Newbie questions

[Alexander Wallace]

Thankyou very much Ricardo. Earlier this morning I replied to this message,
but I don't see my reply on the list, so i will send this again. If you get a
duplicate, please forgive me.

You are right, I'm a mere mortal (not a linguist :) ), so your suggestions are
perfect for me. The course in Zacatecas sounds like a great oportunity,
unfortunately at this point I can't take a full month off from work. Maybe in
the future.

A really appreciate all this information. I love languages and nahuatls is
something i really want to see how far I can go with.

Gracias mil.

On Sunday 19 January 2003 23:09, Ricardo J. Salvador wrote:
> On Thursday, January 16, 2003, at 06:21  PM, Alexander Wallace wrote:
> > Everybody's insight in the matter seems pretty homogeneous with a few
> > variants here and there, like.  And you pretty much told me what I
> > wanted to hear :)
>
> Alexander,
>
> I wanted to add a few more comments in response to your original
> question, since I think I misread how recently you have joined the list
> and therefore how much of the information commonly exchanged here you
> may have caught.
>
> First, if you're interested in an intensive introduction to Classical
> Nahuatl, you may be interested in a month-long course organized by John
> Sullivan at the University of Zacatecas. The course is being taught
> right now (the month of January), but I imagine that if it is
> successful the UZ may continue to offer it on a recurring basis. You
> can interact directly with Dr. Sullivan about this, as he is a member
> of this list. The course is based on Lockhart's "Nahuatl as it is
> Written" and on Molina's dictionary. The main features of the course
> are daily work on translation of classical texts and a 5-day home-stay
> in a Huastecan Nahuatl village in San Luis Potosí. This year's tuition
> is $1,500 for one month, plus a modest lodging fee. You can get more
> details about the course at the UZ's IDIEZ page:
>
>     http://www.idiez.org.mx/
>
> You should also know that because your question is a common one, we
> keep a web page listing resources for learning Nahuatl (dictionaries,
> grammars, texts and courses.) I've just updated that page today with
> information about the course above and a few other fresh links. You can
> consult the page through this mailing list's home page:
>
>     http://www.mrs.umn.edu/academic/history/Nahuatl/index.htm
>
> or directly, at:
>
>     http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rjsalvad/scmfaq/nahuatl.html
>
> Addenda regarding responses you received from others:
>
> Joe Campbell offered a list of excellent scholarly resources to support
> learning of Classical Nahuatl. I wanted to point out that my lone
> suggestion of "Llave del Nahuatl" was made on the basis of my
> assumption that you are not a linguist and because you mentioned that
> you are a native Spanish speaker. That was my situation when as a
> teenager I ran into Garibay Kintana's work. Growing up in the Puebla
> valley I had casually picked up some Nahuatl in ostensive fashion, but
> I was incompetent in actual conversational settings. When I looked for
> ways to systematize my budding knowledge of Nahuatl I attempted to
> digest a few of the materials in the formal "linguistic cannon," but
> was incompetent to understand the work of specialists. That was when I
> discovered "Llave del Nahuatl," while browsing one fine day in the
> Porrúa bookstore in downtown Mexico City. I found the approach readily
> accessible and calibrated to provide just the right entry point for an
> interested but non-technical learner. So, that explains my bias ;-). If
> I assumed incorrectly and you are in fact a linguist then I think the
> materials recommended by Joe will be of immediate use to you (referring
> directly to Andrews and the Dibble and Anderson commentaries.)
>
> AND, I EARNESTLY recommend the Campbell and Karttunen Foundation
> Course, which Joe's modesty almost prevented him from listing. I can
> say the same thing for it that I have for "Llave del Nahuatl." It is
> accessible and methodical and is an excellent entry point to the
> language.
>
> Lastly, Frances Karttunen and Juergen Stowasser have pointed you toward
> the Hills and Hills "Speaking Mexicano." I again have a personal bias,
> since this book documents a study based in the very region where I was
> first exposed to Nahuatl. With that obligation to disclosure out of the
> way, I think this book is one of the best ways to understand the
> present state of the language. The reason is that, in addition to a
> linguistic analysis and interpretation of contemporary Nahuatl uses,
> the book provides excellent context by starting with a historical and
> cultural overview of the area of the study, and that summary is about
> the best I've seen (to understand the present uses of any language, it
> is important to understand the forces that have molded it). Just to
> pique your curiosity a bit, the actual analysis is of the way that
> Mexicano is used in various communities of the region to signify status
> or prestige.
>
> Ricardo J. Salvador          Voice: 515.294.9595
> 1126 Agronomy Hall         Telefax: 515.294.8146
> Iowa State University        e-mail: salvador at iastate.edu
> Ames, IA 50011-1010       WWW: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rjsalvad