A Day in the Cornfields: A Western Otomi Narrative

Gabriela  De la Cruz-Sánchez; Claudio  De la Cruz

doi:10.19130/iifl.tlalocan.2024.1.0001S0W698X24

Resumen

This paper focuses on Western Otomi, a Mexican native language spoken in the municipality of Temoaya in the State of Mexico (ISO 639-3 ott). Speakers recognize themselves as dri ñatho, which means ‘I still speak’ and differentiate themselves from people who only speak Spanish, even though they belong to the same community, as i ñamfo ‘they speak Spanish’. This variety is underdocumented, mainly transmitted by oral tradition and spoken at home or with friends and neighbors. Hence, receptive speakers are common. Through this narrative from a Western Otomi speaker, we are offered a glimpse into what a day in the cornfields is like. In addition, this narrative gives us general insight into some features of the language. So, after introducing the cultural context of it, I present the narrative.

Introduction

Otomi is a native Mexican language that belongs to the Otopamean language family and to the Otomi-Mazahua subgroup (Palancar, 2009: 6-7). Otomi has at least 22 different varieties classified in groups. While there are different classifications of Otomi, in this work I follow the classification suggested by Palancar (2017: 2). The data analyzed in this paper comes from Temoaya Otomi which is part of the Western Otomi branch that consists of Temoaya Otomi (ISO 639-3 ott), San Felipe del Progreso Otomi and San Andrés Cuexcontitlán Otomi. Others classify Temoaya Otomi as belonging to the Central Otomi branch (INALI, 2013: 154-159). However, this is a broader classification because Central Otomi includes several varieties of Otomi spoken in the State of Mexico (Hñähñu, Ñöthó, Ñható, Hñothó and Ñóhnño). Since some of these varieties are in closer contact with languages such as Mazahua or Nahuatl, the conclusions of this paper might vary in those cases.

The narrative presented in this paper took place in the municipality of Temoaya. This municipality is one of the areas with the most Otomi speakers in the State of Mexico (INEGI, 2009: 70). Otomi speakers refer to Temoaya as Ñijni ‘town’ or Nthejkuthe ‘where roads meet’. It is represented in the following glyph with footprints going down the hill as a result of small towns being located in the mountains, opposite to the downtown, located in the valley. Temoaya in Nahuatl means ‘a place that is down the valley’ (INAFED, 2010: 428).

Figure 1: Temoaya glyph (INAFED, 2010: 428).

The title of the narrative presented here is “A day in the cornfields” and the main character of the narrative is a bilingual (Western Otomi-Spanish) male in his late 60s. He was born and raised in Temoaya and worked in cornfields for several years during his youth as most of the locals did. The events of the narrative took place in the 80s, in a cornfield located in a small village called San José Buenavista, located 10 km away from downtown Temoaya. This narrative was recorded using Zencastr, Inc ^⁴ (2021) during an online session, transcribed and translated in 2021 using ELAN.

This narrative provides an insight into the challenges faced by farmers in their everyday lives as well as the way in which work and friendship are built in the community. It tells us the story of a man who wants his corn crops to grow healthy and be productive. Hence, after he plants corn, he visits the plantation regularly to water and fertilize the crops. However, he notices that pigs have been around destroying the plantation and there is no way the owners can fix it since they are nowhere to be found. So, one day he goes to the plantation and catches the pigs destroying it. He is advised by a neighbor from the area to take one of the pigs as compensation for the destruction, and as a warning for the pig owners. He does so and later he realizes the pig belongs to a friend and worker who used to help him during the harvest season. Rather than arguing about the matter, they accept they both did wrong and the pig’s death in the house of the farmer becomes a funny anecdote. Their friendship and professional relationship remain intact, and they keep working together for the coming years.

As the narrative progresses, we can identify the three characters and some of the language features described in this paper.

Language background

Otomi is a tonal language with low, high, and rising tones with some differences among varieties. In this article, I use an adapted version of the Norma de escritura de la lengua hñähñu suggested by INALI (2014). Hence, /h/ is written as j. Since /x/ is not phonemic it isn’t considered in this variety. Aspirated /p^h/, /t^h/ and /k^h/ are spelled as ph, kh and th. Further details such as tone are not marked unless phonemic. The spelling may vary in other varieties since it reflects the speaker’s utterance.

Otomi is a pro-drop language, verb-initial and head-marking. Verbs take a prefix to inflect for subject, tense, aspect, mood, and a suffix to mark person and number. Hernandez-Green (2015) recognizes four different verbal inflection groups in Acazulco Otomi. These verbal inflection groups differ in the allomorphs of the tense-aspect-mood proclitics they select for, and in the type of stem they have in their paradigm but not by transitivity (Hernandez-Green, 2019: 278).

Palancar (2004: 275) discusses two inflectional types of verb forms in San Idelfonso Otomi: a free and a bound form. The free form is used when the verb precedes a clausal boundary or a prosodic pause since it can be uttered in isolation while the bound form is used when the verb occurs intraclausally.

In Temoaya Otomi, we can identify a prefix and a suffix attached to the verb ts’its’i as shown in (1).

(1)	Ya ji do ts’its’ibi karo zakhua.
	ʝa	hiŋ	do-t͡s’it͡s’i-bi	ka-ɾo	zak^hua
	ADV	NEG	1SG.PST-bring.back-3SG	DEM.SG-3SG.POSS	pig
	So, I didn’t bring him back his pig.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 57)

In example (1), the prefix do- marks person and tense and the suffix -bi, attached to the base verb ts’its’i, indicates a third person singular indirect object. The negative form ji precedes the person and tense prefix. As for subjects, they can be omitted when inferred by the speakers or when the topic is known by the listener (VO). Hence, the first person singular subject pronoun nugo is not uttered in this example.

When there are two verbs in the construction, the suffix -bi attaches to the first verb ne, as in (2), but it could be omitted as in (3).

(2)	Ji mi ne bi di be ka ro tsi.
	hi	mi-ne-bi	di-be	ka-ɾo-t͡si
	NEG	3SG.IPFV-want-3SG	SVJB-miss	DEM.SG-3POSS-pulque
	He didn’t want to miss his pulque.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 13)

Not only is the suffix -bi which is attached to the verb ne in (2) optional but so is the stem formative of the verb be(di) ‘to lose’ as in (3).

(3)	Ji mi ne di be(di) ka ro tsi.
	hi	mi-ne	di-be(di)	ka-ɾo-t͡si
	NEG	3SG.IPFV-want	SVJB-miss	DEM.SG-3POSS-pulque
	He didn’t want to miss his pulque.

The suffixes attached to the verbs are optional unless they are marked for number like in (4). Number categories in Western Otomi include dual exclusive -be, dual inclusive -wi/-ge wi, plural exclusive -je and plural inclusive ju.

(4)	Pi ndi pebe na nzoya mi imbi bi foxkigi,
	pi	ndi-pe-be	na	nzoʝa	mi-im-bi	bi-foʃki-gi
	also	1SG.IPFV-go-DU.EXCL	IND.SG	man	3SG.IPFV-say-OBJ	3SG.PST-help-1SG
	Also, I used to go with a man who helped me,
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 10)

The dual exclusive suffix is used in (4) since it includes the speaker and someone else. Suffixes such as the reflexive -se ‘self’ can be optional and in some cases they are redundant, such as in (5). The first person singular suffix -go in (5), attached to mejti, is optional too because the person is already marked by the first person singular possessive prefix ma-. There are three prefixes that mark possession. When they refer to multiple possessors, the plural suffix, either the inclusive or exclusive, is attached to the possessed nominal.

