<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Piyali momachtianih,<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We figured out something today that has been bothering us for a while. I always understood the difference between the present tense and the present progressive tense to be:</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Carla choca. "Carla cries." (present)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Carla chocaticah. "Carla is crying." (present progressive)</div><div>In Modern Huastecan Nahuatl, at least, it doesnʻt work like that. Here is how it works:</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>"Carla choca" means "Carla is crying" and this is the present progressive. If I add the words "mohmoztlah", "everday" or "axquemman", "never", for example, then the same tense give us:</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Carla choca mohmoztla, "Carla cries everyday."</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Carla axquemman choca, "Carla never cries."</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Domingtica Carla choca, "Carla cries on Sundays."</div><div>This is more like a present continuous or quotidian meaning.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Now for the -ticah/-ticateh constructions, and this is really cool!</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Carla chocaticah, "Carla está llori-llore."</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Carla mahuiltihticah, "Carla está juegui-juegue."</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Carla momachtihticah, "Carla está estudi-estudie."</div><div>The translation is Mexican Spanish (a verb reduplication that probably comes from Nahuatl) and I can't think of how to say this in English, but it's an action that is intense and lasting: lasting longer than just the, "What are you doing? I'm taking a bath" kind of lasting.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>One last thing. This idea of duration is expressed for states of being only with the auxiliary construction, -ti-ihcac. So "Mario mocehuihtihcac", "Mario is still seated". "Maria motectihcac", "Maria is still laying down." And using the same verb as a root (retaining it's classical meaning) and an auxiliary: "Calli ihcatihcac", "The building is still standing."</div><div>John</div><div><br></div><br><br><div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; 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">John Sullivan, Ph.D.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Professor of Nahua language and culture</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Zacatecas Institute of Teaching and Research in Ethnology</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Tacuba 152, int. 43</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Centro Histórico</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Zacatecas, Zac. 98000</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Mexico</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Work: +52 (492) 925-3415</font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Fax: +1 (858) 724-3030 (U.S.A.)</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; 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