The phonology and morphology of Filomeno Mata Totonac

6.2.4.2 Variable order and suffix position 6. Occupying suffix position 6, roughly in the center
of a string of derivational slots, are the progressive aspect markers. (The markers of the three
other major aspects are found on the right periphery among other inflectional suffixes.) The
progressive aspect markers cannot appear inside any of the more inner suffixes. This inability to
move rootward, which I define as fixed order, groups them with most other inflectional affixes,
in spite of their occurrence in the midst of variable order derivational suffixes. It will be seen in
§6.2.4.3 that one outer affix, totalitive –qo’o, may occur rootward of progressive -maa.
6.2.4.3 Variable order and suffix positions 7 and 8. While I have no attested cases of the
iterative (7) or the desiderative (8) preceding the adjacent progressive markers, they do
sometimes occur preceding the ambulative of suffix position 5. The desiderative also sometimes
precedes the iterative.
25) s%kaalaqapastii"akutún
/s"-kaa-laqapas-tii"a-kutun-aa/
PAST-OBJ.pl-recognize-AMB-DES-IMPF
s%kaalaqapaskutuntii"á
/s"-kaa-laqapas-kutun-tii"a-aa/
PAST-OBJ.pl-recognize-DES-AMB-IMPF
‘he wanted to go along recognizing them’ (8,104 jsf)
26) s%kititii"apará
/s"kiti-tii"a-para-aa/
crush-AMB-ITER-IMPF
s%kitiparatii"á
/s"kiti-para-tii"a-aa/
crush-ITER-AMB-IMPF
‘again he goes along cruhing it’ (8,97 mjl)
27) s%aktsaqsaparakutún
/s"a-k-tsaqsa-para-kutún-aa/
PAST-1SUB-try-ITER-DES-IMPF
! #"-!