(5)	“Jä, ma mejtigo(se) ka”.
	hã	ma-mehti-go-(se)	ka
	AFF	1SG.POSS-own-(1SG)-(REFL)	DEM.SG
	“Yes, that is mine”.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 46)

In the narrative presented in this paper we see that the suffix -gi is attached twice to the verb in (6). The second -gi has an emphatic function, hence it is a suffix that only appears in the appropriate context.

(6)	Ingi(gi) ka na nzoya, “tsu, penti ka zakhua.
	in-gi-(gi)	ka	na	nzoʝa	t͡sɤ	penti	ka	zak^hua
	tell-1SG-EMPH	DEM.SG	IND.SG	man	catch	grab	DEM.SG	pig
	The other man tells me, “catch [it], grab the pig.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 36)

Word Order in Western Otomi

In the narrative analyzed here VO word order is the most common although there are some cases where the SVO structure can be observed, probably to emphasize the subject, such as in (7).

(7)	(Nugo) ya ji ndi ne wa ode.
	nɤgo	ʝa	hi	ndi-ne	wa-əde
	I	ADV	NEG	1SG.IPFV-want	1SG.SVJB-hear
	I didn’t want to hear [it] anymore.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 74)

As for the order of syntactic objects, they can be preverbal OV(S) as shown in (8).

(8)	“Nuka ri zakhua nin do tsa ni”
	nɤka	ɾi	zak^hua	niŋ	do-t͡sa	ni
	DEM.SG	2SG.POSS	pig	not.even	1SG.PST-eat	also
	“I didn’t even eat your pig”
	(“A day in the cornfields,” line 60)

Another word order present in the narrative is VS as in (9). Palancar (2017: 405) indicates that VS order is more frequent and includes a wider number of semantic subjects than SV.

(9)	Bi dajta deni ka nzoya.
	bi-dahta-deni	ka	nzoʝa
	3SG.PST-a.lot-laugh	DEM.SG	man
	The man laughed a lot.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 64)

Noun phrases in Western Otomi

Noun phrases can be either an argument of the main predicate, usually a verb, or can themselves be the main predicate of a clause. They are constructed with a common noun that refers to an entity (mass or count) or they can refer to a specific subject, using proper nouns or pronouns. Headless noun phrases are permitted in the language (noun ellipsis). Nouns do not inflect for number; they are marked with a prefix that functions as a determiner^⁵ or a numeral. Nouns do not inflect for gender. They either have different lexical entries or are preceded by mé (mother) or tá (father), with adjectival features according to the case. In the following diagram we can see the relative ordering of elements in the noun phrase.

Table 1:

Ordering of elements in Western Otomi NP

[Element 1]	(Element 2)	(Element 3)	(Element 4)
Determiner/ Demonstrative (Number)	Possessive Number	Number Possessive	Diminutive Honorific Augmentative
(Element 5)	(Element 6)	[Radical(s)]	(Suffixes)
Adjective	Gender (male/female)	Entity More than one, in the case of compounds *Subject pronouns.	(Emphatic) (Numeral) Object pronoun

In Table 1, the parenthesis show when the element is optional, which elements can co-occur, and the suffixes that can be attached to the noun. The required elements are shown in square brackets, including the head of the phrase, the radical, to form a noun phrase.

Nouns are mainly preceded by a demonstrative, but some are bare. In the narrative “A day in the cornfields” we can see that toponyms such as Buenabista in (10) are bare.

(10)	Na biaje, bu ndi pa Buenabista.
	na	biahe	bu	ndi-pa	buenabista
	IND.SG	time	when	1SG.IPFV-go	Buenavista
	Once, when I went to Buenavista.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 1)

However, at the end of the narrative the speaker refers to Buenavista again and this time it is preceded by nu. Although nu before a noun is glossed as a singular demonstrative, in this case it functions as the locative ‘there’ (11).

(11)	Bu ndo ma nu Buenabista do tsi ka zakhua.
		bɤ	n-do-ma	nɤ	buenabista,	do-t͡si	ka	zakhua
		when	LINK-1SG.PST-go	LOC	Buenavista	1SG.PST-bring	DEM.SG	pig
	when I went to Buenavista I brought the pig.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, lines 71-72)

The same happens in (12). The speaker uses nu and a ^⁶ ‘where’ to define the place he refers to. Some extra-linguistic information, such as gestures, pointing towards the place mentioned could accompany this construction.

(12)	Ka nzoya ta bi buj nu bi khanu, bi buj nu a ro Kosta.
	ka	nzoʝa	ta	bi-bɤh	nɤ-bi-k^ha-nɤ	bi-bɤh	nɤ	a-ɾo-kosta
	DEM.SG	man	till	3SG.PST-live	LOC-3SG-exist-LOC	3SG.PST-live	LOC	where-SG-Costa
	The man lived far away, lived by the Costa.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 27)

In (12) the locative nu introduces a toponym (Costa) whereas in (13) the locative nu is anaphoric to a discourse referent that had been previously mentioned.

(13)	Pexo tandi tse nu ta serka di uni las nuebe.
	peʃo	ta	ndi-t͡se-nɤ	ta	seɾka	di-uni	las	nuebe
	but	till	1SG.IPFV-arrive-LOC	till	almost	SVJB-give	ART	nine
	But I would get there almost at nine.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 8)

Another use of nu is as a pronoun, as in (14). In this case nu is optional since the verb ingi does not require a theme argument and it is not part of the question.

(14)	ingi “(nu) ¿o go chix ka ma zakhua?”
	iŋ-gi	(nɤ)	o	go-tʃiʃ	ka	ma	zak^hua
	say-1SG	2SG	why	2SG.PST-take.away	DEM.SG	1SG.POSS	pig
	he says to me: “you, why did you take away my pig?”.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 44)

If the subject pronoun were to be inserted in the question presented in (14), it would be nuke ‘you’.

On the other hand, the demonstrative nu does not introduce nouns for the first time. For instance, in (15) nzoya is introduced by the indefinite singular na ^⁷ and then switched to ka.

(15)	na nzoya mi im-bi mi foxki-gi, pero ka nzoya mbro Pedro ka
	na	nzoʝa	mi-im-bi	mi-foʃki-gi	peɾo	ka	nzoʝa	mbɾo	pedɾo	ka
	IND.SG	man	3SG.IPFV-say-OBJ	3SG.IPFV-help-1SG	but	DEM.SG	man	3SG.PST	Pedro	DEM.SG
	a man who helped me. The man was Pedro.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 10, 11)

The reason why nu does not precede nzoya in (15) is because it is an indefinite entity, not known by the listener and out of sight. The second time nzoya appears, it could take nu but since nzoya is out of speaker and listener’s sight, ka is preferred. In addition, this example contains the demonstrative ka two times, once preceding the noun nzoya and another ka after the proper name, Pedro, anaphorically with an emphatic purpose.

Proper names tend to be preceded by a demonstrative. However, the proper noun Pedro is bare in (15) since it’s in the predicate position and preceded by the proclitic mbro, making (16) unacceptable. So, predicate nominals preceded by mbro will always be bare.

