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) |
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lidx bo |
‘his or her home’ (owner is a familiar friend) |
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lidx ïb |
‘its home’ (owner is an animal) |
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lidx ïn |
‘its home’ (owner is an object, like a doll) |
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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. | ||||
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lidxi |
calidxi |
‘home, homes’ |
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lidxi be |
lidxi cabe |
‘his or her home, their home’ (of people) |
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lidxi me |
lidxi came |
‘its home, their home’ (of animal) |
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lidxi ni |
lidxi cani |
‘its home, their home’ (of object) |
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© 2005 Instituto
Lingüístico de Verano, A.C.
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