36 velars are uncommon some Mayan languages and only Amuzgo has both
[palatalized t] and [palatalized k] Suárez 1983:44.
3.6 Palatalization in Zoque languages
Zoque languages generally show evidence of primary palatalization but not of secondary palatalization. However, the descriptions available are not explicit regarding the type or extent of the palatalization
manifested, with the exception of Wonderly 1951, quoted in section 3.6.1 and Elson, section 3.6.2.
Wichmann 1995 describes the phonology of all the Mixe-Zoque languages in relationship to Proto- Mixe-Zoque, but does not distinguish between primary and secondary palatalization. He states: “The use of
metathesis of y as an isogloss characterizing the whole [Mixe-Zoque] language family is clearly off the mark” Wichmann 1995:153. This may be an indication that the Zoque languages are not characterized by
secondary palatalization in the same way that the Mixe languages are.
3.6.1 Copainalá Zoque
Wonderly 1951:117–118, 140 describes Copainalá Zoque as having a third person prefix y- that palatalizes the alveolar consonants primary palatalization as here defined and assimilates to the
alveopalatal consonants, with all the other consonants—labial, velar and glottal—the y metathesizes. Only one example of secondary palatalization is described by Wonderly: “The cluster wy is actualized as
an unrounded bilabilal spirant with the tongue in palatal position: wyin his face, …. When the following vowel is mid or low, the cluster ends in a palatal off glide… ” 1951:107.
Wonderly’s description is reinterpreted by Sagey 1986:106–111 to indicate palatalization of all of the consonants: “Thus, I analyze the fact that the palatal articulation in [py], [ky], [?y], etc. is perceived as
an offglide as simply an acoustic effect of the transition to the following vowel.” She does admit that Wonderly says [y] and [p] metathesize. In view of the differences in Russian among pot, p
j
otr and pjot as shown by Ladefoged Maddieson 1996:364, Zoque may also have the distinction between
palatalization and a sequence with j. Further study is indicated to clarify the interpretation of this Zoque data.
3.6.2 Sierra Popoluca
In Sierra Popoluca, Elson 1960 states that the alveolar consonants t c s n morpheme initial become palatalized as [t
y
č š ñ] when preceded by ih, j, any of the alveopalatal consonants [t
y
č š ñ], or by the morphophoneme [i
y
] within a word. In a reference to the Gulf Zoquean languages, which include Sierra Popoluca, Wichmann 1995:191 says that “coronal stops [sic] t c n s become palatalized … in the
vicinity of i”, which is an apparent example of primary palatalization, as defined in this study.
3.6.3 Francisco León Zoque
In their dictionary Zoque-Spanish of Francisco León Zoque, Engel and Engel 1987:335 write a section heading as: “La metátesis de la y, la palatalización,” translated as the metathesis of y, palatalization. They
list two examples that show y as third
1 y + tøc → tyøc
su casa de él ‘his house’
54
2 y + pejtu → pyeju lo barrió
‘heshe swept it’
54
The English translations are added here for the readers’ convenience.
37 These examples are written in the orthography of the language, which does not distinguish whether a
consonant is palatalized or is occurring contiguous to j, since orthographies in Mexico use y to express both j and palatalization. Although the heading indicates that palatalization is involved in the process of
metathesis, there is no indication of which consonants are palatalized, since the authors do not give phonetic details of this phenomenon.
55
3.6.4 Other Zoque language descriptions