(16)	*pero ka nsoya mbro ka Pedro
	pero	ka	nzoʝa	mbro	ka	pedro
	but	DEM.SG	man	3SG.PST.be	DEM.SG	Pedro
	(but) the man was Pedro

In (17), the first time that zakhua is mentioned in the narrative, an indefinite noun, is preceded by the plural demonstrative ku. However, this demonstrative is optional since zakhua doesn’t refer to a specific bunch of pigs.

(17)	Pexo mbi dajta yo ku zakhua
	peʃo	mbi-dahta-ʝo	kɤ	zak^hua
	but	3IPFV-a.lot-walk	DEM.PL	pig
	But there were a lot of pigs walking
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 21)

Temoaya Otomi accepts bare nouns when they are non-definite. Such nouns can be interpreted as plural, as shown in (18).

(18)	Pexo mbi dajta yo zakhua
	peʃo	mbi^⁸-dahta-ʝo	zak^hua
	but	3IPFV-a.lot-walk	pig
	But there were a lot of pigs walking

When the nominal zakhua is mentioned for the second time, the speaker reinforces the noun with the complex plural demonstrative nuku as seen in (19).

(19)	Nuku zakhua ya, xo mi uxta joi.
	nɤ-kɤ	zakhua	ʝa	ʃo	mi-uʃta	hoi
	DEM-PL	pig	ADV	so	3IPFV-dig	land
	[But] those pigs would dig the land.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 24)

Another example where an entity, in this case t’egi ‘metal tool’, is mentioned for the first time is (20).

(20)	ndi wantsi ko ka ro t’egi ndi e.
	ndi-want͡si	ko	ka	ɾo-t’egi	ndi-ɛ
	1SG.IPFV-mix	with	DEM.SG	SG-metal	1SG.IPFV-have
	I would mix [the dirt] with the metal tool I had.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, lines 4, 5)

In (20) the speaker defines the tool he had with the use of a relative clause. Providing this extra information allows him to use the definite demonstrative ka instead of the indefinite singular na. An example where we can see the indefinite singular na used to introduce an entity for the first time is in (21). In this case reza is preceded by na.

(21)	Do penti na reza
	do-penti	na	ɾeza
	1SG.PST-grab	IND.SG	bag
	I grabbed a bag
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 35)

The permitted environments of bare nouns include when there is a list of nouns, when the noun is a plural indefinite, or when it’s a mass noun (De la Cruz-Sánchez, 2022). In (22) we have the case of tsi ‘pulque’. The first time tsi appears in the narrative, it’s not bare since it’s preceded by a demonstrative and a possessive, something quite common in the language, but the second time tsi is mentioned in (21), it appears as a bare mass noun.

(22)	Ji mi ne bi di be ka ro tsi. Zai mi ne di zi tsi.
	hi	mi-ne-bi	di-be	ka-ɾo-t͡si	zai	mi-ne	di-zi	t͡si
	NEG	3SG.IPFV-want-3SG	SVJB-miss	DEM.SG-3POSS-pulque	always	3SG.IPFV-want	SVJB-drink	pulque
	He didn’t want to miss his pulque. He always wanted to drink pulque.
	(“A day in the cornfields”, line 13, 14)

Conclusions

In this brief sketch I introduced Western Otomi and presented some features of the Temoaya Otomi variety, through examples identified in the narrative “A day in the cornfields”. In addition, I provided some context of the area where this variety is spoken, the narrator of the text and the methodology used. According to the examples, nouns can be bare or preceded by a demonstrative. Bare nouns occur when referring to mass nouns, plural nouns, and toponyms. As for the verbs, they take prefixes that inflect for subject, tense, aspect, and mood and suffixes that mark person and number, some of which could be optional or emphatic.

Na mpa ja nu jüajï

(1) Na biaje, bu ndi pa Buenabista. (2) Ndi pa ro thüjü. (3) Ndi pa ro jüäjï. (4) Ngu na tiempo ya, xo ndi ote ku jüäjï, ndi tsomi, jä, ndi wantsi (5) ko ka ro t›egi ndi e. (6) Pi gempia, bi dura, xkomo bi dura ndi yo nu, jin go wariji. (7) Komo ta ndi pa wa, xo wa nantsi nxuditho wa ma. (8) Pexo tandi tse nu ta serka di uni las nuebe. (9) Kha ndi tseni las ocho. (10) Pi ndi pebe na nzoya mi imbi mi foxkigi, (11) pero ka nzoya mbro Pedro ka. (12) Pero jin ga dura bi dengigi porke ka mi ne gege. (13) Ji mi ne bi di be ka ro tsi. (14) Zai mi ne di zi tsi. (15) Walo ya xi xatho do xifi ngupu xo do ntintho do ma. (16) Bi zu na ngo do pefi, do pefi, pi do wadi (17) Do pejnia, do thajti ku joi, do ote ra zo. (18) Miji pi do tux ka ro na pina t’egi. (19) Pada wa fots’ ajoi ku yu detha (20) Jänta di te di imbi. (21) Pexo mi dajta yo ku zakhua. (22) Mi penti mi uxta joi, mi yote ku ndi ote go. (23) Imbi nu ta koxti ra zo ko ka za. (24) Nuku zakhua ya, xo mi uxta joi. (25) Do oni na nzoya. Di imbi: “¿to yo mejti yu io wa? (26) Dei storbagi wa jabu di io” do ina. Bi ñingigi “ro Mateo”. (27) Ka nzoya ta bi buj nu bi khanu, bi buj nu a ro Kosta. (28) “A di konise ka nzoya porke zai ba i kua da foxkigi.” (29) Abese pox nu ro za xo pada kongi nu joi. (30) Ka nzoya Mateo, xo mi gusta wa ñobe ka, pexo binkhapia. (31) Piya jin ga dura do ñobe. (32) Pi do ma na biaje. (33) Pi do ma kati ku ta pefi kha mi bui ra zo. (34) Pe mero do tsudi mi yo ku zakhua ya, ka do kha: (35) Do penti na reza. (36) Ingigi ka na nzoya, “tsu, penti ka zakhua. (37) Walo gi ts’its’i jänta para da mo kio dueño. (38) Porke kio dueño jin gi kha nkaso”. (39) Nugo xo do obediente. (40) Do penti ka zakhua. (41) Do pa da poxi na reza. (42) Nige ka mbro mejti ka zakhua genka Mateo, ka mbro mejti ka zakhua. (43) Ta bi zu kinse dia, beinte dia. (44) Pi do nthebe, ingi “nu ¿o go chix ka ma zakhua?”. (45) “¿Poko ri mejti ge a ka?”. (46) “Jä ma mejtigo ka”. (47) “I la berda, da bingo jin gri mejtige a ka (48) porke bi xijkigi ka nzoya ina naño to mbro mejti na”. (49) “Nugo xo do ts’its’i. (50) Como mide mi muxti wa ja yo joi. (51) Mide mi phonti yo joi”, di i-mbi. (52) “¿Xia te go khajpia?” -xo ka zakhua xo ta bi bujnu ja ma ngu- di ina. (53) “¡Xo di khapu! (54) Pina biaje ya kada bu gi ne gi i gi pefi go ma foxkiki. (55) Pexo di khapu ya. (56) Ya jin go tsi ka zakhua”, ingigi ka Mateo. (57) Ya ji do ts’its’ibi karo zakhua. (58) Kada wa nthebe ka nzoya mi ingigi: (59) “Nu ¿te bi kha ka ma zakhua?” (60) “Nuka ri zakhua nin do tsa ni (61) porke ka ri zakhua bi ñit’i xo bi du”, di imbi. (62) “¿Poko bi du ka zakhua?”. (63) “Jä bi du, nin ga provechagigi ka zakhua”, di imbi. (64) Bi dajta deni ka nzoya. (65) Nuka Mateo ina. (66) “Por eso jin gi tchix ku jin gri mejti. (67) Nuya go ts’its’i nin ga duraki. (68) Ka zakhua bi pi du”. (69) “Ya pana biaje ya jin da nkhapu ya”, (70) di imbi ka Mateo. (71) Genka do pej ka na biaje, bu ndo ma nu Buenabista (72) do tsi ka zakhua. (73) Kada wa nthebe mi demi binbigi ka zakhua. (74) Nugo ya ji ndi ne wa ode. (75) Porke ta tsimpi ka ro zakhua.

