S-10. A Valley Zapotec Dialogue

The dialogue below uses many of the expressions you’ve learned. Roberto (Bet [Be’t]), who has come back to San Lucas for Easter week, encounters his friend Jeronimo (Rony [Roony]), who lives in San Lucas. They meet on the Avenida Benito Juárez, the main street. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to find a video recording of this dialogue being read aloud.


Fot. San Lucas Quiaviní’s Avenida Benito Juárez decorated for Easter.

Dizhsa Ingles Xa Rni Buny Ra Dizh

Rony

As nia.

“Hi there!”

[a’s nniìa’]

Bet

As.

“Hi!”

[a’s]

Rony

Cali chiu?

“Where are you going?”

[cali chìu’?]

Bet

Chaa mandad.

“I’m going on an errand.”

[cha’a’ mandaad]

Rony

Guc bzenyu na?

“When did you arrive?”

[guhc bze’ennyùu’ nah?]

Bet

A guc tuxman bzenya.

“I arrived a week ago.”

[a guhc tuhxmaan bze’ennya’]

Rony

Xa zuny ladi?

“How are things over there?”

[x:a zuuny làadih?]

Bet

Gwenag.

“Good.”

[gweenahg]

Rony

A zaa buas.

“Well, I’ve got to go.”

[a za’a’ buahs]

Bet

As buas. Yzhajaën.

“Ok. See you later.”

[a’s buahs. yzhàaja’ëhnn]

Rony

Yzhajaën buas, erre.

“Ok. See you later, friend.”

[yzhàaja’ëhnn buahs erre’eh]

Conversations like this are more likely to take place between males, both because males immigrate more often and because they are more likely to have the time to chat with friends in the street.

 

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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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