Corpus de textes linguistiques fondamentaux
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| Domaine | Traditions non-occidentales |
| Secteur | Grammaires amérindiennes [4667] |
| Auteur(s) | Córdova, Juan de |
Variantes: Iuan de Cordoua, Juan de Córdoba Datation: 1503-1595 Juan de Córdova was born in in 1503 (or 1501) in Córdoba, Spain (according to others in 1501, Toledo; cf. Jiménez Moreno 2012 [1942], p. 9). He studied Latin, and he served the Spanish army as a military officer (‘alférez’) in Flanders and later in Vienna. He departed to New Spain where he undertook several military expeditions with Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510-1554). He participated in the expeditions to and exploration of Cíbola in the years 1540-1542, today the US South-West. He entered the order of the Dominicans (O.P.) in the Convento Imperial de México in 1543 (or in 1544, according to others; Jiménez Moreno, ibid.) It was probably in 1547 that he arrived in Antequera (today Oaxaca de Juárez), where he started to learn Zapotec from Bernardo de Albuquerque, who authored Doctrina Cristiana en lengua zapoteca, a work which seems never to have been printed. His second teacher of Zapotec was Gregorio de Beteta (or Bitela), who was probably also involved in the writing of Doctrina Cristiana en Lengua Zapoteca (Peñafiel 1887, p. xiii; Jiménez Moreno 2012 [1942], p. 12). In 1565, Pedro de Feria (1524-1588) was elected “Provincial de la Orden”, and Juan de Córdova succeeded him after 1568. Pedro de Feria was the author of the earliest printed work in Zapotec, the Doctrina Christiana en Lengua castellana y çapoteca (1567). It is also reported that he had written a grammar, a dictionary and a ‘confesionario’ (Jiménez Moreno 2012 [1942], p. 18). Juan de Córdova started writing his linguistic works in Tlacochahuaya and in Tetícpac. When he was ca. 92 years old, he died in Oaxaca (May 20th in 1595). His Vocabulario was published before the Arte (July 21st, 1578), by Pedro Ocharte and Antonio Ricardo, the famous printer who later published, in 1586, an anonymous grammar and dictionary of Quechua in Peru. The Arte was published by Pedro Balli on August 8th of the same year: 1578. The to works have to be used together, since the author refers to the Arte in the Vocabulario, (for instance, the lemma “Participio” (“participle”) on f. 302v, with the reference “vide el arte”; cf. Thiemer-Sachse 1997, p. 162). On the other hand, in the Arte we also find a reference to the Vocabulario. It is remarkable that one section which appears in the Vocabulario is published verbatim in the Arte (Aviso XIII of the Vocabulario and f. 36r-37r of the Arte). | |
| Titre de l'ouvrage | Arte en lengua zapoteca, compuesto por el muy reuerendo padre Fray Iuan de Cordoua, de la orden de los Predicadores desta nueua España |
| Titre traduit | Grammar of the Zapotec language, composed by the very Reverend father Juan de Córdova, of the order of the Dominicans of New Spain |
| Titre court | Arte en lengua zapoteca |
| Remarques sur le titre | The spelling of the name of the language is different in the two works (‘zapoteca’, whereas the dictionary contains ‘çapoteca’). In the ‘Licencia del padre Provincial’, the work is called “Arte para bie[n] hablar la lengua Zapoteca”. Córdova calls his work in his prologue a “little grammar” (“artecico desta lengua Zapoteca”), as occurs in quite a few grammars of Nahuatl. |
| Période | |16e s.| |
| Type de l'ouvrage | (Nearly) complete grammar, without an initial section covering phonology/ orthography/ pronunciation. The grammar starts directly with the parts of speech and, at the end, there is a section related to “acentos de que sea la causa de la diferencia de la pronunciación”. There is no separate chapter entitled “syntax”. Descriptive grammar, Didactic/pedagogic grammar for learners of Zapotec. Grammar for non-native speakers of Zapotec, novices (f. 67v). After this section, Córdova comes back to the topic of the conjugations, since he states that until here, the topic was dealt with in a rather “diffuse” manner, which justifies a more systematic treatment (paradigms) (f. 69v-97v). instructions on arithmetic, the calendar, and "Cosas notables". |
| Type indexé | Grammaire descriptive | Grammaire didactique | Grammaire élémentaire |
| Édition originale | 1578, Mexico, Pedro Balli. |
| Édition utilisée | 1578, Mexico, Pedro Balli (John Carter Brown, call: B578.J91a). |