A day in the cornfields

(1) Once, when I went to Buenavista. (2) I went to plant. (3) I went to fallow. (4) Like in this season, I used to work the land, I would dig, yes, I would mix [the dirt] (5) with the metal tool I had. (6) So I would be around the area for a while [because] I didn’t finish [the work] soon. (7) Since I departed from here, I had to wake up early to leave. (8) But I would arrive there almost at nine. (9) [Or] I would arrive at eight. (10) Also, I used to go with a man who helped me. (11) The man was Pedro. (12) But he didn’t continue following me because of what he wanted. (13) He didn’t want to miss his pulque. (14) He always wanted to drink pulque. (15) I better not tell him anything, so I hurried to go [by myself]. (16) I worked there for like a month before I finished. (17) I worked there. I removed the soil, I did it well. (18) I even brought another metal tool (19) to plough the corn. (20) So that it would grow, according to me. (21) But there were a lot of pigs walking [around]. (22) [They] would dig the land and destroy what I had done. (23) According to me, I had smoothed it over well with the stick. (24) [But] those pigs would dig the land. (25) I asked a man. I say to him: “who’s the owner of these ones here? (26) They bother me where I go,” I said. He told me, “[they’re] Mateo’s”. (27) The man lived far away, lived by the Costa. (28) “Ah, I know the man because he always comes here to help me.” (29) To clean the land because sometimes sticks come out. (30) Mr. Mateo liked to work with me but that happened. (31) He didn’t last long [working] with me. (32) So I went [back] once. (33) I went [back] to see if what I had done was good. (34) But I caught the pigs walking [in the field], what I did was: (35) I grabbed a bag. (36) The other man tells me, “catch [it], grab the pig. (37) You better take it so that the owners take care of them. (38) Because the owners don’t pay attention.” (39) I was obedient [and] (40) I grabbed the pig. (41) I went to wrap [it] in a bag. (42) It turns out that the pig’s owner was Mateo, he was the owner of the pig. (43) Until 15 [or] 20 days later (44) we met [and] he says to me: “you, why did you take away my pig?”. (45) “Is it really yours?”. (46) “Yes, that is mine.” (47) “Oh, to be honest I remember it wasn’t yours (48) because the man told me someone else was the owner”. (49) “So, I took it away. (50. Since it kept digging the soil here. (51) It was making a mess with the dirt”, I tell him. (52) “What do I do now? - the pig was at my house”- I say. (53) “¡[Leave] it like that! (54) Next time when you want to come to work, I am going to help you. (55) But leave it like that now. (56) Don’t bring the pig,” Mateo tells me. (57) So, I didn’t bring him back his pig. (58) Each time I met him, the man would tell me: (59) “You, what happened to my pig?” (60) “I didn’t even eat your pig (61) because your pig hung himself and died,” I say [to him]. (62) “Did the pig really die?” (63) “Yes, it died, I didn’t even take advantage of the pig,” I say [to him]. (64) The man laughed a lot. (65) [And] Mateo says: (66) “That’s why you shouldn’t take what’s not yours. (67) Now you took it away, and it didn’t even last for you. (68) The pig died.” (69) “Next time, it won’t happen again,” (70) I say to Mateo. (71) That’s what I did when I went to Buenavista. (72) I brought the pig. (73) Each time we met he reminded me about the pig. (74) I didn’t want to hear [it] anymore (75) because I had taken away his pig.

Un día en la milpa

(1) Una vez, cuando iba a Buenavista. (2) Iba a sembrar. (3) Iba a barbechar. (4) Como en esta temporada yo solía trabajar el campo, picaba, sí, revolvía [la tierra] (5) con el fierro que tenía. (6) Andaba allí por un buen tiempo [porque] no terminaba rápido [el trabajo]. (7) Como me iba desde aquí, me levantaba temprano para irme. (8) Pero llegaba allá casi hasta que daban las nueve. (9) [O] llegaba a las ocho. (10) Además, me iba con un señor que según me ayudaba. (11) El señor era Pedro. (12) Pero no duró acompañándome por lo que quería. (13) No quería que le faltara su pulque. (14) Siempre quería tomar pulque. (15) Por eso ya mejor no le dije nada, me apuraba yo a irme. (16) Trabajé allí como por un mes y terminé. (17) Trabaje allí. Removí la tierra, lo hice bien. (18) Hasta llevé otro fierro (19) para cultivar el maíz. (20) Como para que [el maíz] creciera según yo. (21) Pero andaban muchos puercos. (22) Escarbaban la tierra y destruían todo lo que yo hacía. (23) Según yo lo había alisado bien con el palo. (24) [Pero] esos puercos escarbaban la tierra. (25) Le pregunté a un señor. Le digo: “¿De quién son estos que andan aquí? (26) Me estorban donde ando,” le dije. Me dijo, “son de Mateo.” (27) El señor vivía hasta por allá, vivía por la Costa. (28) “Ah, conozco al señor porque siempre viene aquí a ayudarme.” (29) Para limpiar porque a veces suben los palos de la tierra. (30) Al señor Mateo le gustaba trabajar conmigo, pero pasó eso. (31) No duramos mucho [trabajando] juntos. (32) Después, un día fui. (33) Fui a ver si mi trabajo estaba bien. (34) Pero encontré que allí andaban los puercos, entonces lo que hice fue: (35) agarré una bolsa. (36) El otro señor me dice, “alcánzalo, agarra el puerco. (37) Mejor te lo llevas para que los dueños los cuiden. (38) Porque los dueños no hacen caso”. (39) Yo muy obediente (40) agarré el puerco. (41) Fui a envolverlo en una bolsa. (42) [Y] resultó que el dueño del puerco era Mateo, él era el dueño del puerco. (43) Como 15 [o] 20 días después (44) nos encontramos [y] me dice, “Tú, ¿por qué te llevaste mi puerco?”. (45) “¿A poco ese es tuyo?”. (46) “Sí, es mío”. (47) “Mmm, la verdad recuerdo como que no era tuyo (48) porque el señor me dijo que era de alguien más”. (49) “Y yo me lo llevé. (50) Como se la pasaba aquí escarbando la tierra. (51) Se la pasaba regando la tierra”, le digo. (52) “¿Ahora qué hacemos? -el puerco estaba hasta mi casa-”, le digo. (53) “¡Que así se quede! (54) La próxima vez, cada que quieras venir a trabajar yo te voy a ayudar. (55) Pero ya que así se quede. (56) No traigas el puerco”, me dice Mateo. (57) Ya no le llevé su puerco. (58) Cada que me encontraba al señor me decía: (59) “Tú, ¿qué pasó con mi puerco?”. (60) “Ni me comí tu puerco (61) porque se ahorcó y se murió”, le digo. (62) “¿A poco se murió el puerco?”. (63) “Sí, se murió, ni me aprovechó el puerco”, le digo. (64) Le dio mucha risa al señor. (65) [Y] Mateo dice: (66) “por eso no te lleves lo que no es tuyo. (67) Ahora te lo llevaste y ni te duró. (68) El puerco se murió luego”. (69) “Ya la próxima vez no vuelve a pasar”, (70) le digo a Mateo. (71) Eso es lo que hice una vez que fui a Buenavista. (72) Me traje el puerco. (73) Cada que me lo encontraba me recordaba el puerco. (74) Yo ya no quería escucharlo (75) porque me había llevado su puerco.

