In this lesson, you’ll learn a number of new pronouns. Section §9.1 introduces the formal “you”, section §9.2 polite verbs, and section §9.3 respectful pronouns. Section §9.4 presents “we” and “us” pronouns and verb forms, section §9.5 “they”/”them” pronouns, and section §9.6 plural informal “you”. Section §9.7 tells more about polite verbs.

_{Fot Teiby xte Lecsyony Ga. Balloons for sale in the zócalo (main square) of Oaxaca City.}

^{Lecsyony 9, Video 1. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)}

Xiëru Ni Rzalo Ra Dizh

Rzilaz is used to mean “thought that” or “used to think that” with a following sentence telling the thought — you don’t need any separate “that” word:

The meaning here is that the speaker has changed his mind – although he used to think this, he no longer does. Rzilaz is used in the habitual, even though the meaning seems to refer to the past. Since the meaning of the second part (here, rgwezac Jwany Dizhsa) referred to the same time as the speaker’s thinking, it is habitual too, not perfective, even though we would usually use a past translation to express this in English.

§9.1. Formal “you”

You learned in Lecsyony Xon that Zapotec has different ways to say “you” depending not only on whether that “you” is a subject or an object, singular or plural, but also on the speaker’s relationship with the hearer. The bound informal “you” singular pronoun is -u, and the corresponding free pronoun is liu. These “you” forms are used with contemporaries or when talking with younger people or people you do not respect.

With your elders or people you respect (or whose position you respect), you must use FORMAL “you” pronouns (abbreviated “form.”). The bound formal “you” singular pronoun is -yu [yuu’] (some people say -yëbu [yëbuu’]). The corresponding free pronoun is yu [yu’uu’] (or yëbu [yëbu’uu’]). Listen as your teacher reads the following sentences, since the bound and free pronouns, though spelled the same, are pronounced differently:

^{Lecsyony 9, Video 2. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)}

The last example shows that when -yu follows a verb that ends with y, we write two y‘s. In this book we will use “(form.)” following translations of formal “you”.

Formal pronouns are used when speaking to teachers, members of the clergy, government officials, and all older people. A respectful Zapotec child always uses these pronouns with grandparents and other older relatives, and most also use them with their parents. As a Zapotec language learner, you should show respect to Zapotec speakers by using formal pronouns whenever you are speaking with an older person or with someone whose position commands respect.

Verb stems do not change their pronunciation (other than by the regular change to combination forms) before the bound pronoun -yu.

The independent formal “you” plural pronoun is yuad [yùad] (or yëbuad [yëbùad]), which is pronounced the same as the bound formal “you” plural pronoun -yuad [yùad] (-yëbuad [yëbùad]). These are used in sentences like

You should use formal plural pronouns any time you are speaking to a group that includes people you would address with formal yu. Always use formal plural pronouns when speaking to teachers, members of the clergy, government officials, or older people.

Combination forms of verbs are used before an attached formal plural -yuad ending. Like singular formal -yu, plural -yuad does not cause any other changes in the pronunciation of preceding verb stems.

§9.2. Polite verbs

You can make a sentence seem more polite and respectful by using a polite verb. Polite verbs are primarily used when you want to make a polite request or to suggest that the subject of the verb performs the action as a favor to someone (generally, to you, the speaker).

Here are some examples of polite verbs used to suggest a favor:

Such sentences suggest that the subject didn’t really have to perform the action of the verb, but did it as a favor. Expressing sentences this way makes the Zapotec sentences seem more polite, so we have included “(polite)” in the translations. Most commonly, polite verbs like these are used with formal subjects (or with subjects you would refer to with the respectful pronouns you’ll learn about in section §9.3).

Sentences with polite verbs differ from ordinary sentences in two ways. First, the subject is usually focused, even though the meaning doesn’t seem like that of a focused sentence. Second, a polite verb includes the ending -la [làa’]. Usually the politeness shown by adding -la to a Zapotec verb cannot be translated, but often there is a suggestion that the polite action is done as a favor. Bound pronouns like -yu come after -la, at the end of the verb.

