Di'csyonaary X:tèe'n Dìi'zh Sah Sann Luu'c: San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec Dictionary: Diccionario Zapoteco de San Lucas Quiaviní

By Pamela Munro and Felipe H. Lopez,

with Olivia V. Méndez, Rodrigo Garcia, and Michael R. Galant

© 1999 Paper: $35.00. Two volumes. 650 pp. ISBN number: 0-89551-095-2.

The first Zapotec-English dictionary. This is the first dictionary of the Zapotec language spoken in the pueblo of San Lucas Quiaviní in the Tlacolula district of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, and by immigrants to Los Angeles. Like all indigenous languages of the Americas, it is an endangered language. The language was never written down or studied before the beginning of research at UCLA in 1993.

The Zapotecan language family is the largest indigenous language group in Oaxaca, and one of the largest in Mexico. The Dictionary's introduction includes a survey of the language's grammar, concentrating on phonology and morphology. It uses a new spelling system representing contrasts in vowel phonation and derived tone.

* Volume I contains over 9,000 entries and cross-references. Zapotec words and expressions are defined in both English and Spanish. Entries include examples of words used in natural sentences, as well as grammatical and cultural notes.

* Volume II contains English-Zapotec and Spanish-Zapotec indices containing over 20,000 brief entries, which refer the reader back to main entries in Volume I.

Pamela Munro is a Professor of Linguistics at UCLA and a leading scholar of indigenous languages of the Americas. She has published dictionaries, grammars, and articles on Chickasaw, Cahuilla, Mojave, and many other American Indian languages, often in collaboration with native speakers. She is also the co-author of dictionaries of he Wolof language of Senegal and of UCLA student slang.

Felipe H. Lopez is a graduate student in the Ph.D. program in Urban Planning at UCLA and a native speaker of San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec.

Olivia V. Méndez is a graduate student in Applied Linguistics at UCLA.

Rodrigo Garcia is a native speaker of San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec and has attended Santa Monica College.

Michael R. Galant is an Assistant Professor of Language and Literature at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Selected Press Coverage

New York Times. October 23, 1999. By James Sterngold.
NBC Nightly News. November 21, 1999. By Cecilia Alvear.
Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1998.
La Opinion. October 20, 1999. by Jose Fuentes Salinas
Univision. LA news, October 16, 1999; National morning show, November 19, 1999; National evening show, April 27, 2000; Fronteras Norte, May 2000.
Telemundo. La Paloma, April 2000; Channel 22 Television, Hora d'Indigena. Fresno, California, May 2000.
KCET Life and Times. February 2000.
KPFK. February 24, 2000.
Kyoto News Service. (68 million listeners) October 1999.
AScribe wire service (the Public Interest Newswire). October 1999.
Notimex wire (Mexico). October 1999.