612

is reflected in these semantic features, as is to be ex-
pected of such an important linguistic postulate in the
language. Investigation of other semantic features of

Aymara has only just begun. Among those tentatively identi-
fied so far, in addition to human/nonhuman, are distinctions
of animate/inanimate (or moving/nonmoving), animal/nonanimal,
plant/nonplant, and humanly processed/unprocessed.

There is apparently no set hierarchy of features;
rather, they cut across each other. Nonhuman may subsume
animate and inanimate, but animate may subsume human, animal,
and moving natural phenomena such as fire, sunlight, hail,
and clouds. Inanimate may subsume plant, humanly processed
agricultural products or manufactures, or nonprocessed non-
moving matter such as rock, earth, or places. Human may
subsume a distinction of human persons vs. human body parts
or secretions (e. g. blood, urine) and conditions affecting
them (e. g. cold, sunlight). Illustrations of these dis-
tinctions are given below. They remain working categories
pending further refinement as Aymara semantic studies pro-
ceed.

One instance in which the human/nonhuman distinction
is overriding with respect to verb stems and themes concerns
the behavior of the nominalizing suffix -fia (7-4.21.2). This
suffix is unmarked for human/nonhuman on verb roots. All

roots may take it, regardless of the semantics of their