488

whether it should be considered a noun suffix, albeit one
with a special summarizing function when it occurs word-
finally, or whether it belongs in the final suffix class,
in which case occurrences of -ka followed by -na must be
considered morphophonemic reductions of aka or uka rather

than occurrences of the final suffix -ka.
7-2.22.31.1 Distribution of -ka in Morocomarca

-ka was rejected on certain nouns. It occurred
on the first noun in a sentence if the stem ended in
-naka plural, a personal possessive suffix, or zero
complement vowel drop, but it did not occur on plain noun
roots that occurred first in a sentence, unless they were
zero complements. However, Yapita (La Paz/Compi) reported
hearing -ka on the plain demonstrative aka occurring
first in a sentence, in an utterance by a speaker in the
town of Morocomarca.

-ka did occur on plain nouns occurring at the end
of a sentence. Where -ka was not permitted (namely,
on plain roots occurring first in a sentence), plain
vowel or vowel length (probably an allomorph of -xa
topic/attenuator; see 7-2.22.12) occurred. Vowel length
did not occur on the last vowel of a sentence-final noun,
where either -ka or plain vowel occurred. Examples of
occurrences and non-occurrences of -ka in Morocomarca are

the following: