Clasificadores nominales matlatzincas

Abstract

Matlatzinca is an otopame language still spoken in Central Mexico; in the town of San Francisco Oxtotilpan; by a population of aproximately 2;000 speakers; which is used only by the older generation s Matlatzinca language as well as other Mesoamerican languages uses classifier prefixes which mark the beings and objects of the universe; according to several criteria. 1) the semantic domain; i.e.; plants (sa-; trees; xi-; “herbs”; chho-; “mushrooms”); human beings (we-) and supernatural beings (chu-); 2) consistency; i.e. liquids (chi-). From a morphological point of view; they are fragmentary nominal roots; which having lost their thematic suffix; they join freely to the roots as prefixes that form specific names.