Isomorphism in

Nahua dialectal morphology

1

Mitsuya SASAKI

XIV Encuentro Internacional de Lingüística en el Noroeste,

Hermosillo, Sonora

November 16, 2016

JSPS Research Fellow, Guest Researcher at UNAM

Starting point

Classical Nahuatl (16–17c) had more

irregularity and allomorphy than any

modern Nahua language/dialect

2

Canger’s “Urban Nahuatl” hypothesis

Canger (2011)

– Classical Nahuatl as the

“Urban Nahuatl”

– A metropolitan koine

due to the dialect contact

in Mexico-Tenochtitlan

– Nahuatl was once

simpler, isomorphic

3

Photo by Wolfgang Sauber

via Wikimedia Commons

My suggestions

1. Modern Nahua dialects are becoming more

isomorphic – they were once more irregular

2. Some of Canger’s “Urban” features are older

than the age of Classical Nahuatl

3. Some irregularities of Classical Nahuatl date

back when Mexica people were nomads

4

Modern tendency toward

isomorphism

Suggestion #1

5

Vowel elision in reflexives

Classical Nahuatl: Reflexive o→Ø/_V

– mo- (REFL) + tlāliā ‘set’

→ mo-tlālia ‘s/he sits’

– mo- (REFL) + īxnāmiki ‘quarrel with s.o.’

→ m-īxnāmiki-h ‘they quarrel’

Huasteca Nahuatl

– Reflexive mo- retains its vowel

6

Huasteca Nahuatl regular reflexives

mo-ahsi / *m-ahsi

‘it is reached, it is found’ (REFL-reach)

mo-oni [mo.óni] / *m-oni

‘it is drunk, it is drinkable’ (REFL-reach)

mo-ihkwiloa / *m-ihkwiloa

‘it is written’ (REFL-write)

(Victoriano de la Cruz and IDIEZ, p.c.)

7

Huasteca Nahuatl lexical reflexives

m-āwiltia (REFL-play) ‘s/he plays’

m-ēwa (REFL-raise) ‘s/he gets up’

m-ēwa (REFL-raise) ‘s/he gets up’

m-ihtōtia (REFL-dance) ‘s/he dances’

(Victoriano de la Cruz and IDIEZ, p.c.)

8

Pipil lexical reflexives

mu-īxmūtia (REFL-frighten) ‘to be frightened’

mu-ulīnia (REFL-stir) ‘to be stirred’

but:

m-ihtutia (REFL-dance) ‘to dance’

m-īnaya (REFL-hide) ‘to hide’

m-āwiltia (REFL-play) ‘s/he plays’

(Campbell, 1982, 31–32)

9

Solidification of former epenthetic i

in Huasteca Nahuatl (1)

Central k- ~ ki- (3SGO) → Huasteca ki-

– Classical

• ki-namaka ‘s/he sells it’

• k-āna ‘s/he grabs it’

– Huasteca

• ki-namaka ‘s/he sells it’

• ki-āmati ‘s/he likes it’

10

Solidification of former epenthetic i

in Huasteca Nahuatl (2)

Central iCC- ~ V-CC- → Huasteca V-iCC-

– Classical:

• ikxi- ‘foot’ / no-kxi ‘my foot’

• k-itta ‘s/he sees it’ / mo-tta ‘it is seen’

– Huasteca:

• ikxi- ‘foot’ / no-ikxi

• ki-itta [ki.ít(:)a] ‘s/he sees it’ / mo-itta ‘it is seen’

11

Rethinking the Urban Nahuatl

hypothesis

Suggestion #2

12

Core or “Urban” Nahuatl

Core (Nuclear) Nahuatl

(Lastra de Suárez,1986; Canger, 1988a; etc.)

– Milpa Alta, D.F.

– Amanalco (Texcoco), Estado de México

– Tepoztlán, Morelos

– Tetelcingo, Morelos

– Acaxochitlán, Hidalgo

– Classical Nahuatl (?)

etc.

