Tocayo

[Frances Karttunen]

>> Wouldn´t tonacayotl (nuestro sustento) vs tonacayo (nuestra carne) be an
>> exception to the aforementioned?


No, this is not an exception.  It is a misanalysis.  To:naca:yo:tl is
derived from to:na, and the initial /to:/ is not a possessive prefix.  There
is a vowel-length difference.  To:naca:yo:tl means 'daily sustenance' not
'our sustenance.'  Tonacayo 'our own flesh' is derived from naca-tl.  When
it is inalienably possessed, it adds the possessive prefix to the front and
the suffix -yo to the end.  Without the -yo, tonaca means 'our meat' in the
sense of meat one has bought in the market.


About stem-final -tl, the Nahuatl original source of the word metate is
metlatl.  When possessed, it drops not only the -tl, but also the /a/
preceding the -tl.  (This dropping of vowels along with the absolutive
suffix to form the possessed stem applies to quite a few nouns ending in -a
and -i.)  So 'my metate' is nometl.  No occasion arises to add another -tl
to this form.  In compounds, metlatl doesn't drop its final vowel, as in
metlapi:lli 'mano de metate.'

There has been a further question about deriving 'fame' from 'namesake'.
Let me reiterate that the derivations are different.  The derived word
meaning 'namesake' is made with the suffix -yoh, and the derived word
meaning 'fame' is made with the different suffix -yo:-tl.  Only the
traditional spelling, which does not indicate vowel length and saltillo (h),
obscures the fact that these are different.

I'd like to urge people with questions along these lines to consult either
J. Richard Andrews's Introduction to Classical Nahuatl or Joe Campbell's and
my Foundation Course in Nahuatl Grammar.  Debating them on Nahuat-L and
restating on-line what is available in print isn't the best use of time.  It
also leads to dissemination of ideas that don't stand up to scrutiny--a
major problem for Nahuat-L users, just as it is for anyone seeking
information via internet.  For accessibility of the Foundation Course, go to
www.umt.edu/history/NAHUATL.  Then click on "Enter here for the Gateway to
Nahuatl links."