Adelaar Willem, Muysken Pieter. The languages of the Andes
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274 3 The Inca Sphere
suffix, thus exhibiting a behaviour parallel to that of the zero complement. If not followed
by an independent suffix, that vowel is also lost due to syntactic vowel suppression (see
above). In contrast, the case marker -ru ‘allative’ does retain its vowel before independent
suffixes, as is illustrated in (135):
(135) tumasi-x
.
uta-ru-w waka-nak anaki-sk-i
{tumasi-x
.
(a) uta-ru-w(a) waka-nak(a)-Ø anaki-sk(a)-i}
Thomas-TO house-AL-AF cow-PL-Z herd-PR-3S
‘Thomas is leading the cows home.’
(Cerr´on-Palomino 1994a: 59)
Although most affixes in Aymara begin with a consonant or a consonant cluster, there
are also a few highly frequent verbal suffixes with an initial vowel i, among others:
(136) -i ‘third-person non-future subject’
-iri ‘agentive nominaliser’
-it(a)- ‘first-person object’
This i-vowel replaces a preceding a, merges with a preceding i, and is eliminated by
a preceding u. This is illustrated in (137):
(137) ap-iri ‘carrier’ ap-i ‘he/she carries’ [apa- ‘to carry’]
hit
h
-iri ‘slider’ hit
h
-i ‘he/she slides’ [hit
h
i- ‘to slide’]
qapu-ri ‘spinner’ qapu ‘he/she spins’ [qapu- ‘to spin’]
3.3.6 Aymara grammar
Aymara morphology is mainly based on the use of suffixes; it is transparent, as well
as regular. Compounds occasionally occur, but these are limited to some common ex-
pressions, such as hiˇc
h
u:ru ‘today’, see section 3.3.5 (125), and in place names, as in
(138):
(138) umalsu ‘Umalsu’
64
< uma hal-su ‘source’, ‘well’
[uma ‘water’; hala- ‘to run’; -su- ‘outward movement’]
Word order (modifier–head) and constituent order (predominantly SOV) are the same
as in Quechua. The inventory and the semantics of morphological categories, and even
syntactic constructions involving the use of several morphological markers, are strik-
ingly similar, even though in most cases there is no formal correspondence. As in
Quechua, there is a set of independent suffixes in addition to specific verbal and nominal
morphology.
Nevertheless, there are also some structural differences that deserve to be men-
tioned. Aymara suffix order is often less rigid than Quechua suffix order. Some of the
64
Umalsu is the name of a settlement in the northern part of the department of Moquegua (Peru).
3.3 The Aymaran language family 275
functions reserved for independent suffixes in Quechua are expressed in Aymara within
the verbal paradigm. The verbal derivational morphology of Aymara is richer than that
of Quechua, especially with respect to categories of space. In Quechua the verbal system
of personal reference marking that encodes both subject and object can be maintained
in nominalisations and in subordinate verbs. This option is not found in Aymara, which
in such cases only has the possessive personal markers at its disposal. As a result, only
one participant can be indicated explicitly. In comparison to Quechua and Jaqaru, the
Aymara switch-reference system is in decay. The functions of the verb ‘to be’ in Aymara
are not represented lexically, as in Quechua, but morphologically.
Aymara has two distinct types of verbalisation which compensate for the absence of
averb ‘to be’. One of these types is used in equations, the other one applies to locative
expressions. Equation (nominal predication) is indicated by lengthening the final vowel
of a noun or noun phrase.
(139) hanq’u-:-n
y
a
white-CV-IF
‘to be white’
(140) huma-x
.
k
h
iti-:-ta-sa
{huma-x
.
ak
h
iti-:-ta-sa}
you-TO who-CV-2S-IR
‘Who are you?’
(Yapita 1991: 90)
The lengthened vowel is retained before suffixes triggering vowel suppression. In
such cases length is not always perceived, but the vowel itself remains intact. In spite of
its morphological character, the use of this verbalisation by lengthening is very much
reminiscent of that of the copula ka-inQuechua.
65
Equations are zero-marked when the
verb has a third-person subject and no affixes other than independent suffixes accompany
the predicate (141). Otherwise, the vowel length marker is required (142).
(141) haˇc’a-wa
big-AF
‘It is big.’
(142) hani-w haˇc’a-:-k-i-ti
{hani-w(a) haˇc’a-:-k(a)-i-ti}
not-AF big-CV-AN-3S-NE
‘It is not big.’
