Chochotec
Encyclopedia
Chocho is a language of the Popolocan
branch of the Oto-Manguean
linguistic family spoken in Mexico
in the following communities of Oaxaca
: Santa María Nativitas, San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca, San Miguel Tulancingo. Chocho is Spoken by 770 speakers (1998 Ethnologue Survey).
Chocho is a tonal language distinguishing low, mid and high tones.
Carol Mock (1982) argues that Chocho distinguishes morphosyntactically between subjects of willful actions whether they are transitive or intransitive and subjects of unwillful actions. This results in her analysing Chocho as an active–stative language.
As an example of how this works here is an example showing that the subject is marked with a different suffix depending on whether the action of the verb is active or inactive
In an active/voluntary transitive phrase the agent/subject is marked by the active suffix "-á" and the patient by the inactive clitic "-mī". The patient/subject of an intransitive active/voluntary phrase is marked by the same suffix.
However in an involuntary/inactive intransitive phrase the subject/patient is marked with the inactive clitic "má" like an object/patient of a transitive phrase.
This morphosyntactical alignment would imply Chocho being a Split-S type Active language. However, some intransitive verbs can use either the active person suffixes or the inactive enclitic, this suggests that it does in fact belong to the Fluid-S type active language.
Popolocan languages
The Popolocan languages are a subfamily of the Oto-Manguean language family of Mexico, spoken mainly in the state of Puebla.The Popolocan languages should not be confused with the languages called Popoluca spoken in the state of Veracruz, which belong to the unrelated Mixe–Zoquean language family...
branch of the Oto-Manguean
Oto-Manguean languages
Oto-Manguean languages are a large family comprising several families of Native American languages. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the family, which is now extinct, was spoken as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.The...
linguistic family spoken in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in the following communities of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
: Santa María Nativitas, San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca, San Miguel Tulancingo. Chocho is Spoken by 770 speakers (1998 Ethnologue Survey).
Chocho is a tonal language distinguishing low, mid and high tones.
Carol Mock (1982) argues that Chocho distinguishes morphosyntactically between subjects of willful actions whether they are transitive or intransitive and subjects of unwillful actions. This results in her analysing Chocho as an active–stative language.
As an example of how this works here is an example showing that the subject is marked with a different suffix depending on whether the action of the verb is active or inactive
In an active/voluntary transitive phrase the agent/subject is marked by the active suffix "-á" and the patient by the inactive clitic "-mī". The patient/subject of an intransitive active/voluntary phrase is marked by the same suffix.
- bì-kų̄-ámī
- aspect-see-first.person.exclusive.active/second.person.informal.inactive
- "I saw you"
- d-àsǭ-á
- aspect-arrive-first.person.exclusive.active
- "I arrive"
However in an involuntary/inactive intransitive phrase the subject/patient is marked with the inactive clitic "má" like an object/patient of a transitive phrase.
- d-ą́tʰē-má
- aspect-fall-first.person.exclusive.active
- "I fall"
This morphosyntactical alignment would imply Chocho being a Split-S type Active language. However, some intransitive verbs can use either the active person suffixes or the inactive enclitic, this suggests that it does in fact belong to the Fluid-S type active language.