Colors

[Henry]

>
>
> /If ca ahmo (or with the //saltillo// accent ca amo) means NO, and if 
> paltic means COLORED, than there could be a possibility of negation. /
>
Its a matter of word classes. A'mo cannot combine in this form with 
other morphemes, its combinatorial version is a'-  You might construct 
something like a'paltik (no idea whether this exists) but this doesn't 
necessarily mean "colorless".
the root -pal- does not mean "color", it is related to wetness, (dark) 
clay and surfaces (rather with long vowel -pâl- ... I'd venture a 
connection to Proto UtoAztecan pa "water" and the suppletive Azetc form 
âl for "water", like in âltepêtl)

tlapal-li  is a *derivation* with the narrower meaning "paint, dye"

âpaltik [vowel length, no saltillo] means "moist, watery"

"ca" is a particle that to my knowledge does not combine with other 
morphemes (that's why it is called a "particle"), "ca a'mo" is a 
complete phrase which cannot be incorporated into another word.

Even though it is nice to be able break down words into monosyllabic 
elements -- and in many cases you can do that in Nahuatl --- we 
shouldn't hunt for them at any cost. The number of CVC combinations is 
limited, so we should happily accept the existence of bisyllabic roots 
for basic vocabulary that can't be broken down further. /kamo'/ looks 
perfect as a root to me.

And camote tastes good. melâwak welîk... yôtlân nitlahtowa, ma titlakwâkân
Henry
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