(Yapita 1991: 134)
65
In the province of Omasuyos, northeast of Lake Titicaca, Herrero et al. (1978: level 1: 126)
have recorded an allomorph -ya-, instead of vowel length, before morphemes that begin with
vowel length or consist of vowel length themselves; for instance, in yati-ˇc-iri-ya-:-wa ‘I shall
be a teacher’, where vowel length indicates first-person subject future tense. This is confirmed
by Briggs (1993: 174) for the town of Compi (La Paz).
276 3 The Inca Sphere
A striking parallel with Quechua is the habitual past tense, in which verbalisation by
lengthening is applied to agentive nominalisation forms in -(i)ri. (Compare the Quechua
agentive in -q followed by the copula ka-.)
(143) kuna ura-s uta-r hut-x
.
-iri-:-ta
{kuna ura-s(a) uta-r(u) hut(a)-x
.
(a)-iri-:-ta}
what time-IR house-AL come-CM-AG-CV-2S
‘Atwhat time did you use to come home?’
(Yapita 1991: 89)
Locative and possessive verbalisation is brought about by adding a suffix -ka-tothe
short form of the locative/genitive case marker -n(a). See the examples in (144) and
(145):
(144) aka-na aka-n-ka-
{aka-na}{aka-n(a)-ka-}
this.place-L this.place-L-LV
‘here’, ‘in this place’ ‘to be here’, ‘to be in this place’
(145) aka isi-x
.
huma-n-k-i-wa
{aka isi-x
.
(a) huma-n(a)-k(a)-i-wa}
this clothes-TO you-L-LV-3S-AF
‘These clothes are yours.’
(Yapita 1991: 88)
A further derivation, involving multiple verbalisations separated by a nominalisation,
is illustrated in (146).
(146) aka-n-k-iri-:-t-wa
{aka-n(a)-k(a)-iri-:-t(a)-wa}
this.place-L-LV-AG-CV-2S-AF
‘I belong here’, ‘I am a local person.’
In the early seventeenth century, Bertonio registered a verb canca˜na (kanka-n
y
a).
This verb doubtless had a rather specific lexical meaning, ‘to be in essence’, beyond the
concept of a simple equation. However, according to Bertonio, janko˜na (hanq’u-:-n
y
a)
and janko canca˜na (hanq’u kanka-n
y
a), ‘whiteness’, ‘to be white’, were equivalent
constructions.
66
66
Cerr´on-Palomino (1994a: 78, 128) proposes a historical derivation of both the copula verbaliser
by lengthening and locational -ka- from the root *kanka-. However, Jaqaru (see section 3.3.10)
has -w(a)- for the copula verbaliser, whereas it expresses location in the same way as in Aymara.
In both languages, the two markers in question are formally far apart, so that derivation from
*kanka-isconceivable only by assuming a series of ad hoc changes. At the same time, it seems
plausible to assume that the root kanka- could have been derived from a hypothetical *ka-n-ka-
{ka-n(a)-ka-}‘to be in a state or place’ (*ka); cf. aka ‘this place’, uka ‘that place’.
3.3 The Aymaran language family 277
As in Quechua, Aymara verbalisation comprises two more options, transformative
verbalisation (‘to become X’) and factitive verbalisation (‘to make something X’). The
suffixes that indicate these types of verbalisation are, respectively, -pta- and -ˇca-. The
latter is homophonous with its Quechua equivalent.
(147) wali-pta-n
y
a
good-TF-IF
‘to recover’
(148) uta-ˇca-n
y
a
house-FA-IF
‘to roof a house’
Aymara nouns can be marked for possessor. The first-person (‘my’) ending varies
between -ha and -x
.
a (or lengthening of a preceding vowel) in La Paz, and -
ŋ
a or -n
y
a
locally. The second-, third- and fourth-person endings are -ma,-pa, and -sa, respectively.
The plural marker -naka is optional and pluralises the referent noun. Unlike Quechua
-kuna, the Aymara plural marker normally precedes the possessive endings, although
the opposite order is also allowed.
