Huehuetla Tepehua
Lhiimaqalhqama7
Native toMexico
Regionnortheastern Hidalgo, Mexico
Native speakers
1,500 (2007)[1]
Totonacan
Language codes
ISO 639-3tee
Glottologhueh1236
ELPHuehuetla Tepehua

Huehuetla Tepehua is a moribund Tepehua language spoken in Huehuetla, northeastern Hidalgo, Mexico. There are fewer than 1,500 speakers left according to Susan Smythe Kung (2007).

Syntax

Word order tends to be VSO, although it can be SVO at times (Kung 2007).

Phonology

Consonants

Huehuelta Tepehua has 26 consonant phonemes.The following table lists these phonemes and uses Kung's practical orthography in angled brackets.[2]

Consonant phonemes
Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar		 Velar Uvular Glottal
plain sibilant lateral
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩
Stop/
Affricate		 plain p ⟨p⟩ t ⟨t⟩ ts ⟨tz⟩ tʃ ⟨ch⟩ k ⟨k⟩ q ⟨q⟩ ʔ ⟨7⟩
ejective pʼ ⟨p'⟩ tʼ ⟨t'⟩ tsʼ ⟨tz'⟩ tʃʼ ⟨ch'⟩ kʼ ⟨k'⟩
voiced (b) (d) (g)
Fricative s ⟨s⟩ ɬ ⟨lh⟩ ʃ ⟨x⟩ h ⟨j⟩
Approximant w ⟨w⟩ l ⟨l⟩ j ⟨y⟩
Trill r ⟨rr⟩
Flap ɾ ⟨r⟩

The voiced stops /b/, /d/, and /g/, as well as the flap /ɾ/ and the trill /r/, appear only in loanwords and ideophones.

In younger speakers, the uvular /q/ has merged with the glottal stop /ʔ/. Based on fieldwork from previous linguists and interviews with modern speakers, Kung theorizes that /qʼ/ merged into /q/ between 1945 and 1984. When Kung began her fieldwork in 1999, /q/ was only consistently found in speakers over 65.[3]

Vowels

Hueheutla Tepehua has ten phonemic vowels. Earlier stages of the language only had six, with /e, i/, /eː, iː/, /o, u/, and /oː, uː/ in complimentary distribution.[4]

Vowel Phonemes
Front Central Back
High i ⟨i⟩iː ⟨ii⟩ u ⟨u⟩uː ⟨uu⟩
Mid e ⟨e⟩eː ⟨ee⟩ o ⟨o⟩oː ⟨oo⟩
Low a ⟨a⟩aː ⟨aa⟩

Morphology

Huehuetla Tepehua has a large variety of affixes.

Valency-changing affixes[5]
  • Reflexive -kan
  • Reciprocal laa-
  • Dative -ni
  • Causative maa-
  • Instrumental puu-
  • Comitative t'aa-
  • Applicative lhii-
Aspectual derivational affixes[6]
  • Inchoative ta-
  • Imminent ti-
  • Roundtrip kii-
  • Ambulative -t'ajun
  • Begin -tzuku
  • Desiderative -putun
  • Repetitive -pala
  • Again -choqo
  • All -qoju
  • Distal -chaa
  • Proximal -chii
Derivative affixes[7]
  • Agent nominalizer –nV7
  • Non-agentive nominalizers –ti and -nti
  • Deverbalizer -n
  • Instrumental paa- and lhaa-
  • Locative puu-
  • Applicative lhii-
  • Comitative t'aa-

Further reading

  • Zendejas, Esther Herrera (2021). "Mecapalapa Tepehua". Illustrations of the IPA. Journal of the International Phonetic Association: 1–17. doi:10.1017/S0025100321000098, with supplementary sound recordings.

References

  1. ↑ Kung 2007.
  2. ↑ Kung 2007, p. 33.
  3. ↑ Kung 2007, pp. 67–77.
  4. ↑ Kung 2007, p. 53.
  5. ↑ Kung 2007, p. xiii.
  6. ↑ Kung 2007, p. xiv.
  7. ↑ Kung 2007, p. xv-xvi.

Sources

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