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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In a personal conversation with a member of this
group, we wondered that</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>nahuatl can express so many terms with a very
reducted set of radical items.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For example for terms like
"moustache", "neighbour", "ankle" are expressed</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>by more </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>basic
items:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><te:n> 'lip' + <tson> 'hair' =
<te:n.tson.tli> 'moustache'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><kal> 'house' + <na:wak> 'near' +
<tlaka> = <kal.na:wak.tlaca.tl> 'neighbour'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><ikxi> 'leg' + <kechtla> 'neck' =
<ikxi.kechtla.tl> 'ankle'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In fact I've heard the number of radicals used is
only around 1000!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This is a prototypical situation in PIDGINS and
CREOLES, and we think</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>that it is possible nawatl undergoed(?) a
period of pidginization when a</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>considerable number of yuto-aztecan radicals
becomed lost and therefore</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>they were replaced by compounds like (1), (2) and
(3).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>What do you think? Do you consider reasonable this
hypothesis about</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>diachronic history of
nawatl?</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>