(149) wawa-naka-ha wawa-ha-naka
child-PL-1P child-1P-PL
‘my children’ ‘my children’
(Briggs 1993: 127–8)
Possession as a characteristic (‘owner of’, ‘having’) is expressed by means of a suffix
-ni (the semantic equivalent of Quechua -yuq). It is frequently found in place names
(Huancarani, Uyuni). Its use in numerals, where it connects digits, tens or hundreds to
larger units, is illustrated in:
(150) tunka paya-ni
ten two-OS
‘twelve’
(151) waranq pa: pataka-ni
{waranq(a) pa(y)a pataka-ni}
thousand two hundred-OS
‘2,200’
(Briggs 1988: 176)
Syntactic relations in the sentence are marked by case, except for the subject role
which remains unmarked. Case markers are added to the last element, normally the
head, of a noun phrase. Apart from the zero complement case marker (cf. section 3.3.5),
Aymara has an allative case marker -ru,which indicates an indirect object or a direction
(‘towards’); an ablative case marker -ta or -t
h
a,which indicates separation (‘from’);
278 3 The Inca Sphere
an instrumental–comitative case marker -mpi (locally -nti) ‘with’; and a benefactive
case marker -taki ‘for’. Similarity is expressed by the morpheme -hama (e.g. in kun-
hama ‘how?’ from kuna ‘what?’). The suffixes -kama ‘until’ and -layku ‘because of’,
‘for the sake of’ are used as their Quechua counterparts -kama and -rayku (cf. section
3.2.6). Locative and genitive case are both represented by the marker -na. The possessive
construction is formed in the same way as in Quechua, that is, by doubly marking the
possessor and the possessed.
(152) hupa-n p
h
uˇca-pa-wa
{hupa-n(a) p
h
uˇca-pa-wa}
he/she-G daughter-3P-AF
‘She is his (or her) daughter.’
(Briggs 1988: 227)
Aymara verbal derivational morphology is rich in possibilities for expressing cate-
gories related to space. As in Quechua I, Aymara has a set of four verbal affixes denoting
the direction of a motion ‘inward’, ‘outward’, ‘upward’ and ‘downward’. This is illus-
trated in (153) with forms derived from the verb ira- ‘to carry small objects’:
(153) ira-nta- ‘to introduce small objects’, ‘to fail to recover invested money’
ir-su- ‘to take out small objects’
ir-ta- ‘to lift or pick up small objects’
ira-qa- ‘to put down small objects’, ‘to lower a price’, ‘to snatch away’
As can be seen, the suffixes -su- and -ta-
67
suppress the preceding vowel, whereas
-nta- and -qa-donot.
These suffixes show a tendency to be used idiomatically. For instance, although the
verb irpa- ‘to lead’, ‘to conduct’ can be modified by the same four derivations, the derived
form irp-ta- usually has an idiomatic inchoative interpretation ‘to help someone on his
feet’, ‘to help someone make a start’. According to Cotari et al. (1978) and B¨uttner and
Condori (1984), the form preferably used for ‘to lead upwards’ is irp-kata- (see below
for the meaning of -kata-).
In addition to the four directional suffixes just mentioned, Aymara has several ver-
bal derivational affixes relating to space, among them, -kata- ‘motion across’, ‘frontal
motion’, -kipa- ‘contouring motion’, -naqa- ‘motion in several directions’, -nuku-
‘abandonment’, -nuqa ‘act of placing’, -ra- ‘separation’, ‘removal’, -tata- ‘dispersal’,
‘motion in all directions’, -t
h
api- ‘concentration’, -x
.
ata- ‘location on top’. These are
illustrated in (154) on the basis of the root apa- ‘to carry’ (examples from England
67
Bertonio (1612a) records irusu- for ir-su-, and iruta- for ir-ta-. One may speculate that the
initial vowel recorded in the suffixes -usu- and -uta- could provide an explanation for the vowel-
suppressing behaviour of their present-day equivalents.
3.3 The Aymaran language family 279
1988: 122–3). The examples provide an impression of the unpredictable character of
morphophonological vowel suppression.
(154) ap-kata- ‘to pick up and put at equal (higher) level’, ‘to transport’
apa-kipa- ‘to transport from one place to another’
ap-naqa- ‘to handle’, ‘to manipulate’
apa-nuku- ‘to abandon’ (also apa-muku-)
ap-nuqa- ‘to place on the floor’
apa-ra- ‘to confiscate’, ‘to snatch away’
apa-tata- ‘to disperse’, ‘to bring into disorder’
ap-t
h
api- ‘to collect’, ‘to pick’
ap-x
.
ata- ‘to put on top’
The categories reflexive and reciprocal are both indicated by means of a suffix -si-,
which can be combined with the causative -ya-. Normally, the order in which the causative
precedes the reflexive-reciprocal suffix is the only one allowed in such combinations.
