The phonology and morphology of Filomeno Mata Totonac

3.3.5.1 Locative ‘case’. While FM Totonac is otherwise free of case, noun phrases meaning
‘in/on X’ consist of the noun prefixed by k-. Some Totonac varieties have a preposition nak
meaning ‘in/on’, but the Filomeno Mata variety has no (other) prepositions, their functions
performed through the use of applicatives. It is possible that rather than a case marker, k is a
cliticized preposition. There is no language internal evidence to decide between these
possibilities. The status of this k- prefix is therefore unclear.
Locative k- is affixed outside any possessive prefix, e.g., k-mín-$iki", ‘on your house’.
Table 3.10 Locative k- examples
kus"tá# ‘sack' kkus"tá# ‘in the sack'
c"íwis" 'rock' kc"íwis" ‘on the rock’
mésa ‘table’ kmésa ‘on the table’
kméxiko n c"oo n
kwatemála
‘in Mexico and in
Guatemala’
ktíxi n c"oo n kpú-qe& ‘in the road and
in the river’
3.3.5.2 Expanse locative kaa- . . . –ni". The ‘expanse’ locative construction is fairly productive,
particularly in deriving terms for plots or plantings of crops. This –ni" suffix imposes penultimate
stress. Following a vowel, the final vowel quality of the suffix is deleted and the nasal
resyllabifies with the stem.
18) Expanse locative examples
kiw’i& ‘tree’ kaakiwín ‘forest’
kus%i& ‘corn’ kaakus%ín ‘cornfield’
munc%ulu& ‘mud’ kaamunc%ulún ‘mudhole’
níps%i& ‘squash’ kaanips%ín ‘squash plot’
páq"c%i& ‘tomato’ kaapaq"c%ín ‘tomato plot’
sípi ‘hill’ kaasipíxn&i& ‘hilly area’
stápu& ‘bean’ kaastapún ‘bean plot’
c%íwis%i& ‘rock’ kaac%iwís%n&i& ‘place of stones’
3.3.5.3 Enclosed locative puu-. The ‘enclosed’ locative construction has low productivity with
nouns. It often derives nouns with somewhat idiosyncratic semantics from Spanish loan words.
19) Enclosed locative examples
! ,)!