13

Valley of Mexico

14

©Google

Canger’s “Urban Nahuatl” hypothesis

Core dialects have several features in common

which cannot be found in other dialects, nor in

Colonial non-Core dialectal texts

Core Nahuatl can be characterized as “Urban

Nahuatl,” a new metropolitan mixed variant

which emerged from dialect contact

15

Core features by Canger (2011)

1. Vowel elision in possessive prefixes before a vowel

– no-āma-w (1SGP-paper-POSS) > n-āma-w ‘my paper’

2. Alliterative reflexive prefixes in the first person

– ni-mo- (1SGS-REFL), ti-mo- (1PLS-REFL) > ni-no-, ti-to-

3. Use of the short stem wi in the verb yawi ‘go’

4. Metathesis in certain applicative forms

5. Use of short stems in the preterit

6. Use of the plural marker -tin in common nouns

– okich-tin ‘men,’ tōtol-tin ‘hens’

7. Lexical variation

16

Alliterative reflexives

Core Non-Core

SG PL SG PL

1 ni-no- ti-to- ni-mo- ti-mo-

2 ti-mo- am-mo- ti-mo- am-mo-

3 Ø-mo- Ø-mo- Ø-mo- Ø-mo-

17

Classical Nahuatl: Allomorphy in reflexives

ni-no-tolīnia (1SGS-REFL-suffer)

‘I suffer’

ti-to-tolīnia-h (1PLS-REFL-suffer-PL)

‘we suffer’

ti-mo-tolīnia (2SGS-REFL-suffer)

‘you suffer’

mo-tolīnia (3SGS-REFL-suffer)

‘s/he suffers’

18

Ixquihuacan Nahuatl: Reflexives

ni-mo-tlāliya (1SGS-REFL-set)

‘I sit’

ti-mo-tlāliya-h (1PLS-REFL-set-PLS)

‘we sit’

ti-mo-tlāliya (2SGS-REFL-set)

‘you sit’

mo-tlāliya (3SGS-REFL-set)

‘s/he sits’

19

Origin of alliterative reflexives

Some southern UA languages have corresponding

inflecting reflexives (Steele 1979, 479–481; Dakin, 2013)

– Cora, Huichol, Yaqui, O’odham, Tepehuan

20

SG PL

1 ñ- t-

2 ’e- ’e-

3 ’e- ’e-

Totono O’odham reflexive prefixes (Zepeda, 1983, 41–42)

Alliterative reflexives in Proto-Uto-Aztecan

Sg. Pl.

1 *nɨ- *ta-

2 *ʔɨ- *mo-

3 *mo- *mo-

21

(Langacker 1977, 47; Steele 1979, 447)

Alliterative reflexives: Calque or retention?

1SG/PL alliterative reflexives are sometimes

reconstructed to Proto-Uto-Aztecan (Langacker

1977, Steele 1979)

Dakin (2013) attributes Nahuatl ni-no- to a

later calque from Cora/Huichol

22

Alliterative reflexives in older verses

Archaic songs in Primeros memoriales

(cf. Sullivan and Dakin, 1980)

ni-n-axka (fol. 280v.)

‘I burn myself’ (~ Classical ni-n-ixka)

no-mati (fol. 274r)

‘it seems that...’ (< ni-no-mati ‘I know myself’)

23

Short stem of the verb ‘go’

Classical Nahuatl has an irregular verb stem

alternation: yaw (sg.) ~ wi (pl.) ‘go’

Non-core Nahuatl has yaw ~ yawi

Canger (2011, 248): wi as a “reduced” form

24

Short stem of the verb ‘go’

25

Classical Nahuatl

Sg. Pl.

1 ni-yaw ti-wi-’

2 ti-yaw an-wi-’

3 Ø-yaw Ø-wi-’

Non-core Nahuatl

Sg. Pl.

1 ni-yawi ti-yawi-h

2 ti-yawi (n)an-yawi-h

3 Ø-yawi Ø-yawi-h

(Canger 2011, 248; modified by me)

Short stem of the verb ‘go’

Stem alternation: Classical Nahuatl

26

Sg. Pl.

