The Semantics of 'Come,' 'Go,' and 'Arrive' in Otomanguean Languages

Abstract

Kuiper and Merrifield (1975) have analyzed Diuxi Mixtec verbs of motion and arrival in terms of the notions "Base," "one-way," and "round trip." This paper compares their analysis with Speck and Pickett's (1976) work on the same domain in Texmelucan Zapotec, and presents an analysis parallel to the latter for Chalcatongo Mixtec. A reanalysis of the Diuxi data along these same lines is then shown to be much more explanatory, and also allows a general statement to be made about verbs of motion and arrival in the Otomanguean language family.

Keywords

• Motion-- Terminology
• Otomanguean languages