Adjective Classes - A Cross-Linguistic Typology

152 Paulette Levy

pa:xui:n

Adjectival

palha'

cu'cu'qu

ta'nkswa

'side'

'hard'

'red'

straight'

pa:xtu:[n ]-n i:tni

laq-palh'a

laq- cucuqu

lak-ta'nkswa

sides'

'hard, DIST'

'red, DIST'

'straight, DIST'

The DISTRIBUTIVE lak-llaq- also derives verbs that express that the action is under-
taken with a greater intensity, in several places, repeatedly, distributed over several
participants, as shown in (9). In Tlachichilco Tepehua (Watters 1988: 288), lak- is
the regular inflection for plurality of Object in the verb complex.

(9) Ihka: she measures it, he picks it up' lak-lhka: 'she plans it'
saka 'he picks it up' lak-saka 'she selects it'
taxtii 'she goes out' lak-taxtu 'he stands out'
mumi 'he sprinkles it' laq-mumi 'she soaks it'
stawa 'she weaves it' laq-stawa 'he darns it'

lak- DIST is also present in deadjectival verbs. The verb in (10) is an inchoative in-
transitive derived from the adjective xku'ta 'sour'. The plurality of the one partici-
pant is indicated by subject agreement in (loa), while (lob) marks both plurality of
the participant and distributivity of the property. This co-occurrence is one of the
indications that plurality of entities and distributivity are not semantically iden-
tical (see Corbett 2000: 114-17). All deadjectival verbs allow the presence of lak-,
while this is not the case with all basic intransitive or transitive verbs. Both (loa)
and (lob) translate with plural subjects, but in (loa) the plurality is marked only
in the third person plural pronoun on the verb, while in (lob) it is double-marked:
both by a third person plural subject prefix, and by the distributive prefix on the
verb, (lob) seems to emphasize the plurality of process, which has, as a possible
consequence, the plurality of entities to which the process happened.

(10) (a) taxku'tani:t minchdw
ta-xku'ta-n-ni:t min-chaw
3pl-sour(ADj)-iNCH-PF 2poss-tortilla
'Your tortillas have soured.'
(b) talakxku'tani:t minchdw
ta-lak-xku'ta-n-ni:t min-chaw
3pl-DIST-SOUr(ADj)-INCH-PF 2POSS-tortilla
'Your tortillas have soured.'

In this trait, adjectives pattern with verbs rather than with nouns. Notice in (10),
as is often the case, distributive morphemes co-occur with plural marking (Cor-
bett 2000: 114), here, with morphemes denoting plurality of person in the verb
complex. (In the domain of property concepts, distributive and plural marking co-
ocur in the class of DIMENSION adjectives (see §3.4) and with terms for stages-in-
life (see §3.5).)