Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute
[under construction]
[under construction]
Wilson, Oida, Siki and Kiawa (1976) phonology
Wilson, Oida, Siki and Kiawa (1976: 4, ibid.) give 13 consonants and 5 vowels for Zia as follows:
| m | n | ||
| pʰ | tʰ | s | kʰ |
| b | d | dz | g |
| w | ɾ | j |
| i | u | |
| ɛ | ɔ | |
| a |
Vowels are further distinguished by the presence vs. absence of nasalization:
| i | ĩ |
| u | ũ |
| ɛ | ɛ̃ |
| ɔ | ɔ̃ |
| a | ã |
Glide /w/ is realized as bilabial voiced fricative [β] when followed by front vowels /i ɛ/.
Neither final consonants nor consonant clusters occur.
Wilson (1980: 35-36) gives Zia pronouns in five case forms as follows:
| nominative | dative | possessive | reflexive | emphatic | |
| -ø | -ɛnɔ | -na | -tʰɔpʰɛ | -nɛ/-na | |
| 1 sg. | na | na-ɛnɔ | na-na | na-tʰɔpʰɛ | na-nɛ |
| 2 sg. | ni | ni-ɛnɔ | ni-na | ni-tʰɔpʰɛ | ni-nɛ |
| 3 sg. | nu | nu-ɛnɔ | nu-na | nu-tʰɔpʰɛ | nu-nɛ |
| 1 pl. excl. | na-ɛ | na-ɛ-ɛnɔ | na-na-ɛ | na-ɛ-tʰɔpʰɛ | na-na-ɛ |
| 1 pl. incl. | na-mɛ | na-mɛ-ɛnɔ | na-na-mɛ | na-mɛ-tʰɔpʰɛ | na-na-mɛ |
| 2 pl. | ni-ɛ | ni-ɛ-ɛnɔ | ni-na-ɛ | ni-ɛ-tʰɔpʰɛ | ni-na-ɛ |
| 3 pl. | awɔ̃ | awɔ̃-ɛnɔ | nu-na-ɛ | nũ-jɛ-tʰɔpʰɛ | nu-na-ɛ |
| 1 dl. excl. | na-tʰɔ | na-tʰɔ-ɛnɔ | na-na-tʰɔ | na-tʰɔ-tʰɔpʰɛ | na-na-tʰɔ |
| 1 dl. incl. | na-ɔ | na-ɔ-ɛnɔ | na-na-ɔ | na-ɔ-tʰɔpʰɛ | na-na-ɔ |
| 2 dl. | ni-tʰɔ | ni-tʰɔ-ɛnɔ | ni-na-tʰɔ | ni-tʰɔ-tʰɔpʰɛ | ni-na-tʰɔ |
| 3 dl. | awɔ̃-tʰɔ | awɔ̃-tʰɔ-ɛnɔ | nu-na-tʰɔ | awɔ̃-tʰɔ-tʰɔpʰɛ | nu-na-tʰɔ |
The unmarked case designated here as nominative is used as both subject and object; that designated as dative is used to indicate benefactive, indirect object or accompaniment.
There are only four pronominal roots /na ni nu awɔ̃/, the first two of which are undifferentiated by number. While third person plural /awɔ̃/ is also found in Mawae as [ago] (Wilson 1969: 77,) the original third person plural /nu-ɛ/ is found in the possessive and the reflexive.
The number formatives, e.g. /-tʰɔ/ dual from /ɛtʰɔ/ “two,” are of relatively recent origin and are probably best viewed as clitics. Some of these as well as the case formatives are found in closely-related Suena and in Binandere, but in varying orders, suggesting that the pronominal complex is reducible to postpositional phrases at a shallow time depth.
Wilson's plural and dual emphatic forms are identical to the possessives. In Suena, the emphatic is /-nɛ/ in all persons.
[under construction]