A day in the cornfields

Glossed text

1.	Na biaje, bu ndi pa Buenabista.
	na	biahe	bu	ndi-pa	buenabista
	IND.SG	time	when	1SG.IPFV-go	Buenavista
	Once, when I went to Buenavista.
	Una vez, cuando iba a Buenavista.

2.	Ndi pa ro thüjü.
	ndi-pa	ɾo-t^hũhũ
	1SG.IPFV-go	SG-plant
	I went to plant.
	Iba a sembrar.

3.	Ndi pa ro jüäjï.
	ndi-pa	ɾo-hũãhĩ
	1SG.IPFV-go	SG-fallow
	I went to fallow.
	Iba a barbechar.

4.	Ngu na tiempo ya, xo ndi ote ku jüäjï, ndi tsomi, jä, ndi wantsi
	ngu	na	tiempo	ʝa	ʃo	ndi-əte	kɤ	hũãhĩ	ndi-t͡somi
	like	IND.SG	time	ADV	then	1.SG.IPFV-do	DEM.PL	land	1SG.IPFV-dig

	hã	ndi-want͡si
	AFF	1SG.IPFV-mix
	Like in this season, I used to work (lit. do) the land, I would dig, yes, I would mix [the dirt]
	Como en esta temporada yo solía trabajar el campo, picaba, sí, revolvía [la tierra]

5.	ko ka ro t’egi ndi e.
	ko	ka	ɾo-t’egi	ndi-ɛ
	with	DEM.SG	SG-metal	1SG.IPFV-have
	with the metal tool I had.
	con el fierro que tenía.

6.	Pi gempia, bi dura, xkomo bi dura ndi yo nu, jin go wariji.
	pi	gempia	bi-duɾa	ʃkomo	bi-duɾa	ndi-ʝo-nɤ	hiŋ
	so	then	3SG.PST-last	like	3SG.PST-last	1SG.IPFV-walk-LOC	NEG

	go-wa-ɾihi
	1COND-finish-quickly
	So I would be around the area for a while [because] I didn’t finish [the work] soon.
	Andaba allí por un buen tiempo [porque] no terminaba rápido [el trabajo].

7.	Komo ta ndi pa wa, xo wa nantsi nxuditho wa ma.
	komo	ta	ndi-pa-wa	ʃo	wa-nant͡si	nʃudi-t^hõ	wa-ma
	since	till	1SG.IPFV-go-LOC	so	1SG.PFV-get.up	early-EMPH	1SG.PFV-go
	Since I departed from here, I had to wake up early to leave.
	Como me iba desde aquí, me levantaba temprano para irme.

8.	Pexo tandi tse nu ta serka di uni las nuebe.
	peʃo	ta	ndi-t͡se-nɤ	ta	seɾka	di-uni	las	nuebe
	but	till	1SG.IPFV-arrive-LOC	till	almost	SVJB-give	ART	nine
	But I would arrive there almost at nine.
	Pero llegaba allá casi hasta que daban las nueve.

9.	kha ndi tseni las ocho.
	k^ha	ndi-t͡seni	las	oʃo
	ADV	1SG.IPFV-arrive	ART	eight
	[Or] I would arrive at eight.
	[O] llegaba a las ocho.

10.	Pi ndi pebe na nzoya mi imbi mi foxkigi,
	pi	ndi-pe-be	na	nzoʝa	mi-im-bi	mi-foʃki-gi
	also	1SG.IPFV-go-DU.EXCL	IND.SG	man	3SG.IPFV-say-OBJ	3SG.IPFV-help-1SG
	Also, I used to go with a man who helped me.
	Además, me iba con un señor que según me ayudaba.

11.	pero ka nzoya mbro Pedro ka.
	peɾo	ka	nzoʝa	mbɾo	pedɾo	ka
	but	DEM.SG	man	3SG.PST	pedro	DEM.SG
	The man was Pedro.
	El señor era Pedro.

12.	Pero jin ga dura bi dengigi porke ka mi ne gege.
	peɾo	hiŋ	ga-duɾa	bi-deŋ-gi-gi	poɾke	ka	mi-ne-gege
	but	NEG	3SG.PFV-last	3SG.PST-follow-1SG-EMPH	because	REL	3SG.IPFV-want-3SG
	But he didn’t continue (lit. last) following me because of what he wanted.
	Pero no duró acompañándome por lo que quería.

13.	Ji mi ne bi di be ka ro tsi.
	hi	mi-ne-bi	di-be	ka-ɾo-t͡si
	NEG	3SG.IPFV-want-3SG	SVJB-miss	DEM.SG-3POSS-pulque
	He didn’t want to miss his pulque.
	No quería que le faltara su pulque.

14.	Zai mi ne di zi tsi.
	zai	mi-ne	di-zi	t͡si
	always	3SG.IPFV-want	SVJB-drink	pulque
	He always wanted to drink pulque.
	Siempre quería tomar pulque.

15.	Walo ya xi xatho do xifi ngupu xo do ntintho do ma.
	walo	ʝa	ʃi	ʃatho	do-ʃi-fi	ngu-pɤ	ʃo	do-ntintho	do-ma
	better	ADV	so	nothing	1SG.PST-tell-3SG	like-LOC	so	1SG.PST-hurry	1SG.PST-go
	I better not tell him anything, so I hurried to go [by myself].
	Por eso ya mejor no le dije nada, me apuraba yo a irme.

16.	Bi zu na ngo do pefi, do pefi, pi do wadi
	bi-zɤ	na	ŋgo	do-pefi	do-pefi	pi	do-wadi
	3SG.PST-reach	one	month	1SG.PST-work	1SG.PST-work	then	1SG.PST-finish
	I worked there for like a month before I finished.
	Trabajé allí como por un mes y terminé.

17.	Do pejnia, do thajti ku joi, do ote ra zo.
	do-peh-nia	do-thati	kɤ	hoi	do-əte	ɾa-zo
	1SG.PST-work-LOC	1SG.PST-remove	DEM.PL	soil	1SG.PST-do	be-good
	I worked there. I removed the soil, I did it well.
	Trabaje allí. Removí la tierra, lo hice bien.