Present indicative yaw wi-’

Preterit ya’ ya’-ke’

Future yā-s yā-s-ke’

Pluperfect /

imperfect indicativewi-a wi-a-’

Optative yaw wi

Ixquihuacan Nahuatl: ‘go’

Present indicative: yow / yuwi

Pluperfect indicative: wiya / wiyah

– ō-ni-wiya (PST-1SGS-go.PLUP)

‘I went (and came back)’

– cf. Classical Nahuatl wi-a

27

Short stems of ‘go’

Huasteca Nahuatl (Victoriano de la Cruz and IDIEZ, p.c.)

– Present: yah / yowi

– Imperfect/pluperfect: ihwiya / ihwiyah

• cf. Classical Nahuatl wi-a

• The origin of ih- is unknown

Sierra Negra Nahuatl

– xi-wia / xi-wia-h ‘Go!’

– cf. Tetelcingo Nahuatl xïbïya ‘Go!’

28

Summary: Short stem of ‘go’

The alternation between yaw ~ wi in present

indicative is limited to the Core area

However, wi is found in other tenses/moods

outside of the Core area

29

Summary

Some Core features may date back before the

Aztec period

– Alliterative reflexives: ni-no-

– Use of short stems of ‘go’: wi-

30

Irregular noun pluralization

Classical Nahuatl: various pluralization patterns

– āltepē-tl ‘city’ → āltepē-me’

– tōtol-in ‘turkey hen’ → tōtol-tin

– kōwā-tl ‘snake’ → kō-kōwa-’

– okich-tli ‘man’ → okich-tin

– tlāka-tl ‘person’ → tlāka-’

– mochi ‘all’ → moch-īn-tīn

31

Ixquihuacan Nahuatl noun pluralization

Nahuatl of Ixquihuacan, Puebla (non-Core dialect)

Regularized plural with -meh:

tlāka-meh ‘men’; tōtol-meh ‘turkey hens’;

kōwā-meh ‘snakes’; tēlpōch-meh ‘young guys’ ...

But:

– tlāka-h ‘men’

– kō-kone-h ‘children’;

– nochiteh (< *nochi-tīn) ‘all’;

– sikeh < *sek-īn ‘some’

32

More irregular plurals in the periphery

Michoacán Nahual:

– moxtin ‘all’ cf. Classical moch(-īn)-tīn

Sierra Nahuat of Tzinacapan, Cuetzalan:

– tāka-meh ~ tāka-h ‘men’

Huasteca Nahuatl inanimate plural -tinih

(Kimball, 1990; Canger 2011, 251–252)

33

Typological and historical remarks

Suggestion #3

34

Core features as irregularization

1. Contraction of possessive prefixes

2. Alliterative (“assimilated”) reflexive prefixes

3. Use of the “reduced” stem of ‘go’

4. Metathesis in certain applicative forms

5. Use of short stems in the preterit

6. Use of plural -tin in common nouns

7. Lexical variation

(Canger, 2011)

35

Core features as irregularization

1. Allomorphy in possessive prefixes

2. Allomorphy in reflexive prefixes

3. Allomorphy in the verb ‘go’

4. Allomorphy in certain applicative forms

5. Allomorphy of verb stems the preterit

6. Allomorphy of plural marker

7. Lexical variation

(cf. Sasaki, 2015)

36

Dialect mixing?

37Photo by Wolfgang Sauber via Wikimedia Commons

Typology of mixed dialects

“Regional koine” (Siegel, 1985, 363–364)

“Interdialect” (Trudgill, 1986, 62–65)

“This reduction [of variability] takes place through

the process of koinéization, which consists of the

levelling (...) and of simplification, which involves,

crucially, a reduction in irregularities.”

(Trudgill, 1986, 102)

38

History of Mexicas

39

ca. 800? Migration of the Pipils

ca. 1100? Fall of Tula

ca. 1300? Settlement of the Mexicas

ca. 1325? Foundation of Mexico-Tenochtitlan

1391–1415? King Huitzilíhuitl

1428Independence from the Tepanecs

Triple Alliance

1521 Spanish conquest

A Pre-Tenochtitlan Mexica speech

community?

40

Códice Boturini via Wikimedia Commons

Remaining questions (1)

Q. Why do colonial dialectal sources generally

lack Core features?