| Volumétrie | [6], 125, [2] leaves, [1] leaf of plates: ill. (woodcut) ; 15 cm (in-8°). Text in Spanish and Zapotec throughout; Woodcut coat of arms "escudo dominicano" on title page, ill. of "Nuestra Señora del Rosario;" decorative initials; Errata, Colophon: A Gloria y Honra de Dios nuestro Señor… se acabo de Imprimir este Arte Zapoteca, a ocho dias del mes de Agosto. En Mexico, en casa de Pedro Balli, Año de 1578. 129.000 characters (not included are the sections “Modos de contar” and the “Kalendarios”). |
| Nombre de signes | 129000 |
| Reproduction moderne | No recent editions. |
| Diffusion | Ed. Nicolás León, 1886. |
| Langues cibles | Zapotec (Zapotecan, Otomanguean). The glottonym Zapotec is a Nahuatl exonym, derived from tzapotl (‘zapote’) + -tlan (place) (place where there are abundant fruits). There are many places in Hidalgo and Jalisco with the name “Zapotlan”. The name of the language in Zapotec itself varies according to the geographical variant, one of them is bènizàa (‘people living in the clouds’). According to Radin (1943-1944), Córdova describes Zapotec of the valley of Oaxaca, and he does not represent the variety of one specific community, such as Tlacochahuaya or Zaachila. According to Radin the variety is an artificial, standardised ecclesiastical variety (Radin, apud Smith-Stark 2003, p. 175 and Smith-Stark calls the variety in his publication (2010, p. 466) “una variante eclesiástica homogeneizada”; cf. Jiménez Moreno 2012 [1942], p. 11). Leonardo Manrique demonstrates that the variety described by Códova is the one of Tlacochahuaya or a place very close to this (apud Smith Stark 2003, p. 177), whereas Juan José Rendón argues that the variety is closest to the one spoken in Teotitlán del Valle (cited in Smith-Stark 2003, p. 179). In some cases, Nahuatl (Mexicano) translations are also used, such as the names of certain birds including tecolotl, queçaltotol (f. 123v). In the dictionary more Náhuatl concepts are documented, such as tanatl, ‘canasta de caña’, f. 69, miáhuatl, ‘espiguilla de obre la caña’ f. 186r-v; pachtli (‘mal hojo, yerua como barbas que cuelga de los robles’, f. 186r; yoloxuchitl, ‘suchitl como espiga’, f. 389v). See also Thiemer-Sachse (1997, p. 165-169). Córdova also compares this language with Hebrew. |
| Métalangue | Castellano (Spanish), also called “romance” (f. 67r). Latin is also referred to (f. 67r). Some Latin terminology is also used (as locum ad quem for the accusative [direction]) (f. 2v) or both in Latin and Spanish, as in the section on pronouns: hic haec hoc, este, esta, esto, yste, a ystud, este esta, esto, ylle, a, illud, aquel, aquella aquello (f.15r) and the “compuestos de sum est fuy” (Absum, adsum, deorsum, insum, intersum, obsum, possum, pressum, prossum, prorsus, introrsum, retrorsum, supersum, sursum) (f. 20v). In the case of the Ablativus absolutus, Córdova does not translate from Spanish into Zapotec, but from Latin: “Para dezir videntibus illis eleuatus est… tomase la primera persona…” (f. 3r). |
| Langue des exemples | Zapotec (Valley) |
| Sommaire de l'ouvrage | Different from most other missionary grammars from New Spain, the grammar of Córdova is not divided into books (libros) or parts (partes). The grammar follows the parts of speech, interspersed with sections entitled “reglas” (unnumbered), completed with the so-called “addictiones”, arranged alphabetically with accompanying paragraph numbers (particles, adverbs, interjections which are not treated in the corresponding sections). The work is divided into the following (unnumbered) sections: Licencia del muy excelente señor Visorrey (Martín Enríquez); Licencia del señor Obispo de Antequera (Fr. B. Episcopus Antequerensis); Licencia del padre Provincial (Gabriel de sant Ioseph Provincial); Aprobación de los examinadores (Iuan Berriz, Fray Iuan de Villalobos); [Dedicatoria] Al muy reverendo Padre nuestro, Fray Gabriel de sant Ioseph (Iuan de Cordoua); Prólogo al lector (Iuan de Cordoua). Síguese el arte zapoteca: [Nombre] (f. 1r-13v) Declinación (1r-3v), genitivo, dativo, acusativo, vocativo, ablativo, efectivo, plural. Nominativo, genitivo, ablativo. Absoluto. Síguese la materia de los nombres (especies) (3v), apelativos o comunes, patronímicos, posesivos, diminutivos, comparativos, superlativos, nombres verbales in -bilis, nombres verbales en -or, adverbiales nombres, nombres verbales en -io, -vra, -on, -ento, &c., nombres de los