18.	Miji pi do tux ka ro na pina t’egi.
	mihi	pi	do-tuʃ	ka-ɾo	na	pi-na	t’egi
	also	then	1SG.PST-bring	DEM.SG-SG	IND.SG	plus-IND.SG	metal
	I even brought another metal tool
	Hasta llevé otro fierro

19.	Pada wa fots’ ajoi ku yu detha
	pada	wa-fot͡s’	a-hoi	kɤ-ʝɤ	det^ha
	to	1SG.PFV-plough	PREP-floor	DEM.PL-PL	corn
	to plough the corn.
	para cultivar el maíz.

20.	Jänta di te di imbi.
	hã-nta	di-te	di-im-bi
	AFF-RES	SVJB-grow	1SG.PRS-say-OBJ
	So that it would grow, according to me.
	Como para que [el maíz] creciera según yo.

21.	Pexo mi dajta yo ku zakhua.
	peʃo	mi-dahta-ʝo	kɤ	zak^hua
	but	3IPFV-a.lot-walk	DEM.PL	pig
	But there were a lot of pigs walking [around].
	Pero andaban muchos puercos.

22.	Mi penti mi uxta joi, mi yote ku ndi ote go.
	mi-penti	mi-uʃta	hoi	mi-ʝəte	kɤ	ndi-əte-go
	3IPFV-grab	3IPFV-dig	land	3IPFV-destroy	DEM.PL	1SG.IPFV-do-1SG
	[They] would dig the land and destroy what I had done.
	Escarbaban la tierra y destruían todo lo que yo hacía.

23.	Imbi nu ta koxti ra zo ko ka za.
	im-bi	nɤ (go)	ta-koʃti	ɾa-zo	ko	ka	za
	say-OBJ	I	1SG.PRF-smooth	be-good	with	DEM.SG	stick
	According to me, I had smoothed it over well with the stick.
	Según yo lo había alisado bien con el palo.

24.	Nuku zakhua ya, xo mi uxta joi.
	nɤ-kɤ	zak^hua	ʝa	ʃo	mi-uʃta	hoi
	DEM-PL	pig	ADV	so	3IPFV-dig	land
	[But] those pigs would dig the land.
	[Pero] esos puercos escarbaban la tierra.

25.	Do oni na nzoya. Di imbi: “¿to yo mejti yu io wa?
	do-oni	na	nzoʝa	di-im-bi	to	ʝo-mehti	yɤ	io-wa
	1SG.PST-ask	IND.SG	man	1SG.PRS-say-OBJ	who	3POSS-owner	DEM.PL	walk-LOC
	I asked a man. I said to him: “who’s the owner of these ones here?
	Le pregunté a un señor. Le digo: “¿De quién son estos que andan aquí?

26.	Dei storbagi wa jabu di io” do ina. Bi ñingigi “ro Mateo”
	dei-stoɾba-gi	wa-ha-bɤ	di-io	do-ina	bi-ɲiŋ-gi-gi	ɾo-Mateo
	PROG-bother-1SG	LOC-where-LOC	1SG.PRS-walk	1SG.PST-say	3SG.PST-say-1SG-EMPH	SG-Mateo
	They bother me where I go,” I said. He told me, “[they’re] Mateo’s”.
	Me estorban donde ando,” le dije. Me dijo, “son de Mateo”.

27.	Ka nzoya ta bi buj nu bi khanu, bi buj nu a ro Kosta.
	ka	nzoʝa	ta	bi-bɤh	nɤ-bi-kha-nɤ	bi-bɤh	nɤ	a-ɾo-Kosta
	DEM.SG	man	till	3SG.PST-live	LOC-3SG-exist-LOC	3SG.PST-live	LOC	where-SG-Kosta
	The man lived far away, lived by the Costa.
	El señor vivía hasta por allá, vivía por la Costa.

28.	“A di konise ka nzoya porke zai ba i kua da foxkigi.”
	a	di-konise	ka	nzoʝa	poɾke	zai	ba-i-kua
	ah	1SG.PRS-know	DEM.SG	man	because	always	3SG-come-LOC

	da-foʃki-gi
	3SG.FUT-help-1SG
	“Ah, I know the man because he always comes here to help me.”
	“Ah, conozco al señor porque siempre viene aquí a ayudarme.”

29.	Abese pox nu ro za xo pada kongi nu joi.
	abese	pɘʃ	nɤ	ɾo-za	ʃo	pada	kongi	nɤ	hoi
	sometimes	come.out	DEM.SG	SG-Stick	so	to	clean	DEM.SG	land
	To clean the land because sometimes sticks come out.
	Para limpiar porque a veces suben los palos de la tierra.

30.	Ka nzoya Mateo, xo mi gusta wa ñobe ka, pexo binkhapia.
	ka	nzoʝa	Mateo	ʃo	mi-gusta	wa-ɲo-be	ka	peʃo
	DEM.SG	man	Mateo	so	3SG.IPFV-like	1PFV-walk-DU.EXCL	DEM.SG	but

	bi-nkha-pia
	3SG.PST-happen-ADV
	Mr. Mateo liked to work with me but that happened.
	Al señor Mateo le gustaba trabajar conmigo, pero pasó eso.

31.	Piya jin ga dura do ñobe.
	pi-ʝa	hiŋ	ga-duɾa	do-ɲo-be
	then-ADV	NEG	3SG.PFV-last	1PST-walk-DU.EXCL
	He didn’t last long [working] with me.
	No duramos mucho [trabajando] juntos.

32.	Pi do ma na biaje.
	pi	do-ma	na	biaje
	so	1SG.PST-go	IND.SG	travel
	So I went [back] once.
	Después, un día fui.

33.	Pi do ma kati ku ta pefi kha mi bui ra zo.
	pi	do-ma-kati	kɤ	ta-pefi	kha	mi-bɤi	ɾa-zo
	so	1SG.PST-go-see	DEM.PL	1SG.PRF-work	COND	3SG.IPFV-live	be-good
	I went [back] to see if what I had done was good.
	Fui a ver si mi trabajo estaba bien.

34.	Pe mero do tsudi mi yo ku zakhua ya, ka do kha:
	pe	meɾo	do-t͡sɤdi	mi-ʝo	kɤ	zak^hua	ia	ka	do-k^ha
	but	just	1SG.PST-catch	3IPFV-walk	DEM.PL	pig	ADV	REL	1SG.PST-do
	But I caught the pigs walking [in the field], what I did was:
	Pero encontré que allí andaban los puercos, entonces lo que hice fue:

35.	Do penti na reza.
	do-penti	na	ɾeza
	1SG.PST-grab	IND.SG	bag
	I grabbed a bag.
	agarré una bolsa.

36.	Ingigi ka na nzoya, “tsu, penti ka zakhua.
	in-gi-gi	ka	na	nzoʝa	t͡sɤ	penti	ka	zak^hua
	tell-1SG-EMPH	DEM.SG	IND.SG	man	catch	grab	DEM.SG	pig
	The other man tells me, “catch [it], grab the pig.
	El otro señor me dice, “alcánzalo, agarra el puerco.

37.	Walo gi ts’its’i jänta para da mo kio dueño.
	walo	gi-t͡s’it͡s’i	hã-nta	para	da-mo	kio	dueɳo
	better	2SG.PRS-take	AFF-RES	so	3SVJB-take.care	3PL.POSS	owner
	You better take it so that the owners take care of them.
	Mejor te lo llevas para que los dueños los cuiden.