-La is an ending that is not a pronoun but an EXTENDER, an ending whose effect is to form a longer verb stem. Thus, corresponding to the normal habitual stem rxyeily “opens (something)” we have a polite habitual stem rxyeilyla. Almost any verb can be used with -la added, so polite stems formed with -la are not listed in the Rata Ra Dizh at the end of this book. (A few verbs are always used with -la. You’ll learn more about these later.)

In Lecsyony Xop, you learned how to use perfective verbs as imperatives. These informal imperatives can be made more polite by using la:

Even these more polite imperatives, however, should only be used to people you would address with informal liu. (You will learn how to express commands to people you would address with formal yu in Lecsyony Tsë: such commands often use -la.)

Speakers vary in how much and how often they use -la, as you’ll see if you listen carefully to Zapotec speakers’ conversations.

You’ll learn more about using polite verbs in section §9.7 at the end of this lesson.

§9.3. Referring to people respectfully

Anyone that you would address formally, with the formal yu, should usually be referred to with a respectful pronoun (abbreviated “resp.”). The bound respectful pronoun is -ëb [ëhb], and the independent respectful pronoun is laëb [làa’-ëhb]. Here are some examples of sentences about people you should refer to respectfully, with the corresponding sentences using respectful pronouns.

^{Lecsyony 9, Video 3. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)}

Respectful pronouns are never used to refer to children, to animals, or to inanimate objects. Like the proximate and distal pronouns you learned in Lesson 7, these pronouns are gender neutral.

Most verb stems do not change their pronunciation (other than the change to the combination form) before the respectful pronoun. However, there is a spelling change with verbs that end in c when the respectful pronoun is added. Because the pronoun -ëb begins with ë, a c at the end of a preceding verb stem is written as qu before this pronoun:

In this book, we will give pronouns like -ëng, -i, and -ëb the appropriate English translation (“he” or “she” or, for the first two, “it”), but will usually not distinguish them further. You need to learn to use -ëb to refer to people to whom you owe respect, and to use -ëng and -i to refer to others. Most Zapotec speakers will feel that it is very disrespectful to fail to use -ëb to refer to your elders or people like teachers or priests. Use -ëb to refer to anyone you would address with formal yu.)

(As you’ve heard already, Zapotec pronoun usage is complicated. You will learn other pronouns later. Also, as you know, pronoun usage may vary from one community to another, so if your teacher uses pronouns differently, you may want to follow that usage.)

§9.4. “We” subjects and “us” objects

Here are some sentences with “we” subjects, used when you’re talking about yourself and some others:

^{Lecsyony 9, Video 4. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)}

The bound “we” subject pronoun is -ën ([ëhnn]). As you can see, -ën is attached to a verb stem just like the other bound subject pronouns you’ve learned.

Because the pronoun -ën begins with ë, a c at the end of a preceding verb stem will be written as qu before this pronoun:

As you know, this is a spelling change, not a pronunciation change.

The free pronoun meaning “us” or “we” is danoën or danuën ([dannooh-ëhnn], [dannuuh-ëhnn] — speakers vary in their pronunciation). In this book we will write only danoën for the free pronoun, but you should follow your teacher’s pronunciation. Like other free pronouns, danoën is used to express an object (“us”) or a focused subject.

As the first example shows, rnizh is used to say “gives to us”.

Verbs whose vowel patterns are KCP, KP, CP, or C do not change their base pronunciation before the -ën “we” ending, but most other verbs do change in the “we” subject form.

Verbs with a KKC pattern in the independent form have a KCP pattern in the “we” subject form. Listen to your teacher say the following sentences, and practice repeating each one:

^{Lecsyony 9, Video 5. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)}

Most other verbs use a PC pattern in their base before the -ën “we” subject ending. Again, listen to your teacher say the following sentences, and practice repeating each one:

§9.5. Plural pronouns

Valley Zapotec has plural pronouns as well as plural nouns. The bound plural proximate pronoun is -rëng [rëng], the bound plural distal pronoun is -ri [rih], and the bound plural respectful pronoun is -rëb [rëhb].

These bound pronouns attach to verbs just the way other subject pronouns do, as in

^{Lecsyony 9, Video 7. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)}

As the examples suggest, all three of these pronouns are translated as “they”; proximate -rëng refers to individuals nearby or in sight, distal -ri refers to individuals further away or out of sight, and respectful -rëb refers to respected people you would address formally. (Normally we will not include “(these people)”, “(those people)”, or “(respected people)” in the translations of these pronouns.) As you’ll note, all bound “they” pronouns start with r. (This r is connected with the plural word ra.)