A . Only Core Nahuatl retained those features.

41

Remaining questions (2)

Q. Why are the conservative Core features limited

to a small social-cultural center?

It is against the center–periphery typology of

historical linguistics!

A . Because Core Nahuatl was not center.

Its speakers were newcomers.

42

What part of Core Nahuatl is “urban”?

Lexical (free) variations

– Canger and Dakin (1985):

centli ~ cintli ‘maize,’ etc.

– Canger (1988b, 55–56):

wāllaw ~ wīts ‘come,’ etc.

Grammatical (free) variations

– Pharao Hansen (2014):

ah= ~ ahmō (NEG), etc.

43

Conclusion

(At least some) modern Nahua dialects have a tendency

towards isomorphism. Their morphology once more

irregular, and they are becoming more systematic.

Some of Canger’s “new” irregularities are actually the

retension of older features.

Core (“Urban”) Nahuatl might be a rather conservative

dialect with an elaborated allomorphy.

The urban-ness of Core Nahuatl is found not in obligatory

alternations, but in lexical and grammatical free variations.

44

¡Ōannēchmoknēlili’ke’! (Classical)

¡Tlasohkāmati! (Modern)

¡Muchas gracias!

45

Bibliography (1/3)

Campbell, Lyle. The Pipil Language of El Salvador. Berlin: Walter de

Gruyter.

Canger, Una. 1988a. Subgrupos de los dialectos nahuas. In J. J. Kathryn

and K. Dakin, eds., Smoke and Mist: Mesoamerican Studies in Memory of

Thelma D. Sullivan, Oxford: B.A.R., vol. 2, pp. 473–498.

Canger, Una. 1988b. Nahuatl dialectology: A survey and some

suggestions. International Journal of American Linguistics 54: 28–72.

Canger, Una. 2011. El náhuatl urbano de Tlatelolco/Tenochtitlan,

resultado de convergensia entre dialectos. Estudios de cultura náhuatl 42:

243–258.

Canger, Una and Karen Dakin. 1985. An inconspicuous basic split in

Nahuatl. International Journal of American Linguistics 51: 358–361.

Dakin, Karen. 2013. Western and Central Nahua dialects: Possible

influences from contact with Cora and Huichol. Paper presented at the

21st Conference on Historical Linguistics, Oslo, August 5, 2013.

46

Bibliography (2/3)

Langacker, Ronald W. 1977. Studies in Uto-Azteacan Grammar, Volume

1: An Overview of Uto-Aztecan Grammar. SIL and University of Texas in

Arlington.

Kimball, Geoffrey. 1990. Noun pluralization in Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl.

International Journal of American Linguistics 56: 196–216.

Lastra de Suárez, Yolanda. 1986. Las áreas dialectales del náhuatl

moderno. Mexico City: UNAM.

Pharao Hansen, Magnus. 2014. The East-West split in Nahuan

dialectology: Reviewing the evidence and consolidating the grouping.

Paper presented at the Friends of Uto-Aztecan Workshop, Universidad

Autónoma de Nayarit.

Sasaki, Mitsuya. 2015. Origins of alternation and variation: Rethinking

the “Urban Nahuatl” hypothesis. Proceedings of the 150th Meeting of

Linguistic Society of Japan, pp. 332–337.

Siegel, Jeff. 1985. Koines and koineization. Language in Society 14: 357–383.

47

Bibliography (3/3)

Steele, Susan M. 1979. Uto-Aztecan: An assessment for historical and

comparative linguistics. In L. Campbell and M. Mithun, eds., The

Languages of Native America: Historical and Comparative Assessment,

Austin: University of Texas Press, pp. 444–544.

Sullivan, Thelma D. and Karen Dakin. 1980. Dialectología del náhuatl de

los siglos XVI y XVII. Rutas de intercambio en Mesoamérica y el norte

de México, XVI, pp. 291–301.

Trudgill, Peter. 1986. Dialects in Contact. New York: Basil Blackwell.

Zepada, Ofelia. 1983. Totono O’odham Grammar. Tucson: University of

Arizona Press.

48