Life-form Overlap in San Lucas Quiavini Zapotec Plant Taxonomy
Kelso, Neal
This paper provides preliminary evidence that in San Lucas Quiavini Zapotec (SLQZ),
an Otomanguean language of Oaxaca, Mexico, plant taxonomy exhibits a unique
system wherein life-form classes overlap significantly. Though similar findings have
been recorded in other varieties of Zapotec, no comparable ethnobiological
investigation in any Tlacolula Valley languages has yet been carried out. In this
taxonomic system, plant life-form classes are defined by appearance and utility. When
a single variety of plant exhibits more than one of these traits, it is often classified as a
part of each of these groupings, breaking the foundational rules of Linnaean and non-
Linnaean taxonomy. The data used in this analysis was collected from corpora created
with the aim of language revitalization as well as from talks with Dr. Felipe H. Lopez,
an Ll speaker of SLQZ. As the scope of these corpora is presently rather limited, the
latter section of the thesis proposes several field work methods which can be used to
more accurately record taxonomic information in SLQZ in the future.
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