The phonology and morphology of Filomeno Mata Totonac

simplification and deletion rules affecting these suffixes (see §2.6.4.4.3.2), they often fail to
surface phonogically, so that the non-final stress pattern is what most reliably distinguishes this
aspect from the imperfective. In FM Totonac, -ti" (in conjunction with –paa PROG) marks the
progressive as well as the perfective aspect, so it is not strictly a perfective marker, unlike in
some other Totonac languages e.g., Misantla.
The perfective markers occur in the same suffix position 14 as the person agreement suffixes,
and therefore cannot co-occur with them. When both are required by the morphosyntax, it is the
person markers that block the perfective suffixes and assign stress.
188)/maqtaqal-li&/ 189) /maqtaqal-ni&/
care.for-PFTV care.for-2OBJ
[maqtáqa#] [maqtaqá#ni&]
‘she cared for it’ ‘she cared for you’
190)/ta-qas"mat-li&/ 191) /qas"pat-titi&/
3SUB.pl-listen-PFTV listen2-2SUB.pl
[taqás"mat#] [qas"pátit%i&]
‘they listened’ ‘you pl. listened’
192)/ka-taa-skuh-ti&/ 193) /s"-ti-ta-skin-li&/
IRR-COM-work-2SUB.sg PAST-CNTR-MV-PFTV
[katáaskuht%i&] [s"titáski#]
‘work!’ ‘they should have requested it’
2.7.2.1.5 Person markers and stress. The three person agreement markers of suffix position 14
assign stress to the syllable that immediately precedes them underlyingly. The stress pattern they
impose can only be overridden by the enclitic =ku’u", which follows them and assigns final stress.
These person-marking suffixes are 2 nd object –ni", first plural –w! and 2 nd subject plural –titi". In
addition, the construction that adds the constricted glottis feature which marks a 2nd singular
subject in the imperfective and perfect aspects has the same effect on stress, causing it to fall on
the syllable preceding the one the floating [cg] feature is attached to (always the final consonant
of the word.)
194)/na-k-qas"i-aa-ni&/ 195) /k-waayan-c"a’a&-wa&-li&/
FUT-1SUB-punch-IMPF-2OBJ 1EXC-eat-THERE-1pl-PFTV
[nakqas"iyáan] [kwaayanc"a’áw]
‘I’m going to punch you’ ‘we ate over there’
! )*!