(155) isi- ‘to dress’
isi-nta-si- ‘to dress oneself elegantly’
isi-nta-ya- ‘to dress someone elegantly’
isi-nta-ya-si- ‘to have oneself dressed elegantly by someone else’
(B¨uttner and Condori 1984)
Some verbal roots, however, occur in a fixed combination with the suffix -si-. An
example of such a root is un
y
i- ‘to hate’, ‘to abhor’, where -si-isobligatorily present but
without conveying a clear reflexive or reciprocal meaning.
68
In order to express causative
and reflexive meaning the suffixes -ya- and -si- can be added to the verbal base un
y
i-si-
in the prescribed order, in which case repetitions of -si- are allowed.
(156) un
y
i-si-ya- ‘to make (someone) hate (someone)’
un
y
i-si-ya-si- ‘to make oneself hated (by someone)’
un
y
i-si-si- ‘to hate each other’
(B¨uttner and Condori 1984)
The suffix -ya-exhibits the same wide range of applications as its counterpart -ˇci-in
Quechua, extending from causation to permission.
69
68
Pacaraos Quechua has the expression uni-ku- ‘to hate’, obviously a case of borrowing from
Aymaran. In this form, the Quechua reflexive suffix -ku- plays the part of its Aymaran counterpart
-si-. It is a typical example of the sort of detailed correspondences that obtain between the two
language groups.
69
The verb yati-ˇca- ‘to teach’, from yati- ‘to know’ (cf. also yati-qa- ‘to learn’), has a spe-
cialised causative meaning. It stands in contrast with a regular and semantically less specific
280 3 The Inca Sphere
Aymara has a ventive (‘hither’) suffix -ni-, which combines the apparently com-
plementary functions of ‘motion towards the speaker’ and ‘action performed in some
other place’. These uses are strikingly parallel to those of -mu-inQuechua (cf. Cerr´on-
Palomino 1994a: 119–20). A good illustration of the second, less common, use is (157),
one of the examples in Bertonio (1603b), cited in Briggs (1993: 175). A modern version
of (157) is reflected in the bracketed transcription, which includes the usual vowel-
suppression rules.
(157) auqui-ha-na ut-pa-na manca-ni-tha
{awki-ha-n(a) ut(a)-pa-n(a) manq’a-n(i)-t
h
a}
father-1P-G house-3P-L eat-H-1S
‘I went and had dinner at my father’s house’, ‘I am just coming back
from having dinner at my father’s house.’
The Aymara ventive is frequently used in combination with a suffix -wa-or-waya-
(∼-wa:-), which either indicates a separation, or an action performed in passing
(158). The combination of -ni- and -waya- can express a circular motion, as in
(159):
(158) iskwila-r sar-ka-sa-x
.
ihli:ˇsa-ru-w manta-way-ta
{iskwila-r(u) sar(a)-ka-sa-x
.
(a) ihli:ˇsa-ru-w(a)
70
manta-way(a)-ta}
school-AL go-AN-SU-TO church-AL-AF enter-DT-1S
‘On my way to school I entered the church for a moment.’
(Cotari et al. 1978: Gram. 26)
(159) uma-mp wayu-ni-waya-:ta
{uma-mp(i) wayu-ni-waya:-ta}
water-CO carry.with.handle-H-DT-2S.F
‘You will also bring water on your way back.’
(Briggs 1988: 208)
The effect of an event on a person who is not directly involved in the action can be
defined either as positive (‘beneficiary’) or negative (‘detrimental’). These categories
are marked by the suffixes -rapi- and -raqa-, respectively. The endings that otherwise
encode the grammatical person of a direct or indirect object refer to a benefited or injured
person in combination with these suffixes.
yati-ya- ‘to cause to know’, ‘to inform’. England (1988: 98, 114), interprets -ˇca-asaroot
causative, whereas -ya-issaid to be flectional. The hypothesis is difficult to test, as there seem
to be no cases of verbal derivational -ˇca- other than yati-ˇca-. The normal function of the suffix
-ˇca-istocreate transitive verbs from nouns (see above).
70
The sound ˇs represents the sequence si(V) in a loan from Spanish (iglesia).
3.3 The Aymaran language family 281
(160) hiwasa-tak kamis ala-rap-istu-x
.
a
{hiwasa-tak(i) kamis(a)-Ø ala-rap(i)-istu-x
.
a}
we (incl.)-B shirt-Z buy-BN-3S.4O-TO
‘He has bought us a shirt.’
