His, Her, Its |
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Languages of Mexico are sometimes clearer than English. English has three third-person pronouns to indicate the owner of an object, his, her, its; but Villa Alta Zapotec has four, e', bo', ïb, ïn. In Zapotec, these pronouns follow their nouns. |
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| lidx e' | ‘his or her home’ (owner is person of respect) | ||
| lidx bo | ‘his or her home’ (owner is a familiar friend) | ||
| lidx ïb | ‘its home’ (owner is an animal) | ||
| lidx ïn | ‘its home’ (owner is an object, like a doll) | ||
Their |
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| In Isthmus Zapotec, ca- is added to the beginning of a noun to make it plural. And this same word ca- is added to pronouns to make them plural. | |||
| lidxi | calidxi | ‘home, homes’ | |
| lidxi be | lidxi cabe | ‘his or her home, their home’ (of people) | |
| lidxi me | lidxi came | ‘its home, their home’ (of animal) | |
| lidxi ni | lidxi cani | ‘its home, their home’ (of object) | |
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© 2010 Instituto
Lingüístico de Verano, A.C. |
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