Zapoteco
· DiidxazáEndangeredOtomangue · OaxacaWord Constructor
These languages build new words by joining roots and affixes. Type in Spanish or English and construct the word or phrase in the language.
Morphology explorer
Break a word into roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Language structure
How this language works — its word order, morphology, sounds and writing. This reference also grounds the AI Word Constructor.
Word order
Predominantly VSO; head-marking languages.
Morphology
Tonal and analytic-leaning: person and TAM are marked with proclitics/prefixes on the verb, with limited suffixation. Mixtec and Zapotec make heavy use of compounds and body-part locatives.
Sounds (phonology)
Tone is phonemic (register and sometimes contour) and distinguishes words; nasalization and glottalized stops are common. Mark tone when known.
Writing system
INALI/community Latin orthographies that mark tone with diacritics or numbers.
Key features
- Tone changes the meaning of otherwise identical words.
- Aspect (completive/incompletive) rather than tense.
- Short constructions; avoid very long words.
This reference is also fed to the AI Word Constructor so it builds words the way the language actually works.