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The Seri language has shown its flexibility and creativity by the way in which it has expanded (naturally, without the help of committees and organizations!) to handle items which are new to the culture. Some of these make use of metaphor (the auto as compared to a body). Others make use of the morphological operations of the language (making nouns from verbs). All of the following expressions are now completely conventionalized within the Seri language community.
| motor | ziix iitax | thing with which it goes |
| battery | ziix iitax iyas | motor’s liver |
| belt | ziix iitax itj iixquim | motor’s belt (what the motor puts around its waist) |
| headlights | itoj | its eyes |
| brakes | iteen ihizlca | its reins (its mouth bands) |
| hose | yahjij | its trachea |
| fan | iqueelexolca | its paddles |
| radiator | hax an iisi | where it drinks water |
| muffler | ihiisaxim quih an hant yaait | what its breathing falls into |
| windshield | enm an iquiijim ziix cöimahnaxz | glass (metal in which one has sight) that has not been painted (i.e., isn't a mirror) |
| spark plugs | xiica cooxp | white things |
| tire | hant imaasij | what it rolls on the ground with |
| rim | hant imaasij an ihiij | what the tire sits in |
The material on this page was adapted from the exhibit on the languages of Mexico developed by the International Museum of Cultures in Dallas, Texas. The drawing is by Cathy Marlett.
© 2008 Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C.
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