Transitivity and valency-changing operations in Huasteca Nahuatl

This paper focuses on valency-changing operations in Huasteca Nahuatl. Regarding valency-increasing operations, it is shown that the suffix -lti/-ti/-tia is used for causativization of intransitive verbs, and that applicativization is marked by the suffix -lia/-li/-l. Regarding valency-decreasing operations, the prefix mo- shows a wide range of functions, covering reflexive, reciprocal, middle, impersonal and passive meanings. This paper also demonstrates that valency-changing operators in Huasteca Nahuatl can be used without changing the valency of the base verb, thus indicating that these markers are in fact transitivity-changing operators, not always valency-changing operators. The processes of autocausativization, antipassivization and noun incorporation in Huasteca Nahuatl are also addressed, particularly their effects on transitivity and valency.

• Affiliations: 1: Universidad de Sonora