(Yapita 1991: 38)
(161) naya-x
.
wawa-m sar-ta-ya-raq-sma
{naya-x
.
(a) wawa-m(a)-Ø sar(a)-ta-ya-raq(a)-sma}
I-TO child-2P-Z go-UW-CA-DM-1S.2O
‘I woke up your child (without you wanting it).’
(England 1988: 110)
The morphology of the Aymara verb includes two aspectual affixes. Their primary
function is to indicate completion, -x
.
a-, and non-completion, -ka-; both trigger sup-
pression of the preceding vowel. The use of these affixes is subject to interaction with
the category of pluralisation and, in the case of the non-completive, with negation as
well.
71
When used by itself the non-completive suffix -ka- can be translated as ‘action
to be carried out by anticipation’. However, the suffix -ka-ismost often found in neg-
ative sentences, where its presence is required although it has no particular semantic
contribution; see the examples (122) and (142) above. Another frequent use of -ka-is
in the combination -s-ka-, where the first element is identified as a (meaningless) affix
-si-, homophonous with the reflexive marker (England 1988: 111). The combination
-s-ka- indicates progressive aspect; see example (135) above. That the initial element is
to be identified with -si- becomes apparent when considering the plural form -si-p-ka-.
Example (162) is from Sitajara (Tacna).
(162) marmi-kama-w ut-ha-si-p-k-t
h
a uta-ŋŋa-n
{marmi-kama-w(a) ut(a)-ha-si-p-k(a)-t
h
a uta-ŋa-n(a)}
woman-among-AF stay-LS-PR-PL-AN-1S house-1P-L
‘We are only women living in my house.’
72
(Briggs 1993: 185)
The completive suffix -x
.
a- can be translated as ‘already’, ‘completely’, ‘for good’. Its
presence, without any particular semantic contribution, is required after the pluraliser
-p-,which never occurs by itself.
(163) marka-ma-n-x
.
hunt’u-ki-y haka-p-x
.
-paˇca:-ta-x
.
a
{marka-ma-n(a)-x
.
(a) hunt’u-ki-y(a) haka-p-x
.
(a)-paˇca:-ta-x
.
a}
town-2P-L-TO hot-DL-AT live-PL-CM-DU-2S-TO
‘In your country, where you (people) live, it will be hot, I suppose.’
(Yapita 1991: 57)
71
The status of the aspectual affixes and their interaction with pluralisation and negation is remi-
niscent of the use of aspect in the Jun´ın and Pasco dialects of Quechua I (sections 3.2.3, 3.2.6).
72
The verb ut-ha- ‘to live’, ‘to exist’ is derived from a root uta- (cf. uta ‘house’) and a vowel
suppressing suffix -ha-. A verb uta- with a similar meaning is found in Jaqaru (Belleza Castro
1995: 185).
282 3 The Inca Sphere
Table 3.8 Aymara subject and subject–object paradigm for the
unmarked tense (Yapita 1991)
1 pers. subject (3 pers. object) ˇcur-ta ‘I give it (to him/her).’
2 pers. subject (3 pers. object) ˇcur-ta ‘You give it (to him/her).’
3 pers. subject (3 pers. object) ˇcur-i ‘He/she gives it (to him/her).’
4 pers. subject (3 pers. object) ˇcur-tan ‘We (incl.) give it (to him/her).’
1 pers. subject + 2 pers. object ˇcur-sma ‘I give it to you.’
2 pers. subject + 1 pers. object ˇcur-ista ‘You give it to me.’
3 pers. subject + 1 pers. object ˇcur-itu ‘He/she gives it to me.’
3 pers. subject + 2 pers. object ˇcur-tam ‘He/she gives it to you.’
3 pers. subject + 4 pers. object ˇcur-istu ‘He/she gives it to us (incl.).’
Instead of -x
.
a-, the pluraliser can also be followed by -ka-, which in that case may
retain any of its regular functions. Since the pluraliser -p-isalways followed by a vowel-
suppressing suffix, it does not make sense to try and determine the nature of a possible
vowel that would have been part of its form. However, there is some dialectal evidence that
the full form of the pluraliser was -pa- (Briggs 1993: 184). Bertonio (1603b) mentions
averbal pluraliser -pisca- (Briggs 1993: 184; Cerr´on-Palomino 1994a: 107), which is
reminiscent of the numeral p
h
isqa ‘five’. The relationship between this ancient plural
marker and the contemporary forms is not clear.
