Tlacaelel

[R. Joe Campbell]

    I'm frequently worried about whether we are talking about active 
morphological relationships or etymological origins when we discuss a
particular "morpheme".  In the case of names, I think it leans toward 
being the latter, so my credulousness goes up.

    There is a formative (possibly a morpheme and maybe a combination of 
two morphemes): "e:llelli", which is very common.  Of course, the final 
-li is the absolutive suffix, so we are talking about "e:llel-".  Since 
'll' does not appear in Nahuatl morphemes (i.e., it is always the product 
of /l/ and either /y/ or /tl/ juxtaposed at morpheme boundaries), its 
single morpheme status is dubious.
    Andrews' suggestion (cf. p. 283 and p. 271) is that "e:llel-" is a 
compound of "e:l(-li)" [liver] and a modified (unattested) form of 
"tle(-tl)", namely, "tlel(-li)".  He believes that there is a parallel 
variation in "te(-tl)" [rock] and "tel(-li)" [pile of rocks, rock mound, 
mound]; he addresses "tel(-li)" on p. 614.
    Although *some* hypothesis may seem more appealing than *no* 
hypothesis, I believe that this idea belongs in the area of etymology;
morphology is supposed to be dynamic and productive, with no black boxes.

Saludos,

Joe

p.s.  Since reduplication in Nahuatl only involves the first vowel and 
whatever precedes it (if anything), then the sequence 'elel' couldn't 
originate in reduplication because it wouldn't reach as far as the 'l'.
}8-)

On Wed, 15 Mar 2006, David Wright wrote:

> Fritz Schwaller wrote, in response to an inquiry regarding the name
> Tlacaelel:
>
>> One author translates it as Man of Great Heart (Brundage)  which might be
> poetic license
>> On the surface, though, it would seem to be more Liver Man based on tlacatl
> and elli, with reduplication of the -el- of liver.
>
> Just yesterday I was showing my students how certain morphemes in náhuatl
> function as adjectives, and I put Andrews' (2003: 396) examples of
> "adjectival nominal nuclear clauses" on the board. He includes "-el", with
> the meaning "diligent/eager/active", and I wondered to myself if this has
> anything to do with Tlacaelel. Andrews' examples don't seem to support this.
> Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
>
> David Wright
> Universidad de Guanajuato
>