| Proto-Nahuan | |
|---|---|
| Proto-Aztecan | |
| Reconstruction of | Nahuan languages |
Reconstructed ancestor | |
Proto-Nahuan (also calledProto-Aztecan) is a hypothetical daughter language of theProto-Uto-Aztecan language. It is the common ancestor from which the modernNahuan languages have developed.
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There is some controversy about where and when Proto-Nahuan was spoken. Following Nahuan ethnohistorical sources describing a southward migration of Nahuatl speakers, as well as the fact that all other Uto-Aztecan languages are north of the Nahuan languages, the homeland has traditionally been considered to be located to the north of the current area of extension.
An alternative hypothesis byJane H. Hill is that Proto-Nahuatl arose withinMesoamerica, and the Nahuas are the only remainders after a large-scale northward migration.
The following phonological changes are shared by all Nahuan languages:
Proto-Nahuan was anagglutinative language, and its words used suffix complexes for a variety of purposes, with severalmorphemes strung together.
Some Proto-Aztecan (i.e., Proto-Nahuan) reconstructions by Davletshin (2012):[6]
| gloss | Proto-Aztecan |
|---|---|
| all (todos) | *mochɨ-m |
| ashes | *nɨx-tlɨ |
| bark | *ɨwaː-yoː-tl |
| belly | *-ɨhtɨ |
| big | *wehey(ɨ) |
| bird | *toːtoː-tl |
| bite | *-kɨh-tzoma |
| black | *tliːl-tɨ-k |
| blood | *ɨs-tlɨ |
| bone | *oːmɨ-tl |
| breast | *-chiːchiːwal |
| burn tr. | *-tla-tɨ-ha |
| claw (nail) | *-ɨstɨ |
| cloud | *mix-tlɨ |
| cold | *sese-k |
| come | *wiːtz (preterit-as-present form) |
| die | *mɨki |
| drink | *-ihi |
| dry | *waːk |
| ear | *nakas-tlɨ |
| earth | *tlaːl-lɨ |
| eat | *-kwa-haː |
| eye | *-iːx |
| feather | *-ɨ?wɨ |
| fire | *tlahi-tl |
| fish | *mɨ-chɨ-m |
| fly | *patlaːni |
| foot | *-ɨkxɨ |
| full | *teːn-tok |
| give tr. | *-maka |
| good | *yeːk-tlɨ |
| hair | *-tzom |
| hand | *-mah |
| head | *-kwah |
| hear | *-kaki |
| heart | *-yoːl |
| I | *naha |
| kill | *mɨk-tɨ-ha |
| knee | *-tlan-kwah |
| know | *mati |
| leaf | *ɨswa-tl |
| lie | *mo-teːka |
| long | *weheya-k |
| louse | *atɨmɨ-tl |
| man | *tlaːka-tl |
| many | *mɨyak |
| meat | *naka-tl |
| moon | *meːtz-tlɨ |
| mountain | *tɨpeː-tl |
| mouth | *teːn-tlɨ |
| name | *toːkaːhɨ-tl |
| neck | *kəch-tlɨ |
| new | *yankwi-k |
| night | *yowal-lɨ |
| nose | *yaka-tl |
| one | *seː(m) |
| red | *chiːl-tɨ-k ? |
| road | *oh-tlɨ |
| root | *nelwa-tl ? |
| round | *yawal-tɨ-k ? |
| sand | *xaːl-lɨ |
| see | *-ɨhta |
| seed | *aːch-tlɨ |
| sit | *mo-tlalɨ-ha |
| skin | *eːwa-tl |
| sleep | *kochɨ |
| smoke | *poːk-tlɨ ? |
| stand | *kɨtza |
| star | *sitlalɨ-m |
| stone | *tə-tl |
| tail | *-kwitla-pɨl |
| that | *oːn- ? |
| this | *in- ? |
| thou | *təha |
| tongue | *-nɨnɨ-pɨl |
| tooth | *-tlan |
| tree | *kwa-wɨ-tl |
| two | *oːmə |
| walk (go) | *nɨh-nɨmi |
| warm (hot) | *to-toːnɨ-k ? |
| water | *aː-tl |
| we | *təha-mɨ-t |
| what | *tla-(hi ?) |
| white | *istaː-kɨ ? |
| who | *aːk |
| woman | *si/owaː-tl |
| yellow | *kos-tɨ-k ? |