Pronunciation: Tzotzil of Zinacantán
Here are a few representative words to demonstrate the language's contrasting phonemes. The words on the next list can be heard, as pronounced by Juan Pérez Pérez of Nabenchauk, Zinacantán, by clicking on the following link to an mp3 file (assuming that your browser can understand mp3 file formats).
CV
vo fly
te there
me desiderative particle
li the
ti the (remote)
xi said
chi henequen fiber (Spanish, "agave")
CV`
vo` water
te` tree
me` mother
li` here
ti` mouth, edge
xi` to be afraid
chi` sweet
b
bak bone
jbix staff
`abol suffering
sbel its contents
v
vak- six
jvix my older sister
`avol corn planting
svel cut, trimmed
b
`ub singing quail
chab wax
ich'ab he finished
ch'ub church patio
lub He got tired.
jtob twenty
m
`um mouthful
cham He died.
ich'am He received it.
ch'um type of pumpkin
lum earth, ground
jtom one handful
j
laj It finished.
kajal mounted
toj pine
various
la` Come here!
la hearsay particle
kakal stuck, caught
ka`al my water
tok cloud
to still
C
tzib fern
chi henequen fiber ( "agave")
chib two
chich' He receives it.
chuch squirrel
kok deaf, my leg
nopol nearby
sukob stopper
C'
tz'ib writing
ch'i he grew
ch'ib type of palm
ch'ich' blood
chuch' drink
ch'uch' plant (canna edulis)
k'ok break by pulling
kok' my tongue
k'ok' fire
nop'ol glowing, flashing
suk'ob water to rinse mouth
p'
(Zinacantec dialect)
ip'aj It fell.
jp'el a word
p'in pot
p'ol to multiply
b
ibaj It was locked up.
jbel My contents.
bin- pot-bellied
bol brother-in-law, idiot
C-` (consonant plus glottal stop)
ch-`av it is planted
ch-`ile It looks.
ch-`ok He cries.
ch-`uch'e He drinks.
ch-`ul It evaporates.
chak-`ulan purple (for example, a flower)
kuch twisted (e.g., mouth)
lot-`ok web-fingered
j-`ilol curer
kup-`ik'ij to drown, suffocate
C' (glottal consonant)
ch'av to scream angrily
-ch'il to fry
ch'ok wart
ch'uch'(e) plant species (Canna)
ch'ul sacred, holy
chak'ulan to give continually
kuch'(e) I drank.
lot'ol lying, sitting, standing together
Here are some examples of connected speech in which certain letters used in the practical orthography are normally not pronounced. They can be heard in the speech of Juan Pérez by clicking the following link: CONNECTED SPEECH
li tzebe the girl li tzebe
ja` a`a indeed ja`a`a
ta ana in your house taana
nom ibat He went far away. nomibat
`oy `on There is avocado. `oy `on
ta xxi` He is scared. ta xi`
ta ssut He is returning. ta sut
jjamtik Let's open it! jamtik
chchan He learns it. ch-chan
tztzak He grabs it. tz-tzak
ixcha`-`al He returned to say. (two glottal stops together)
vak-koj six levels
A few miminal pairs
li
li` (listen)
la
la` (listen)
vo
vo` (listen)
te
te` (listen)
k’o
k’o` (listen)
k’u
sk’u` (listen)
kok kok’ (i)k’ok k’ok’ (listen: KOK Etc.)
ch’ul ch`ul (ch-ul) chul chu`ul (listen: CHUL etc.)
cak`ulan (chak-ulan) chak’ulan (listen: CHAK-`ULAN etc.)
chi chi`
ti ti`
me me` (Listen to these words: CHI, TI, ME)
jbix jvix
abol avol
sbel svel (Listen to these words: JBIX, etc.)
chab cham (i)ch’ab (i)ch’am
ub um
(i)lub lum (Listen to these words: CHAB etc.)
ch’il ch`ile (ch-ile)
ch’ok ch`ok’ (ch-ok’)
lot’ol lot-`ok
j`ilol (j-ilol) (Listen to these words: CH'IL Etc.)
chil
ch’il
ch`ile (ch-ile) (Listen:
CHIL Etc.)
tzako tz’ak
tzotz ip
tzet
tz’et
tzakal
tz’akal (Listen: TZAK etc.)
The primary accent of a word in Tzotzil falls on the first syllable of the root; there is also an even stronger accent that accompanies the last syllable of a phrase or sentence (it can consists of a single word, pronounced in isolation, or of words uttered in the same breath). For example, see the following phrases:
jv|abaj||om musician
li jv|abajom||e the musician
Cht|al li jv|abajom||e. The musician is coming.
Cht|al x|a li jv|abajom `un||e. Well, the musician is coming already.
`Ali jv|abajom||e, cht|al x||a. The musician, he's coming already.
Here the symbol | represent word, and the symbol || represents phrasal accent, which is even more emphatic. It is clear that particles are not accented unless they are in final position. You may listen to these phrases by clicking the following link: STRESS.