teiby. The Zapotec sentences below don’t make much sense! Fix each sentence by changing one of the nouns. Then translate your corrected sentences into English.

a. Rbeb lapy cabai.

b. Zhyap bcwany teiby muly.

c. Wi bzhyeily.

d. Rsudieby banua nyis.

e. Uas rbix plum.

f. Bguad guet teiby gyag Lia Len.

g. Rtaz banua cabai.

h. Pwert re bxyeily bel.

i. Uas rduax liebr.

j. Mes re bdeiby liebr muly.

Part Tyop. Next make the verb of each sentence progressive. Practice saying each new sentence aloud, and then translate it into English.

§6.5. Irregular verbs

Almost every language has some verbs which do not follow the regular patterns of the language. (For example, English usually forms the past tense of a verb by adding -ed, but we have many verbs that do not follow this rule, such as teach — taught or bite — bit. Can you think of some more?) Many Zapotec verbs have some forms that do not follow the regular rules. Here’s an example: the progressive of rdieby is not <cadieby>, as you would expect, but candieby or caldieby, as in

Candieby nyis. or Caldieby nyis.

“The water is boiling.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 17. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Some speakers say candieby, some say caldieby, some might use either one — but they do not use <cadieby>. (In this book, we put impossible Zapotec words in < >’s.) Certain verbs whose bases start with d have progressives that start with either cand or cald. Not all verbs whose bases start with d work this way, though — for example, the progressives of rdeidy “gives” and rduax “barks” are regular, using ca-:

Cadeidy Jwany liebr mes.

“Juan is giving the book to the teacher.”

Caduax becw.

“The dog is barking.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 18. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

The best way to learn irregular verb forms is to memorize them, and practice using them so that you become very familiar with their sound. Irregular forms of a verb are always listed in that verb’s entry in the Rata Ra Dizh, and from now on they will appear in the Ra Dizh at the beginning of the lesson as well. You can also check the Valley Zapotec Verb Charts.

Tarea Xon xte Lecsyony Xop.

Translate each of the following sentences into Zapotec.

a. Hey, open the door!

b. The girl is riding that bull.

c. The water is really boiling.

d. Pedro is giving a loaf of bread to Elena now.

e. The boy is hitting that dog.

f. Hey, feed the dog!

g. The horse is jumping.

h. Every day Petra asks for an apple.

i.  Give a tortilla to the boy!

j. The chapulin is jumping now.


Fot Chon xte Lecsyony Xop. Cut paper decorating the market in Tlacolula.

§6.6. Verbs that can be used in more than one sentence pattern

In Lecsyony Gai you learned that most Zapotec verbs are used either with only a subject or with both a subject and an object (or, in rarer cases, with a subject and two objects). However, there are some Zapotec verbs that can be used in more than one sentence pattern.

 

For example, rseidy means something different when it is used with a subject and an object from when it is used with a subject and two objects. Rseidy is “learns” when used with a subject and an object (what is learned). When this verb is used with a subject and two objects, it means “teaches” — the first object is the person who gets taught, and the second is what is taught or learned.

Caseidy Lia Len Ingles.

“Elena is learning English.”

Rseidy mes Lia Petr Dizhtily.

“The teacher teaches Petra Spanish.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 19. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

In a Zapotec sentence beginning with a verb, the subject always comes immediately after the verb, and the object comes after the subject. When you learn a verb that can be used with two objects, however, it’s important to learn the order of the two objects. You’ll recall that with rdeidy “gives” the thing given comes before the recipient, the person to whom it was given:

Bdeidy Lia Petr liebr mes.

“Petra gave the book to the teacher.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 20. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

The human object of rseidy, however, comes right after the subject:

Bseidy Lia Petr mes Dizhsa.

“Petra taught the teacher Zapotec.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 21. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Here is a sentence with a focused name before the verb:

Lia Petr bseidy mes Dizhsa.

Petra taught the teacher Zapotec.”,”

The teacher taught Petra Zapotec.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 22. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

As you can see, this sentence can be interpreted in two ways, depending on the context.

 

Here is another verb that can be used in two sentence patterns:

Rnyity muly.

“The money gets lost.”

Canyity mna muly.

“The woman is missing money.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 23. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Rnyity means “gets lost” when it is used just with a subject noun, as in the first sentence. However, when it is used with two nouns, as in the second sentence, this verb means “is missing (something)” or “has lost (something)” — in this case, the first noun is the subject (the person who has lost something) and the second is the object (the thing that is missing). (In this usage, it’s better to use the progressive than the habitual.)