Personal reference marking and its interaction with tense and mood is one of the most
complex areas of Aymara morphology. Unlike Quechua, there is only a very limited
coincidence between verbal and nominal personal reference marking, although occa-
sionally additional historical correspondences can be traced. The ‘transitional’ endings,
which combine subject and object marking, are difficult to analyse. They may vary
according to tense and mood. Constitutive elements of the transitional endings never
become separated as in Quechua; they always occur as a block. Third-person objects
are not marked. In table 3.8 the nine possible endings based on the four-person system
introduced in section 3.3.3 are illustrated for La Paz Aymara with the unmarked tense
paradigm of ˇcura- ‘to give’ (Yapita 1991: 34). Note that with the verb ‘to give’ the
object encoded in the transitional endings refers to the recipient, not to the gift. As in
Quechua, with verbs such as ‘to give’, an indirect, rather than a direct object, is en-
coded, because the former is more likely to coincide with one of the participants in the
speech act.
As can be seen in table 3.8, the 1S and 2S endings are formally identical in La
PazAymara, but most Aymara dialects do distinguish them by preserving the aspi-
ration (-t
h
a)ofthe 1S form (cf. section 3.3.4). All consonant-initial endings trigger
vowel suppression. For the behaviour of those endings that begin with a vowel i, see
section 3.3.5 (137).
3.3 The Aymaran language family 283
The endings -tam and -tan are exceptions to the rule that Aymara words must end in
avowel, at least underlyingly. It comes as no surprise that Bertonio and several present-
day dialects have vowel-final forms (-tama,-tana) instead. Another ending subject to
variation is -ista,which has been recorded as -itta in Bertonio and in the dialect of
Sitajara, Tacna (Briggs 1993: 196). The elements -it(a)- and -ist(a)- appear to represent
constant values for first-person and fourth-person object, respectively, throughout the
Aymara verbal paradigm.
The Aymara verb distinguishes two past tenses, both of which have been interpreted
as ‘remote’. The difference between the two tenses is defined in terms of evidentiality
(Hardman et al. 1988: 145–8). The so-called ‘near remote past’ (remoto cercano) refers
to events of the speaker’s personal recollection (often including surprise), whereas the
‘far remote past’ (remoto lejano) refers to events that the speaker could not possibly have
witnessed himself. According to Hardman et al. (1988), the remote past tenses of Aymara
occur frequently in the third-person-subject form (without object or with third-person
object), but much less often in any of the other persons or combinations of persons. This
is corroborated by the fact that the non-3S forms exhibit considerable variation in form,
both dialect-internally and cross-dialectally, a probable sign of insecurity on the part of
the speakers.
The formal aspects of the La Paz Aymara near-remote past-tense paradigm, as repre-
sented in Yapita (1991), can be summarised as follows. A suffix -a:na is substituted for
the vocalic ending of the 3S, 3S.1O, and 3S.4O forms of the unmarked tense (ˇcura:na,
ˇcurita:na and ˇcurista:na, respectively). A vowel-preserving suffix -ya:- is inserted be-
fore all the other endings of the unmarked tense (e.g. 1S and 2S ˇcuraya:ta, 1S.2O
ˇcuraya:sma).
A more extensive use of the suffix -(a):na (instead of -ya:-)isfound in Bertonio
(1603b) and in the present-day dialect of Morocomarca (Bustillos, northern Potos´ı),
where it occurs in all combinations except 1S, 2S and 2S.1O (Briggs 1993: 218). Inter-
estingly, these varieties do not show a clear presence of the suffix -ya:-.Inthe 1S and
2S endings the markers -t
h
a and -ta are preceded by vowel length; the 2S.1O ending,
rather unexpectedly, is -ita:ta.
73
The La Paz Aymara paradigm of the far-remote past tense is characterised by a vowel-
preserving ending -tayna in the third-person subject form; the 2S.1O, 3S.1O and 3S.4O
endings -ista,-itu and -istu become reduplicated to -ista:sta,
74
-itu:tu, and -istu:stu,
respectively. All the other combinations insert a vowel-preserving suffix -ta:- (e.g. 1S
and 2S ˇcurata:ta, 1S.2O ˇcurata:sma).
73
In these endings, the presence of vowel length is based on the Morocomarca forms, as Bertonio
does not consistently indicate length.
74
Yapita (1991) gives -ita:sta instead of -ista:sta for far-remote 2S.1O, which is also the form
recorded in Huancan´e (Puno, Per´u).