38.	Porke kio dueño jin gi kha nkaso.”
	poɾke	kio	dueɲo	hiŋ	gi-k^ha	nkaso
	because	3PL.POSS	owner	NEG	3PRS-do	attention
	Because the owners don’t pay attention.”
	Porque los dueños no hacen caso.”

39.	Nugo xo do obediente.
	nɤgo	ʃo	do-obediente
	I	so	1SG.PST-obedient
	I was obedient [and]
	Yo muy obediente

40.	Do penti ka zakhua.
	do-penti	ka	zak^hua
	1SG.PST-grab	DEM.SG	pig
	I grabbed the pig.
	agarré el puerco.

41.	Do pa da poxi na reza.
	do-pa	da-poʃi	na	ɾeza
	1SG.PST-go	1SG.AND-wrap	IND.SG	bag
	I went to wrap [it] in a bag.
	Fui a envolverlo en una bolsa.

42.	Nige ka mbro mejti ka zakhua genka Mateo, ka mbro mejti ka zakhua.
	nige	ka	mbɾo-mehti	ka	zak^hua	gen-ka	Mateo	ka
	RES	DEM.SG	3SG.IPFV-own	DEM.SG	pig	REL-DEM.SG	Mateo	DEM.SG

mbɾo-mehti	ka	zakhua
3SG.IPFV-owner	DEM.SG	pig
It turns out that the pig’s owner was Mateo, he was the owner of the pig.
[Y] resultó que el dueño del puerco era Mateo, él era el dueño del puerco.

43.	Ta bi zu kinse dia, beinte dia.
	ta	bi.zɤ	kinse	dia	beinte	dia
	till	3SG.PST.reach	fifteen	day	twenty	day
	Until 15 [or] 20 days later
	Como 15 [o] 20 días después

44.	Pi do nthebe, ingi “nu ¿o go chix ka ma zakhua?”
	pi	do-nt^hẽ-be	iŋ-gi	nɤ	o	go-tʃiʃ	ka	ma	zakhua
	then	1SG.PST-meet-DUAL	say-1SG	2SG	why	2SG.PST-take.away	DEM.SG	1SG.POSS	pig
	we met [and] he says to me: “you, why did you take away my pig?”
	nos encontramos [y] me dice, “Tú, ¿por qué te llevaste mi puerco?”

45.	“¿Poko ri mejti ge a ka?”.
	poko	ɾi-mehti-ge	a-ka
	really	2SG.POSS-own-2SG	LINK-DEM.SG
	“Is it really yours?”
	“¿A poco ese es tuyo?”.

46.	“Jä ma mejtigo ka.”
	hã	ma-mehti-go	ka
	AFF	1SG.POSS-own-1SG	DEM.SG
	“Yes, that is mine.”
	“Sí, es mío”.

47.	“I la berda, da bingo jin gri mejtige a ka
	i	la	beɾda	da-biŋ-go	hiŋ	g-ɾi-mehti-ge	a-ka
	oh	ART	truth	1SG.AND-remember-1SG	NEG	LINK-2SG.POSS-own-2SG	LINK-DEM.SG
	“Oh, to be honest I remember it wasn’t yours
	“Mmm, la verdad recuerdo como que no era tuyo

48.	porke bi xijkigi ka nzoya ina naño to mbro mejti na”.
	poɾke	bi-ʃihki-gi	ka	nzoʝa	ina	naɲo	to	mbɾo-mehti	na
	because	3SG.PST-tell-1SG	DEM.SG	man	say	different	who	3SG.IPFV-owner	IND.SG
	because the man told me someone else was the owner”.
	porque el señor me dijo que era de alguien más”.

49.	“Nugo xo do ts’its’i.
	nɤgo	ʃo	do-t͡s’it͡s’i
	I	so	1SG.PST-take.away
	“So, I took it away.
	“Y yo me lo llevé.

50.	Como mide mi muxti wa ja yo joi.
	komo	mide-mi-muʃti	wa-ha	ʝo	hoi
	since	PROG-3SG.IPFV-dig	LOC-where	DEM.IND.PL	soil
	Since it kept digging the soil here.
	Como se la pasaba aquí escarbando la tierra.

51.	Mide mi phonti yo joi”, di im-bi.
	mide-mi-p^honti	ʝo	hoi	di-im-bi
	PROG-3SG.IPFV-mess	DEM.IND.SG	dirt	1SG.PRS-tell-3SG
	It was making a mess with the dirt”, I tell him.
	Se la pasaba regando la tierra”, le digo.

52.	“¿Xia te go khajpia?” -xo ka zakhua xo ta bi bujnu ja ma ngu- di ina.
	ʃia	te	go-k^hah-pia	ʃo	ka	zak^hua	ʃo	ta	bi-bɤh-nɤ
	ADV	what	1SG.FUT-do-ADV	so	DEM.SG	pig	so	till	3SG.PST-live-LOC

ha	ma	ŋgu	di-ina
where	1SG.POSS	house	1SG.PRS-say
“What do I do now? -the pig was at my house-”, I say.
“¿Ahora qué hacemos? -el puerco estaba hasta mi casa-”, le digo.

53.	“¡Xo di khapu!
	ʃo	di-k^ha	pɤ
	so	SVJB-stay	that
	“¡[Leave] it like that!
	“¡Que así se quede!

54.	Pina biaje ya kada bu gi ne gi i gi pefi go ma foxkiki.
	pi-na	biahe	ʝa	kada	bɤ	gi-ne	gi-i	gi-pefi
	plus-IND.SG	travel	ADV	each	when	2SG.PRS-want	2SG.PRS-come	2SG.PRS-work

	go-ma-foʃki-ki
	1SG.FUT-go-help-2SG
	Next time when you want to come to work, I am going to help you.
	La próxima vez, cada que quieras venir a trabajar yo te voy a ayudar.

55.	Pexo di khapu ya.
	peʃo	di-k^ha	pɤ	ʝa
	but	SVJB-stay	that	ADV
	But leave it like that now.
	Pero ya que así se quede.

56.	Ya jin go tsi ka zakhua”, ingigi ka Mateo.
	ʝa	hiŋ	go-t͡si	ka	zak^hua	iŋ-gi-gi	ka	Mateo
	ADV	NEG	2SG.PST-bring	DEM.SG	pig	tell-1SG-EMPH	DEM.SG	Mateo
	Don’t bring the pig,” Mateo tells me.
	No traigas el puerco”, me dice Mateo.

57.	Ya ji do ts’its’ibi karo zakhua.
	ʝa	hiŋ	do-t͡s’it͡s’i-bi	ka-ɾo	zak^hua
	ADV	NEG	1SG.PST-bring.back-3SG	DEM.SG-3SG.POSS	pig
	So, I didn’t bring him back his pig.
	Ya no le llevé su puerco.

58.	Kada wa nthebe ka nzoya mi ingigi:
	kada	wa-nt^he-be	ka	nzoʝa	mi-iŋ-gi-gi
	each	1SG.PFV-meet-DU.EXCL	DEM.SG	man	3SG.IPFV-tell-1SG-EMPH
	Each time I met him, the man would tell me:
	Cada que me encontraba al señor me decía:

59.	“Nu ¿te bi kha ka ma zakhua?”
	nɤ	te	bi-k^ha	ka	ma	zak^hua
	2SG	what	3SG.PST-happen	DEM.SG	1SG.POSS	pig
	“You, what happened to my pig?”
	“Tú, ¿qué pasó con mi puerco?”.

