three doubts

[Susana Moraleda-Dragotto]

    Hello Fran!
    Thanks a lot for your reply. You are always so marvelous!! I have
another
  question: What happens when you place the third-person singular possessive
  prefix to a word starting with a vowel?
    ialtepeuh?
    iez?
    iicniuh?
    iocelo?

    I had written to you in the past just to let you know that I hadn't
  forgotten you, and that I cherish happy souvenirs of the Nahuatl course I
  attended with you in Helsinki, but I am afraid you didn't receive my
  messages.

    Please do let me know how you are, what are you up to, and how is
Albert.

    I send you a big hug,
    Love,
    Susana

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Frances Karttunen" <karttu at NANTUCKET.NET>
    To: <NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU>
    Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 9:58 PM
    Subject: Re: three doubts


    > Hello Susana!
    >
    > > (1) Plural reverential forms
    > > Should one add the plural suffix to a noun and then the singular
    > > reverential? NANTINTZIN?
    > > or plural suffix and plural reverential? NANTINTZITZIN?
    > > or no plural suffix and just plural reverential? NANTZITZIN?
    >
    > The honorific goes between the noun stem and the absolutive suffix
  (singular
    > or plural). The honorific suffix reduplicates in the plural.  Singular
    > -tzin-tli; plural -tzitzin-tin.  In possessed forms, the singular
  is -tzin
    > and the plural is -tzitzin-huan.
    >
    >
    > > 2) Stems
    > > Is there a rule saying that whenever there are two vowels at the end
  of a
    > > stem (i.e. TOCAITL, MAITL, TEMACHTIANI) one is to delete the last
  vowel
    > > (TOCA, MA, TEMACHTI) ?
    >
    > No.  A number of "small" words like tocaitl and maitl drop the -i- as
  well
    > as the absolutive suffix to form the stem (toca-, ma-).  Temachtiani
  doesn't
    > drop anything.  It's a noun derived from a verb, and doesn't take a
  singular
    > absolutive suffix (-tl or -in).  The plural is formed either by adding
a
    > final saltillo (temachtianih) or by suppletion (temachtihqueh).
    >
    >
    >
    > >
    > > 3) Endings
    > > Did nouns like CHICHI once have a  traditional ending? (TL, TLI, LI,
  IN).
    >
    > No.  It is thought to be a loan word.
    >
    > > Is the stem "chich"?
    >
    > No. It is chichi.
    >
    > > (chichitontli or chichtontli?)
    >
    > Chichiton. I don't think there would be anything wrong with
  chichitontli,
    > though.  The plural is chichitotontin.
    >
    >
    > But this is just based on the body of classical Nahuatl texts.
    > Geographically and temporally there is lots of variation, so one can't
    > really say anything is absolutely right or wrong.
    >
    >
    > Fran
    >
    >