Causative Alternations
There is also a morphological causative in Chatino, expressed by the causative prefix /x-/, /xa-/, /y/, or by the palatalization of the first consonant. The choice of prefix appears to be partially determined by the first consonant of the verb, though there are some irregular cases. The prefix /x/ occurs before some roots that start with one of the following consonants: /c, qu, ty/ or with the vowels /u,a/, e.g.
| catá chcu | 'bathe (reflexive)' | xcatá ji'i | 'bathe (transitive)' |
| quityi | 'dry (reflexive)' | xquityi ji'i | 'dry (tr)' |
| ndyu'u | 'is alive' | nxtyu'u ji'i | 'waken' |
| ndyubi' | 'is put out' | nxubi' | 'put out' |
| tyatsi' | 'is buried' | xatsi' | 'bury' |
The prefix /xa/ is put before certain roots that begin with /t/, e.g.
| nduu | 'is stopping' | nxatuu | 'to stop something' |
Palatalization occurs in some roots that begin with /t/, e.g.
taa 'will give' tyaa 'will pay'
(Pride 1970: 95-96)
The alternations seen here are similar to the causative alternation seen in the related Zapotec languages.
Read more about this topic: Chatino Language, Morphology