These plural pronouns are used similarly to their singular equivalents that you learned earlier in this lesson and in Lecsyony Gaz.

• -Rëng and -ri are used to refer to both males and females, primarily those who are contemporaries or equals of the speaker, or who are unknown or unimportant to the speaker, as well as to inanimate objects. These pronouns are used less commonly to refer to children or animals.

• -Rëb refers only to respected people, both males and females, especially those who are older than the speaker. This pronoun is never used to refer to children, animals, or inanimate objects.

You’ll learn other pronouns later. (Valley Zapotec has a lot of pronouns!)

Plural pronouns are used to replace plural nouns in sentences when the speaker and hearer know who the group being referred to are. Similarly, they may replace phrases joined with cuan “and”:

If you listen to verbs like mnabrëng and ryulazrëng (in the examples at the beginning of this section) you’ll hear the combination forms of the verb bases nab and yulaz. As you’ve learned, if a verb changes in the combination form, that combination form must be used when any subject pronoun is added.

Normally, no other pronunciation changes occur in verbs before -rëng, -ri, -rëb, or other “they” subject pronoun. “They” pronouns are like formal pronouns in that the only pronunciation change in verbs used with them is the change to the combination form.

The free plural pronouns are proximate larëng [làa’rëng], distal lari [làa’rih], and respectful larëb [làa’rahb]. Like other free pronouns, these can be used either as objects or as focused subjects:

As you’ve already learned, when a free pronoun is used as a focused subject, the verb still needs to have its attached pronoun subject.

§9.6. Plural informal “you”

As you have learned, Valley Zapotec distinguishes singular and plural forms of “you”. When you’re talking with someone your own age or someone you consider inferior to you, you use the informal “you” singular pronouns, bound -u and free liu. The corresponding plural pronouns are bound -ad [ahd] and free laad [làa’-ahd], as in

^{Lecsyony 9, Video 8. (With Geraldina López Curiel.)}

In this book we will use “you guys” to translate informal “you” plural. Informal plural pronouns can be used to people of any age (as long as it’s appropriate to speak informally to them) and any sex.

Combination forms of verb stems are used with the bound pronoun -ad, but most verbs whose bases end in consonants do not have any additional changes in their pronunciation before this ending. (Any pronunciation changes will be listed in a verb’s vocabulary entry.)

§9.7. More about polite verbs

Polite “does as a favor” verbs ending in –la, which you learned about in section §9.2, are the first Zapotec verb stems you’ve seen that end in vowels. As you’ll learn in Lecsyony Tseiny (13), verb stems that end in vowels often combine in unexpected ways with following pronoun subjects that begin with vowels: the vowel at the end of the verb and the vowel of the pronoun may change, and the vowel pattern may be different from what you would expect. You will learn how to predict many of these combinations later; for now, you should simply memorize the patterns illustrated in the following sentences:

The -la polite ending becomes -laëng [làa-ë’ng], -lai [la’ài’], or -laëb [làa’-ëhb] when combined with the bound pronouns -ëng, -i, and -ëb.

You can refer to the Valley Zapotec Verb Charts for more information. Normally, however, the -la ending is not used with “I”, “we”, or informal pronoun subjects.

Prefixes and Endings

-ad [ahd] you (bound inf. pl. pronoun)

-ëb [ëhb] he, she (bound resp. pronoun)

-ën [ëhnn] we (bound pronoun)

-la [làa’] (polite extender)

-ri [rih] they (bound dist. pl. pronoun)

-rëb [rëhb] they (bound resp. pl. pronoun)

-rëng [rëng] they (bound prox. pl. pronoun)

-yu [yuu’] / -yëbu [yëbuu’] you (bound form. sg. pronoun)

-yuad [yùad] / -yëbuad [yëbùad] you (bound form. pl. pronoun)

Abbreviations

form. formal

resp. respectful

_{Fot Tyop xte Lecsyony Ga. A sidewalk cafe in the zócalo in Oaxaca City.}