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Verb Valency Changes: Theoretical and typological perspectives
Edited by Albert Álvarez González and Ia Navarro
[Typological Studies in Language 120] 2017
► pp. 81–105

Transitivity and valency-changing operations in Huasteca Nahuatl

| Universidad de Sonora
| Universidad de Sonora
| Universidad de Sonora
This paper focuses on valency-changing operations in Huasteca Nahuatl. Regarding valency-increasing operations, it is shown that the suffix -lti/-ti/-tia is used for causativization of intransitive verbs, and that applicativization is marked by the suffix -lia/-li/-l. Regarding valency-decreasing operations, the prefix mo- shows a wide range of functions, covering reflexive, reciprocal, middle, impersonal and passive meanings. This paper also demonstrates that valency-changing operators in Huasteca Nahuatl can be used without changing the valency of the base verb, thus indicating that these markers are in fact transitivity-changing operators, not always valency-changing operators. The processes of autocausativization, antipassivization and noun incorporation in Huasteca Nahuatl are also addressed, particularly their effects on transitivity and valency.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The language and the data
  • 3.The notions of transitivity and valency
  • 4. Transitivity and valency-changing operations in Huasteca Nahuatl
    • 4.1Intransitive, transitive and ditransitive clauses in Huasteca Nahuatl
    • 4.2Valency-changing operations in Huasteca Nahuatl
      • 4.2.1Valency-increasing operations
        • 4.2.1.1Causativization
        • 4.2.1.2Applicativization
      • 4.2.2Valency-decreasing operations
        • 4.2.2.1Reflexive constructions
        • 4.2.2.2Reciprocal constructions
        • 4.2.2.3Middle constructions
        • 4.2.2.4Passivization and antipassivization
    • 4.3Noun incorporation in Huasteca Nahuatl
  • 5.Final remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 30 September 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.120.04per
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