acabados en -ero, nombres acabados en -oso, nombres como de infinitivo, nombres derivativos, nombres relativos, nombres instrumentales o efectivos, nombres propios de cosas, nombres que significan lugar a donde, nombres adjetivos (cf. Rojas Torres 2009). Síguese ahora qvis vel qui y sus compuestos y otros nombres relativos, numerales, comparativos, superlativos, cuantitativos, &c. (Latin-Zapotec) (f.12v-13v). Síguense los pronombres (13v-15v), Pronombres de la segunda declinación (14v-15r), pronombres de la tercera declinación (15v), Declaración acerca de los pronombres (15v-16v). Síguese la materia de los verbos (16v-19v). Four “quasi-conjugations” are distinguished, depending on the “initial syllables” attached (17v), sum est fui + co[m]puestos de sum est fui (Latin, numbered from 1-14 - Zapotec) (19v-21v). Síguense los verbos activos de la primera conjugación. S. Ta. (los que comienzan en -ta). (21v-22v), 2. Coniugación de los verbos de -te, 3. Coniugación, los que comienzan en -ti, 4. Coniugación de los verbos de -to (13r [sic] = 23r), verbos activos intransitivos, o neutros, que significan acción (13r [sic] = 23r), Verbos pasivos (23v), De verbis neutris (24r), De los verbos comunes (24v), verbos regulares e irregulares (25r-26r), de los verbos impersonales (26r), verbos defectivos (26r), verbos recíprocos (26v), verbos reiterativos (27r), verbos compulsivos (27v), verbos frecuentativos (f.28r), verbos reverenciales (28v), verbos simples (29r), verbos compuestos (29v-32r). Síguese el verbo tonia, ago.is y facio, is (32r-33v), verbo taca y naca (33v-35r), Del adjetivo naca (35r-v). The same list of “compoounds” is given here as the one in the prologue of the ‘Vocabulario’ (36r-37r), Verbos de -ta (37r), de las mutaciones de letras y sílabas que hay en los verbos (37v-40r); Diftongos y letras duplicadas (40r-v); Letras que se asemejan acerca del hacer simbolizar unas letras con otras (40v-41r); Duplicación de letras (41r-v), notable curioso (41v); Materia de los participios (41v-44v); participios de presente (42r-43r), Participios de Pretérito (43r-v), Participio de futuro en -rus (43v-44r), participios de futuro en -dus (44r-v), materia de las preposiciones (Latin-Zapotec list of prepositions, arranged alphabetically and according to case (i.e. cases used in Latin) (44v-46v), preposiciones inseparabiles (46r-47r) Adverbios (numerales, temporales, locales, negativos, afirmativos, demostrativos, optativos, ordinativos, interrogativos, dubitativos, vocativos, discretivos, congregativos, jurativos, hortativos, intensivos, remisivos, diminutivos, comparativos, superlativos, similitudinis, quantitatis, qualitatis) (46v-49r). Síguense las interjecciones (lugentis, dolentis, timentis, ridentis, admirantis, silentis, laudantis) (49r-50r). Siguense las conjunciones (copulativas, disjuntivas, causales, colectivas, adversativas, aprobativas, comparativas) (50r-51r). Addictiones o exposiciones, &c. (alphabetically arranged list, with numbered paragraphs 1-70) (51r-65r); algunas particularidades notables, y modos de hablar de los indios dignos de saber (65r-67r) (various subjects, with numbered paragraphs, starting from par. 71-80); De la diferencia del hablar de cada pueblo (§ 81, f. 67r-v); De los acentos y de que sea la causa de la diferencia de la pronunciación (§ 82-83, f. 67v); modos de hablar de los indios (§ 83-85, f. 68v-69v), Siguense ahora las conjugaciones (69v-97v); modo de contar (98r-113v): siguese un epílogo de los miembros del cuerpo humano (113v-115r); Calendario antiguo (115v-123r); Notable (cuenta para los dedos de las manos y pies, a los quales tambien ponen sus nombres como los de los hijos, ritos y agüeros, sortear los casamientos, sortilegios, por las causas siguientes se descasaban (123r-125v); errata (no numbered folios). Colophon: A Gloria y honra de Dios nuestro Señor, y de gloriosa virgen sancta Maria su bendita madre, se acabo de imprimir este Arte Zapoteca, a ocho dias del mes de Agosto, En Mexico, en casa de Pedro Balli Año de 1578. The complete content of the Arte en lengua zapoteca is also available at: https://ticha.haverford.edu/es/outline/. |
