39 secondary palatalization described in this study for Isthmus Mixe i.e. morphemically-induced secondary
palatalization.
3.7.5 The origin of secondary palatalization in the Oaxacan Mixe languages
Consonant mutation is known to occur in some of the world’s languages as the result of the reduction of former overt prefixes. Greenberg 1977 found that former prefixes had been reduced to consonant
alterations in Wolof and Fula. McLaughlin 2000 describes consonant mutation in Seeree-Siin as representing a morpheme. Spencer 1998:133 mentions that a consonant mutation “often arises historically
from the effects of prefixes which induce phonological alternations, but which are then lost.”
It is probable that historical processes of syllable truncation have resulted in the secondary palatalization found in all present-day Oaxacan Mixe languages. At some earlier period, the
Ði- third person prefix of the Popoluca languages was truncated to secondary palatalization of the initial consonant
in the Oaxacan Mixe languages. In Sayula Popoluca the third person possessive prefix is Ði-
60
and in one type of clause, the third person subject prefix is also
Ði- Clark 1959, 1961. Oluta Popoluca also has the third person possessive prefix
Ði-, and in four types of clauses, the third person subject prefix is Ði- Clark 1981. In Sierra Popoluca, Elson 1961 shows examples of certain transitive clauses using the third person
subject prefix Ði-, and Lind 1964 shows examples of Ði- as third person possessor on nouns throughout
his article, in addition to some transitive clauses having the third person subject prefix Ði-.
There is also a word-final secondary palatalization morpheme that indicates certain clause types in the Oaxacan Mixe languages. Wichmann 1995:102–103 shows several proto-Mixe aspectual verb suffixes as
-hi and two proto-Zoque aspectual verb suffixes as -hi and -ie. Thus, it appears that the clause-type palatalization morpheme in the Oaxacan Mixe languages is a result of the truncation of the proto-Mixe-
Zoque suffixes.
Another verbal suffix in Isthmus Mixe manifested by secondary palatalization is a deverbalizer. For example, the verb
tu π»t ‘to lay eggs’ is nominalized by the suffix -
j
resulting in tu π»t
j
‘egg.’ These same forms occur in Coatlán Mixe.
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According to Wichmann 1995:483 the proto-Mixe form is tu?t-ik ‘egg’ and the form in present day Sayula Popoluca is tu?ti’k. The suffix ik is listed as a proto-Mixe-
Zoque deverbalizer Wichmann 1995:541. The nominalizer manifested by word-final secondary palatalization in Isthmus Mixe is the result of truncation of final i plus consonant of proto-Mixe-Zoque
words.
Another example of the truncation of the word-final syllable that results in secondary palatalization is shown by the proto-Mixe-Zoque ?ápit ‘thorn,’ which in present day Sayula Popoluca is ?apit and in
Oluta Popoluca ?apí’t. Several Zoque languages have a two syllable form with the second vowel i Wichmann 1995:248–249. Isthmus Mixe has dropped i, substituting a final palatalized consonant cluster
Ðapt
j
, and in Coatlán Mixe the word is truncated to Ðap
j
. No meaning or grammatical function is apparent in this type of secondary palatalization.
The possible origin of secondary palatalization in the Oaxacan Mixe languages has not been discussed in any of the published works about the Mixe-Zoque languages. It may have been that writing about the
origin of secondary palatalization did not fit in with the purposes of the authors; or it may have been overlooked because secondary palatalization was not noted in the descriptions of specific Mixe languages
as an important phonological process. Whatever the reasons for the lack of recognition of secondary
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Popolucan vowels are preceded by a glottal stop when they occur word initial including the third person prefix; although the glottal stop is not written in Clark 1961, 1981 or in Lind 1964, it is written here for consistency.
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Isthmus Mixe and Coatlán Mixe data are mine. Wichmann uses the question mark for the glottal stop.
40 palatalization in the Oaxacan Mixe languages, it is hoped that this study will elucidate the phenomenon
and contribute important data to the body of general linguistic knowledge.
3.8 Palatalization as an autosegmental feature
