Classification nominale en ixcatèque

CLASSIFICATION NOMINALE

Denis Costaouec (1) , Michael W. Swanton (2)

1 SeDyL - Structure et Dynamique des Langues
2 UNAM - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México = National Autonomous University of Mexico

Ixcatec (Popolocan, Otomanguean), like other Otomanguean languages of Oaxaca, Mexico, possesses a system of nominal classification for subsets of nouns related to human beings, animals, plants, place names, liquids and objects characterized by different formal criteria (length, roundness, etc.), material or function. In this article we seek to establish the functional status of this system. Drawing on Grinewald’s typology of nominal classification (1999, 2000), we distinguish class terms, used only in word formation, from noun classifiers, which permit referent tracking in discourse. We further distinguish classification markers that function as superordinate heads of the words in which they occur from those that do not. Our review of the etymological origins of the least transparent classifiers calls into question the assumed time depth of noun classifiers in Popolocan.

En el ixcateco (popolocana, otomangue), como en otras lenguas otomangues de Oaxaca, México, existe un sistema de clasificación nominal para un subconjunto de sustantivos relacionados con seres humanos, animales, plantas, topónimos, líquidos y objetos caracterizados por criterios formales variados (longitud, redondez, etc.), material o función. En este artículo intentamos establecer el estatuto funcional de este sistema.

Mots clés: Ixcatec; nominal classification

Domaines: Linguistique

Denis Costaouec, Michael W. Swanton. Classification nominale en ixcatèque. La linguistique : revue internationale de linguistique générale, 2015, 51 (2), pp.201-238. ⟨halshs-01252034⟩