| Objectif de l'auteur | Córdova exposes in his prologue some didactic principles. The grammar was composed with the purpose to learn how to speak this strange language (“para deprenderse y hablarse bie[n] vna lengua peregrina”). For achieving this purpose, one does not only have to learn a great amount of words (“saber ca[n]tidad de vocablos”), but simultaneously one has to learn how to pronounce these words, how to use them, and put them in the right place (“saberlos bien pronunciar, aplicar y poner cada vno en su asiento y lugar”). Córdova refers here to phonology, language usage and word order. If these aspects are not acquired correctly, the result would be like the language of children who learn to speak. In the prologue Córdova states that his work is made for beginners (“…para abrir camino o puerta por donde entren los principiantes que la quisieren deprender”). In the prologue of the Vocabulario (Córdova 1578: “Prefactio al estvdioso lector”, no numbered pages), the author explains that it is necessary to learn Zapotec, because when missionaries would preach or bring the Christian Doctrine via interpreters or using Nahuatl, the lingua franca, much of the message of the Doctrine would have lost its “essence, authority and force” (“Porque el haber los ministros de la predicación del Evangelio, de tratar con los Indios mediante intérpretes o nahuatlatos (alliende de ser incomportable trabajo) la doctrina pierde gran parte de su ser, autoridad y fuerza”). Córdova also explains that he decided to start first with the explanation of the parts of speech, and that the more complicated issues (“dificultades extravagantes”) are explained at the end of the grammar. |
| Intérêt général | With Feria’s Doctrina, Córdova’s work is the earliest extant documentation of Zapoteco del Valle. Regarding phonology, it has to be noted that the stress accent is written fairly consistently by Córdova. As Smith-Stark observes (2005, p. 22), “it generally falls on the first syllable of lexical roots. Córdova marks stress with any one of the three graphic accents he uses in his vocabulary: the acute grave and circumflex accent. In his grammar he uses both a breve and a circumflex accent” (see Smith-Stark 2005, p. 23, note 38 for more details). Zapotec distinguishes tones, but, as occurs in early modern descriptions of Otomanguean, tones are hardly distinguished orthographically. Córdova treats some cases of sound changes (“síncopas”) (“pierden letras y sílabas y hay mutación en ellos, y también cuando hablando los sincopizan”. In some cases, Córdova refers to speech varieties (“el que se habla communmente y más polido”, f. 14v). The use of polite forms is described as well (ibid.), opposed to lower registers, labelled as “tosco” or inappropriate (“improprio hablar”, f. 16r, 35r). About the particles. In most Mesoamerican missionary grammars of this period, we find a grammar Arte where the main section is devoted to the eight parts of speech. The final section of the grammar is often reserved for other topics, usually to ‘particles’ or “syllabic ad-dictions” (the word can have three different etymologies, ‘adiciones’ (as an “appended/ added section”, ‘ad-dictio’, or ‘adiectio’). Juan de Córdova’s Arte includes a final paragraph with such “addictiones”. These so-called additions are arranged alphabetically, and do not only include ‘particles’, but others are labelled as “adverbs”, or “interjections” (there is no systematic classification here, but most do not occur in the preceding sections devoted to these separate indeclinable parts of speech). Córdova also discusses the problem of which entries should appear as headwords in his dictionary. The section in which he explains his guidelines of lemmatization-patterns appears twice, in the dictionary and the again in the grammar. He decided not to include the “endless amount” of derivations and inflections in his dictionary. The Zapotec language is indeed “endless” (“inacabable”), and, according to Juan de Córdova’s (Prologue) second “aviso”, it would not make sense to give all the “derivations and compositions” for each verb again and again, since this would would make his dictionary endless. According to Córdova, almost 40 “vocables” can be derived from one single “main verb” (“verbo principal”). He includes a paradigm of the verb “to sweep” (“barrer”) with a list of all these 40 forms. This example demonstrates that missionary lexicographers were developing their own strategies and lemmatization procedures, and for their readers they explicitly developed their own theories, different from those established by Antonio de Nebrija, who also follows derivational patterns quite systematically in his dictionary, but without any theoretical explanation in his prologue. Córdova’s theory about derivation and composition in Zapotec was developed independently from any European model. |
