TILAPA OTOMI

  1. Facts
  2. Sources of the data
  3. Orthography
  4. Verb types
  5. Verbal inflection
  6. Inflectional classes by inflectional formatives
  7. Inflectional classes by stem alternations

Facts

Otomi is a small language family within Oto-Manguean and Tilapa Otomi is the most conservative and the most endangered of all Otomi languages. It is spoken by about a dozen elderly people in the village of Santiago Tilapa in the State of Mexico.



Sources of the data

Data courtesy of Enrique L. Palancar.

Orthography

IPA notation
Source notation
NASALITY ¨
ɘ ø
ɔ å
EJECTIVE
ʃ x
tx
j y
ɾ r

Verb types

Verbs in Tilapa Otomi may be active or middle. Middle verbs have a stem with a nasal prefix. This information is indicated in the database.

Verbal inflection

Like a typical Otomi language, verbs in Tilapa Otomi inflect for various TAM values and for person of the subject by means of a series of clitic words that precede the verbal stem, which we refer to as inflectional formatives.

Note: For practical purposes, in the database we treat such formatives as if they functioned like affixes.

xithe (intr) ‘water’
Realis
INCPL 1st trá xithe
2nd grá xithe
3rd ra xithe
HAB 1st trɨ́ xithe
2nd grɨ́ xithe
3rd rɨ́ xithe
CPL 1st tɨ́ xithe
2nd gɨ́ xithe
3rd bi xithe
PRF 1st xtɨ́ xithe
2nd xkɨ́ xithe
3rd xɨ́n xithe
PPRF 1st xtá xithe
2nd xkí xithe
3rd xkán xithe
Irrealis
INCPL 1st gra xithe
2nd gra xithe
3rd tra xithe
CPL 1st xithe
2nd gi xithe
3rd ta xithe
PST 1st gɨgɨ xithe
2nd gigi xithe
3rd tigi xithe
PRF 1st xkɨgɨ xithe
2nd xkigi xithe
3rd xti xithe
PROSP 1st xtágɨ xithe
2nd xtági xithe
3rd xtá xithe

Notes:

  • A number of intransitive verbs inflect for subject by means of person suffixes:
      rá   ndoh-ki
      INCPL be.big-1SO
      ‘I'm big/old.’
  • These verbs fall into three subclasses, which we call ‘stative’, ‘patientive’ and ‘inchoative’. To inflect for TAM, these verbs use markers of 3rd person. This information is given in the database.
  • Patientive verbs receive the same markers as other active verbs.
  • Stative verbs select markers for INCPL.REALIS and trá for INCPL.IRREALIS.
  • Inchoative verbs use the marker preceding the stem when the aspectual reading is dynamic, and inflect.

  • htïn- ‘get drunk’ (-gi -1SO)
    Realis INCPL rátɨ htïn-gi ‘I'm getting drunk’
    HAB rɨ́tɨ htïn-gi ‘I get drunk’
    CPL bwɨtɨ htïn-gi ‘I got drunk’
    PRF xɨ́n htïn-gi ‘I'm drunk’
    Irrealis CPL tɨdɨ htïn-gi ‘I'll get drunk’
    PROSP xtátɨ htïn-gi ‘I'm about to get drunk’

Inflectional classes by inflectional formatives

Verbs fall into three inflectional classes attending to the different inflectional formatives they select.

Class I
‘water’
Realis INCPL 1st trá xithe
2nd grá xithe
3rd ra xithe
HAB 1st trɨ́ xithe
2nd grɨ́ xithe
3rd xithe
CPL 1st tɨ́ xithe
2nd gɨ́ xithe
3rd bi xithe
PRF 1st xtɨ́ xithe
2nd xkɨ́ xithe
3rd xɨ́n xithe
PLUP 1st xtá xithe
2nd xkí xithe
3rd xkán xithe
Irrealis INCPL 1st gra xithe
2nd gra xithe
3rd tra xithe
CPL 1st xithe
2nd gi xithe
3rd ta xithe
PST 1st gɨgɨ xithe
2nd gigi xithe
3rd tigi xithe
PRF 1st xkɨgɨ xithe
2nd xkigi xithe
3rd xti xithe
PROSP 1st xtágɨ xithe
2nd xtági xithe
3rd xta xithe
Class II
‘cut wood’
trá
grá
ra
trɨ́
grɨ́
tɨ́dɨ́
gɨ́gɨ́
bi
xtɨ́dɨ́
xkɨ́gɨ́
xpi
xtádɨ́
xkágɨ́
xká
gratɨ
gragɨ
tra
gɨtɨ
gɨgɨ
ti
gɨgɨtɨ
gɨgɨ
tigi
xtigɨtɨ
xtigɨgɨ
xtigi
xtágɨtɨ
xtági
xtagi
Class III
‘be in a hurry’
trátí xøni
grátí xøni
rati xøni
trɨ́tɨ́ xøni
grɨ́tɨ́ xøni
rɨtɨ xøni
tɨ́ xøni
gɨ́ xøni
bi xøni
xtɨ́ xøni
xkɨ́ xøni
xpi xøni
xtá xøni
xkí xøni
xkí xøni
grati xøni
grati xøni
trati xøni
giti xøni
giti xøni
ti xøni
gɨgɨ xøni
gigi xøni
tigi xøni
xkɨgɨ xøni
xkigi xøni
xtigi xøni
xtágɨ xøni
xtági xøni
xtagi xøni

Inflectional classes by stem alternations

Most Class I verbs select a secondary stem for the 3rd person in all aspect-moods except the incompletive (both realis and irrealis) and the habitual, e.g. kʰɨʰki (tr) ‘get out’. There are also some of Class II. The fact that not all verbs have different stems when in principle they could, suggests that verbs fall into different classes attending to whether they require a stem alternation pattern or not. Verbs with a glottal onset require the secondary stem for the 2nd person too, e.g ʔɛni (tr) ‘measure’. The database lists these alternations by referring to the process by which the secondary stem is built.

Realis INCPL 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kʰɨʰki
HAB 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kʰɨʰki
CPL 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kɨʰki
PRF 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kɨʰki
PPRF 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kɨʰki
Irrealis INCPL 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kʰɨʰki
CPL 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kɨʰki
PST 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kɨʰki
PRF 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kɨʰki
PROSP 1st kʰɨʰki
2nd kʰɨʰki
3rd kɨʰki
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔɛni
ʔyɛni
ʔyɛni