ZOQUE
(Mexico; Mixe-Zoque, Zoque)		 For more information about metathesis in this language, click on the following links:
Summary:
a. A palatal glide + consonant sequence, due to morpheme concatenation, is pronounced with the glide following the consonant.
b. A glottal stop and nasal or liquid reverse positions. 
Examples
Conditions
Explanations
Related information
Comments
References
Examples:
(See Comments for key to special characters used.)
I. When /y/ precedes a consonant, the glide is realized after the consonant.
y-pata pyata ‘his mat’
y-buro byuro  ‘his burro’
y-faha fyaha ‘his belt’
y-mula myula  ‘his mule’
y-wakas wyakas ‘his cow’



y-kama kyama ‘his cornfield’
y-gayu gyayu ‘his rooster’



y-?aci ?yaci ‘his older brother’
y-hayah hyayah ‘her husband’

When the seuqence /yh/ precedes a bilabial consonant /p/, /m/ or velar consonant /k/, the
glide is realized after the final consonant of the cluster. 
 
kamayh ‘oak’ + -pE kamahpyE ‘oaken’
kamayh ‘oak’ + moni ‘mushroom’ kamahmyoni ‘species of mushroom’
kamayh ‘oak’ + kuy ‘tree’ kamahkyuy ‘oak tree’

II. When a nasal or liquid precedes a glottal stop, the glottal stop surfaces before the consonant.
 
kom ‘post’ + -?aNU ko?maNE ‘to the post’
pEn ‘man’ + -?is pE?nis  ‘of the man’
kaN ‘jaguar’ + -?is ka?Nis  ‘of the jaguar’
lugar ‘place’ + -?oyh luga?royh ‘at the place’
perol ‘copper kettle’ + -?is  pero?lis ‘of the copper kettle’

Conditions:
The above processes occur across morpheme boundaries.
Explanations:
Palatalization (Sagey1986): Sagey (1986) argues that apparent glide/consonant metathesis in Zoque isn't metathesis at all.  Rather, palatalization is involved: the vowel articulation of the glide is pronounced as a secondary palatal articulation on the following consonant.
Related information:

a. When /y/ precedes an alveolar consonant /t/, /d/, /c/, /s/ or /n/, the alveolar consonant is palatalized
(the palatal glide does not surface as a separated sound).
 
y-tatah t^atah ‘his father’
y-duracEhk nE d^uracEhku ‘it is lasting’
y-cE hk-  Cahku ‘he did it’
y-sEk SEk ‘his beans’
y-nanah  n'anah  ‘his mother’

b.. When /y/ precedes /h/ in non-initial position, the cluster /yh/ remains unchanged.
 
kuy ‘wood’   + ham ‘lime’ kuyham ‘ashes’
kay ‘narrow’ + hu?ti ‘thread’ kayhu?ti ‘fine thread’

c. When /y/ precedes /t/ in non-initial clusters, the /t/ is palatalized to /t^/ but the glide is not deleted.
 
tey ‘there’ + -tih teyt^ih  ‘right there’
kuy ‘wood’ + tEm ‘seed’ kuyt^Em  ‘avocado’

d. When /y/ precedes an alveopalatal consonant /C/, /S/, /y/ deletes.
 
y- + Co?ngoya ‘rabbit’ Co?ngoya ‘his rabbit’
y- + Sapun      ‘soap’  Sapun ‘his soap’

e. When a nasal precedes a voiceless stop /p/, /t/, /t^/, /C/, /k/, the stop changes to the corresponding voiced stop.
 
min 'to come' + -pa  minba  'he comes'
min 'to come' + -tam- mindamE  'come!'
pEn 'man' + CEki 'figure' pEnJEki 'figure of a man'
pEn 'man' + -kEki  pEngEki  'on a man'

Comments:
Special Symbols:
t^  = voiceless alveo-palatal stop
d^ = voiced alveo-palatal stop
R  = trill
E  = mid central vowel ('wedge')
N  = velar nasal
n'  = alveo-palatal nasal
?   = glottal stop
C  = voiceless alveo-palatal affricate
J   = voiced alveo-palatal affricate
S  = voiceless aveo-palatal fricative

Last updated: 3/19/2002
References:
  • Wonderly, W. 1951.  Zoque: Phonemics and Morphology.  International Journal of American Linguistics 17, 1-4; 18, 1, 4.
  • Sagey, E. 1986.  The Representation of features and relations in nonlinear phonology. PhD dissertation. MIT. 106-112.
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