Tarea Ga xte Lecsyony Xop.

Create eight different sentences using the verb rseidy, as specified in a-h below, using the following nouns: Dizhsa, Dizhtily, Ingles, ra dizh, mna, mniny, doctor, buny, mes, zhyap. Read each Zapotec sentence aloud, and then translate each one into English.

a. Use rseidy meaning “learns (something)” in the habitual form.

b. Use rseidy meaning “learns (something)” in the perfective form.

c. Use rseidy meaning “learns (something)” in the progressive form.

d. Use rseidy meaning “learns (something)” in the imperative form.

e. Use rseidy meaning “teaches (someone) (something)” in the habitual form.

f. Use rseidy meaning “teaches (someone) (something)” in the perfective form.

g. Use rseidy meaning “teaches (someone) (something)” in the progressive form.

h. Use rseidy meaning “teaches (someone) (something)” in the imperative form.

§6.7. Cuan “and; with”

Cuan [cuahnn] (also pronounced quën [quëhnn]) means both “and” and “with”. When it corresponds to English and, cuan is used to join two nouns or names, as in sentences like

Zhyap cuan mna mnab muly.

The girl and the woman asked for money.”

Catyis Lia Len cuan Bed.

“Elena and Pedro are jumping.”

Bsan buny wi cuan bdua.

“The person left the guava and the banana behind.”

Rzhuny zhyet cuan becw.

“The cat and the dog run.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 24. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

Cuan can be used to join either subjects or objects, focused or not, as the examples show. When cuan means “and”, it joins two noun phrases to form a larger noun phrase

 

Cuan can also be used to say “with”, as in

Catyis Lia Len cuan Bed.

“Elena is jumping with Pedro.”

Zhyet rzhuny cuan becw.

The cat runs with the dog.”

Lecsyony 6, Video 25. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)

As you can see, the first Zapotec sentence has two slightly different English translations. (The English sentences Elena is jumping with Pedro and Elena and Pedro are jumping are not really that different in meaning!) However, the second example can only be translated with “with”. Normally, only the “with” meaning is possible when the two noun phrases are separated from each other, as in this example.

Tarea Tsë xte Lecsyony Xop.

Read each of the following Zapotec sentences out loud. Then translate the sentences into English.

a. Teiby mansan canyity zhyap.

b. Mnyity plum cuan liebr.

c. Mnyity mes teiby lapy.

d. Rnyity teiby fot.

e. Mniny rnyity muly.

f. Buny cuan mna mnyity muly.

g. Bguad manyser cuan banua teiby mniny.

h. Mna casudieby nyis cuan zhyap.

Prefixes

b- [b] (perfective verb prefix)

ca- [ca] (progressive verb prefix)

cal- [cal] (irregular form of ca-)

can- [can] (irregular form of ca-)

m- [m] (perfective verb prefix for bases beginning with n)

w- [w] (perfective verb prefix for bases beginning with b)

Abbreviations

imp. imperative

perf. perfective

prog. progressive

 

Just for fun!

First, write down a Zapotec word suggested by each of the pictures below.  Then find each Zapotec one in the Word Search that follows.

 

a s i b f n u g u e d t l w p n i b h c
b g i e r a c i w l y c e r r z o l s e
h o p l l e o g a g b a g p d h d t u m
m d x i s y e b o l z f e g z y h i z e
t y c u a i e o t s d m o z j e y i l n
w z t e r t m o n r x p o q u t p r a a
s i n y i s b s g t u i b w h x y u p e
r n e n o n z i y t r a d w a n g c h r
y o t r c i z h a t s u a m b z d c w
u f m d a n c e g h f b a n u a g y h b
r l i e b r i x p t j e k w l u l e i n
p a p i a t m p u a s c d n y o q u i t
s p z r i e h s r t r w p a b u y r e o
w y d g s x m a n y s e r e m f n u h f
n o c z t n g a t r a i o e a e g y l d
g e l x h b u b n e r c d w a x t p g s
l i e r s o p p o s t p r b u u t z h g
b r w h r u m e z l a m d p c a m p a n
p z h y a p n r n p m n i n y c u z n i
c g n g a r i t e f o s u r n p w a y o
t m q u ë u i x y l r n x g u ë i b r s

 

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Cali Chiu: A Course in Valley Zapotec by Pamela Munro, Brook Danielle Lillehaugen, Felipe H. Lopez, Brynn Paul, and Lillian Leibovich is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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