Re: Tzeltal's got only one preposition?!

ROGER MILLS wrote:
>
> Ph.D. wrote:
>
> >     'Oy  k'ib  ta  ba na.
> >    [Exist  water-jug  PREP  top  house]
> >    There is a water jug on top of the house
> >
> >    Ta  pat  mok  li  tzebe.
> >    [PREP  back  fence  the  girl]
> >    The girl is behind the fence.
> >
> >     ta  pat  mak  na
> >     [PREP  back  cover  house]
> >     behind the door of the house
> >
>
> The exs. are all _locative_; I wonder how would one
> express _motion_ (to/from etc.)?  surely there's a
> way....  I neglected to mention that Indonesian has a
> preposition of motion:  ke 'to', while di is locative.
>
> Kash got around the problem of having one prep. for
> (1)location and (2)motion-to by requiring different
> cases with _ri_, but still needed a separate prep. for
> motion-from

All my examples are from http://www.zapata.org/Tzotzil/

I quote:
   {k'ot-} means "to arrive (to another place)"; {yul-} means
   "to arrive (here)."  Thus

          K'otem  ta  Jobel.

   means "he has arrived in San Cristobal," and would be
   said if the speaker himself is not in San Cristobal. But

          Yulem  ta  Jobel.

   has two meanings: either "He has arrived in San Cristobal"
   (if the speaker is also in San Cristobal), or "He has arrived
   here from San Cristobal" (if the speaker is not in San
   Cristobal).


Some more examples:

   Mi  labat  ta  Jobel  volje?
   [QUES  you-went  PREP  San-Cristobal  yesterday]
   Did you go to San Cristobal yesterday?

   Much'u  te  ijatav  ta  te'tik?
   [Who  there  he-fled  PREP  forest]
   Who fled to the forest?

   Sob  to  lik'ot  ta  ch'ivit  ta  Jobel.
   [Early  still  I-arrived  PREP  market  PREP  San-Cristobal]
   It was early when I arrived at the market in San Cristobal.

   Lijach'  ta  'ach'el  ta  te'tik  ta  byernex.
   [I-slipped  PREP  mud  PREP  forest  PREP  Friday]
   I slipped in the mud in the forest on Friday.

   Mi  ta  karo  chak'ot  ta  Tuxta?
   [QUES  PREP  car  you-will-arrive  PREP  Tuxtla]
   Is it by car that you will arrive in Tuxtla?

   Chjatav  ta  pox  li  'antze.
   [He-fled  PREP  liquor  the  woman]
   The woman fled from the liquor.

--Ph. D.