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
There are a total of five vowels in San Bartolomé Zoogocho Zapotec. The vowel /u/ only appears in loanwords. Phonation types include: VV, VhV, V'. VV stands for double vowels that are pronounced with creaky voice, vowels with an /h/ between them are pronounced with breathy voice 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. In words consisting of two roots, the stress will fall on the second root.Example: niihe 'nixtamal'; yeten 'the tortilla'
Syllable Structure
Syllables are created according to the pattern CV. Vowels in a syllable may carry any phonation type.Consonants
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.Possession
Possession is indicated by placing the possessor or possessive pronoun after the item 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-.The completive aspect is usually marked as b-, gw-, gud-, or g-. This aspect reflects the completion of the event occurred.
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-.
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.
| 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.| Letter | Example |
| A/a, E/e, I/i, O/o | ba "grave", de "ash", bi "No, negation", do "rope" |
| A'/a', E'/e', I'/i', O'/o' | la' "Oaxaca", ye' "skin disease", li' "sting", yo' "home" |
| A'A, a'a, E'E, e'e, I'I, i'i O'O/u'u | za'a "corn", ze'e "wall", zi'i "it is heavy", yo'o "let’s go" |
Consonants
Consonants are as follows.| Letter | Examples |
| B/b | beb "ash", bid "bug" |
CH/ch | chop "two", bach "already" |
| CHH/chh | chhak "something being done", nhachh "then", chho' "tos" |
| D/d | da "see", de "ash", déd "away", dé "there" |
| F/f | yej fre "Brugmansia arborea" |
| G/g | ga "nine", bgab "ladder", go "sweet patato", nhaga' "my ear" |
| J/j | jed "hen", bej "well", jia "rooster", yetj "cane" |
| K/j | ka' "so", beko' "dog", ki "so", nhake' "is", nhaka' "am" |
| L/l | lao "aguave stalk flower", bel "snake", bél "fish", lí "certain" |
| LL/ll | lli' "down, south", lla "day", bell "tiger", yill "scar" |
| LH/lh | lhao "your number", lhillo' "your house", lhe' "you", zilh "in the morning" |
| M/m | mechho "money", llome "basket", dam "owl" |
| N/n | na' "today, now", ne' "ten", bene' "person" |
| NH/nh | nhi "here", nhile "nixtamal", nha' "there", nholhe "mother", bnha' "I washed", benhi' "clarity" |
| P/p | padioxh "greeting", tap "four", pita' "rainbow" |
| R/r | eob "at", ros "pink, rice", rós "pink" |
| RH/rh | rhiz "little", rhito "daisy" |
| S/s | sib "high ", sa'o "piece of glass", bes "irrigation", bsa' "scrape/set in motion", nhis "water" |
| SH/sh | shi "10", sha' "casserole", shod "buzzard", gash "Amarillo", bsha' "changes" |
| T/t | tap "four", to "one", bat "when", btao "corn" |
| W/w | wí "orange", wag "firewood", wekoell "musician", weya' "dance", tawa' "my grandmother", wenllin "worker" |
| X/x | Xjollo' "Zoogocho", xao "your father", xop "six", bex "tomato", bxin "vulture", bxide' "scourer" |
| XH/xh | chiko' "your dog", xhis "barañas", bxhidw "kiss", xhiga' "jicara", xop "six" |
| Y/y | ya "iron", yag "tree", beye' "ice", laya' "my tooth", yade "Yaté" |
| Z/z | za "bean", beza' "vixen", nhez "path", bzinha' "mouse" |
Syntax
Sentence Structure
Zoogocho Zapotec normally uses the Verb–Subject–Object sentence structure. It is also possible to form Object–Verb–Subject or Subject–Verb–Object sentences.| Verb Subject Object | Object Verb Subject | Subject Verb Object |
Noun Phrases
Adjective-Noun Order: The ordering of adjectives and nouns.When asked to cite adjectives in isolation, 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.