60.	“Nuka ri zakhua nin do tsa ni
	nɤka	ɾi	zak^hua	niŋ	do-t͡sa	ni
	DEM.SG	2SG.POSS	pig	not.even	1SG.PST-eat	also
	“I didn’t even eat your pig
	“Ni me comí tu puerco

61.	porke ka ri zakhua bi ñit’i xo bi du”, di imbi.
	poɾke	ka	ri	zakhua	bi-ɲit’i	ʃo	bi-du	di-im-bi
	because	DEM.SG	2SG.POSS	pig	3SG.PST-hang.REFL	so	3SG.PST-die	1SG.PRS-say-OBJ
	because your pig hung himself and died,” I say [to him].
	porque se ahorcó y se murió”, le digo.

62.	“¿Poko bi du ka zakhua?”
	poko	bi-du	ka	zak^hua
	really	3SG.PST-die	DEM.SG	pig
	“Did the pig really die?”
	“¿A poco se murió el puerco?”.

63.	“Jä bi du, nin ga provechagigi ka zakhua”, di imbi.
	hã	bi-du	niŋ	ga-probetʃa-gi-gi	ka	zak^hua	di-im-bi
	AFF	3SG.PST-die	not.even	3SG.PFV-take.advantage-1SG-EMPH	DEM.SG	pig	1SG.PRS-Say-OBJ
	“Yes, it died, I didn’t even take advantage of the pig,” I say [to him].
	“Sí, se murió, ni me aprovecho el puerco”, le digo.

64.	Bi dajta deni ka nzoya.
	bi-dahta-deni	ka	nzoʝa
	3SG.PST-a.lot-laugh	DEM.SG	man
	The man laughed a lot.
	Le dio mucha risa al señor.

65.	Nuka Mateo ina
	nɤka	Mateo	ina:
	DEM.SG	Mateo	say
	[And] Mateo says:
	[Y] Mateo dice:

66.	“Por eso jin gi tchix ku jin gri mejti.
	poɾeso	hiŋ	gi-tʃiʃ	kɤ	hiŋ	g-ɾi-mehti
	that’s.why	NEG	2SG.PRS-take	DEM.PL	NEG	LINK-2SG.POSS-own
	“that’s why you shouldn’t take what’s not yours.
	“por eso no te lleves lo que no es tuyo.

67.	Nuya go ts’its’i nin ga duraki.
	nɤ-ʝa	go-ts’its’i	niŋ	ga-duɾa-ki
	DEM.SG-ADV	2SG.PST-take.away	not.even	3SG.PFV-last-2SG
	Now you took it away, and it didn’t even last for you.
	Ahora te lo llevaste y ni te duró.

68.	Ka zakhua bi pi du”.
	ka	zak^hua	bi-pi-du
	DEM.SG	pig	3SG.PST-next-die
	The pig died.”
	El puerco se murió luego”.

69.	“Ya pana biaje ya jin da nkhapu ya”,
	ʝa	pa	na	biahe	ʝa	hin	da-nk^ha	pɤ	ʝa
	ADV	PREP	IND.SG	travel	ADV	NEG	3SG.SVJB-happen	that	ADV
	“Next time, it won’t happen again,”
	“Ya la próxima vez no vuelve a pasar”,

70.	Di imbi ka Mateo.
	di-im-bi	ka	Mateo
	1SG.PRS-say-OBJ	ART	Mateo
	I say to Mateo.
	le digo a Mateo.

71.	Genka do pej ka na biaje, bu ndo ma nu Buenabista
	geŋ-ka	do-peh	ka	na	biaje	bɤ	n-do-ma	nɤ	buenabista
	REL-DEM.SG	1SG.PST-do	DEM.SG	IND.SG	travel	when	LINK-1SG.PST-go	LOC	Buenavista
	That’s what I did when I went to Buenavista.
	Eso es lo que hice una vez que fui a Buenavista.

72.	do tsi ka zakhua.
	do-t͡si	ka	zak^hua
	1SG.PST-bring	DEM.SG	pig
	I brought the pig.
	Me traje el puerco.

73.	Kada wa nthebe mi demi binbigi ka zakhua.
	kada	wa-nt^he-be	mi-demi-bin-gi-gi	ka	zak^hua
	each	1PFV-meet-DU.EXCL	3SG.IPFV-PROG-remind-1SG-EMPH	DEM.SG	pig
	Each time we met he reminded me about the pig.
	Cada que me lo encontraba me recordaba el puerco.

74.	Nugo ya ji ndi ne wa ode.
	nɤgo	ʝa	hi	ndi-ne	wa-əde
	I	ADV	NEG	1SG.IPFV-want	1SG.PFV-hear
	I didn’t want to hear [it] anymore
	Yo ya no quería escucharlo.

75.	Porke ta tsimpi ka ro zakhua.
	poɾke	ta-t͡si-mpi	ka	ɾo	zak^hua
	because	1SG.PRF-take away-3SG	DEM.SG	3SG.POSS	pig
	because I had taken away his pig.
	Porque me había llevado su puerco.

[1] De la Cruz-Sánchez, G. (2022). . . Tucson: University of Arizona Linguistics Circle. .19-29. Remo Nitschke, Jennifer Medina, Gabriela De la Cruz-Sánchez, John W.W. Powell, Luis A. Irizarry-Figueroa, George-Michael Pescaru and Florian Hafner, editorsvol. 24

[2] Hernández-Green, N. “Morfosintaxis verbal del Otomí de Acazulco” PhD thesis

[3] Hernández-Green, N. (2019). “Inflectional verb classes in Acazulco Otomi”. Amerindia 41, 273-322.

[4] Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal (INAFED) (2010). . . México: INAFED. .

[5] Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI) (2013). . . Mexico: INALI. . 2ª. ed.

[6] Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI) (2014). . . México: INALI/Secretaria de Cultura. .

[7] Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) (2009). . . Mexico: INEGI. .

[8] Palancar, E. (2004). “Verbal Morphology and Prosody in Otomi”. International Journal of American Linguistics 70(3), 251-278.

[9] Palancar, E. (2009). . . Querétaro: Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. . vol. 1

[10] Palancar, E. (2017). . . .

[11] ZENCASTR, INC. San Francisco, California, available in: https://www.zencastr.com (accessed May 2021)

A Day in the Cornfields: A Western Otomi Narrative

Resumen

Descargas

Métricas

Citas

Artículos similares

Introduction

Figure 1: Temoaya glyph (INAFED, 2010: 428).

Language background

Word Order in Western Otomi

Noun phrases in Western Otomi

Conclusions

Na mpa ja nu jüajï

A day in the cornfields

Un día en la milpa

A day in the cornfields

Barra lateral del artículo

Contenido principal del artículo

Resumen

Descargas

Métricas

Detalles del artículo

Citas

Artículos similares

Introduction

Figure 1: Temoaya glyph (INAFED, 2010: 428).

Language background

Word Order in Western Otomi

Noun phrases in Western Otomi

Conclusions

Na mpa ja nu jüajï

A day in the cornfields

Un día en la milpa

A day in the cornfields