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.

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

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

‘my friend’

x-kuzh lalo

POSS-pig lalo

‘Lalo’s pig’

‘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’ yogo zhaha

‘She wakes up every day.’

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.

‘She used to wake up.’

‘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-.

‘She will wake up.’

‘I hope the kid eats the tortilla.’

bate’ y-egh=o’ nis

‘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.

‘I am alive.’

‘He’s carrying a pig, right?’

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

‘Maria is larger than Juan.’

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.

Consonants
Consonants are as follows.

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.

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.