Verb Classes in Juchitán Zapotec

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of verb classes in Juchitán Zapotec, an Otomanguean language belonging to the Zapotec branch of Zapotecan, following the four-class system of verbal classification laid out in earlier work by Terrence Kaufman. Our analysis, based on a thorough review of over two thousand Juchitán Zapotec verbs, confirms the applicability of the four-class system to Juchitán Zapotec data, improving over previous analyses of verbal morphology in the language and adding to the evidence that this system can be applied throughout the Zapotecan family (including Chatino); further, our study stresses the relevance of data-driven rather than theory-driven linguistic analyses.