Xiccuepili

[John Sullivan, Ph.D.]

Thanks Sergio,
    The only difference I would have with your parse is that the "k" object
is indirect, not direct. Since "cuepa" is transitive, it would take a direct
or reflexive pronoun without the need for the applicative suffix. The
presence if the applicative here indicates the presence of an indirect
object, and thus, the surprising equivalence with the Mexican Spanish "le"
in "córrele", "apúrale", etc. Also the "leismo" ("le" used as a human direct
object pronoun) of peninsular Spanish is not used in México.
    John

On 4/29/02 10:23 PM, "sromero at tulane.edu" <sromero at tulane.edu> wrote:

> Hi John,
>
> It seems that this is what is going on:
>
> The verb [kwepa] is transitive in Nahuatl and hence it is used in the
> reflexive
> to mean "come back". However, Nahuatl allows idiomatic non-reflexive uses,
> including one with the applicative suffix. This, I think,  is what your
> asistant is doing. The correct parsing would be more or less as follows:
>
> xi-k-kwep-i-li
> HO-DO-return-E-APP
>
> where HO = Hortative, imperative
>     DO = 3rd Sing. direct object
>     E = Epenthetic vowel
>     APP = Applicative suffix
>
> It is more or less equivalent to colloquial Spanish "Regresale!", meaning
> "come
> back". Notice that the Spanish uses the dative marker "le" instead of
> accusative "lo", exactly like Nahuatl in which the same nuance in expressed
> the
> applicative.
>
> Whether the construction is originally Nahuatl and then spread into Spanish, I
> do not know. It is common in Guatemala as well.
>
> I hope that helps.
>
> Sergio Romero
>
> Quoting "John Sullivan, Ph.D." <jsullivan3 at mac.com>:
>