| Parties du discours | The parts of speech are not summed up at the beginning. The grammar follows the traditional eight parts of speech noun, pronoun, verb, participle, preposition, adverb, interjection and conjunction, followed by the so-called “addictiones”. According to Córdova, Zapotec does not have “articles”, just as in Latin (f. 1v), and he also includes the ‘effective case”. |
| Innovations term. | – Distinction between “animate” versus “inanimate” (f. 1v); – “romances de genitivo” for possessive constructions; – nombres de nominativos (f. 4v); – adverbiales nombres (f. 6v); – nombres relativos (f. 6r); – nombres instrumentales o efectivos (f.10v); – pronombres principales que se ayuntan a los verbos por última sílaba como personas cuando hablan”(f. 14r). Córdova gives a definition of the concept of “verbo compulsivo”: “Hay una manera de verbos en esta lengua cuyo significado es compeler a la persona paciente a que haga lo que significa el verbo” (f. 27v). The “verbo frecuentativo” is distinguished from the verbo “reiterativo” (an action which has been done several times, or an action which has to be done again, in theory repeated, which can mean that the second time was the last time, and not necessarily with several repetitions: “parece que la frequencia require reiterar el acto mas que una vez”. In the case of the “reiterativos”, Córdova translates from Latin, where the prefix re- is used in order to express an action which takes place again (i.e. for the second time), as in Spanish “incorporar > reincorporar”. Córdova also defines the concept of the “verbos reverenciales”: “los cuales usan frecuentemente los indios para hablar con los mayores y señores” (f. 28v). Other terms: “verbos neutros que significan action, y que significan innatapassion (with a reference to Nebrija) (f. 24r), duplicación de letras para avivar el sonido de la sílaba o dicción (f. 41r). |
| Corpus illustratif | The section on “addictiones” contains short phrases as examples. |
| Indications compl. | |
| Influence subie | References to others are scarce. Antonio [de Nebrija] is mentioned f. 24r and f. 24v. Esparza Torres (2015, p. 221) demonstrates that Juan de Córdova’s prologue has been inspired by Alonso de Molina’s prologues. Saint Jerôme (ca 340-420) is also referred to in the prologue. Córdova probably follows grammars of Nahuatl, using the terms “verbos compulsivos” and “verbos reverenciales” (f. 16v), in addition to Nebrija’s Latin grammar. |
| Influence exercée | Córdova was the main source for Alonso Martínez (1633), Gaspar de los Reyes (1700) and Leonardo Levanto (1730) The first mentions Córdova in his prologue and in the section “addictiones” (Levanto 1730, f. 78). This section is also copied in the anonymous grammar edited by Peñafiel (1887, p. 81-97) with the title “Adiciones del Arte Zapoteco; de las particulas ó dicciones que hacen dificultosa la lengua, cuyo conocimiento es muy necesario para su clara inteligencia, recopiladas y explicadas por el Maestro de esta lengua, el R. Padre Fray Juan de Córdova”. Córdova is also referred to by Francisco Pacheco de Silva in the section “Prólogo al lector” of his Doctrina Cristiana, traducida de la lengua castellana en lengua zapoteca nexitza where he calls him his “norma y espejo de vigilantes ministros” (Silva 1687, p. xxviii). Córdova is also mentioned in the anonymous Nuevo principio del arte zaapoteco (1823), edited by Peñafiel (1887, p. 58-59). The grammatical fragments from an anonymoys author from the 19th century includes a summary of the work written by another priest, Andrés Valdespino, which also took Córdova’s grammar as his model. |
| Renvois bibliographiques | Córdova J. de 1578; Córdova J. de 1578; Córdova J. de 1886; Esparza Torres M. Á. 2014; Esparza Torres M. Á. 2015; Feria P. de 1567; Jiménez Moreno W. (éd.) 1942 {Fray Juan de Córdova, [1578]}; León N. (éd.) 1886 {introduction, p. iii-xiv}; Levanto L. 1730; Martínez A. de 1633; Molina A. de 1571; Pacheco de Silva F. 1687; Peñafiel A. (éd.) 1887; Radin P. 1982; Rojas Torres R. M. 2009; Silva F. P. 1882 {[1687]}; Smith-Stark T. C. 2003; Smith-Stark T. C. 2005; Smith-Stark T. C. 2010; Thiemer-Sachse U. 1997; Valdespino A. 1887 {[17e s.]}; Zwartjes O. 1998 |
| Rédacteur | Zwartjes, Otto |
| Création ou mise à jour | 2018-09 |