Tloc, nahuac, tech, tlan

[David Wright]

Thanks for the distributional map, Joe. I just checked it against my table
of postpositions and locative suffixes (Lectura del Nahuatl, pp. 87-94,
currently in the process of expansion and revision for a second edition). In
this table I use as the main criterion for classification your fourth
column, that is whether or not these morphemes are found attached to a
possessive prefix (if they are, they are classified as postpositions; if
not, they are called locative suffixes). Most of the data are in harmony,
except in two cases:

1. You list -can (which I assume to be /ca:n/) as taking a possessive
prefix. I haven't found any examples of this, although I admit I haven't
searched very hard. If I see examples, I'll have to move this morpheme from
my list of locative suffixes to the "postposition" category. Can you give me
a couple of examples, preferably with references to early colonial sources?
(Modern sources won't do, because I'm focusing on central Mexican Nahuatl
from 1521 to 1650.) I suppose your magic Nahuatl machine can make quick work
of this.

2. You include -ican, which I don't have on my table in either category. The
"x" in the fourth column means that it would be a postposition as I've
defined this word. I just checked a stack of descriptive sources (Carochi,
Lockhart, Andrews, Launey, Wolf, Karttunen, and Molina's Arte) and couldn't
find this postposition, unless it's something one would see inside of
-i:campa, "behind/beyond," after removing the locative suffix -pa. I would
like to add this morpheme to the table, but to do so I would have to know
where it is found, what it means and if it has any long vowels. Can you give
me a hand with this?

David

-----Mensaje original-----
De: Campbell, R. Joe [mailto:campbel at indiana.edu] 
Enviado el: jueves, 12 de noviembre de 2009 03:36 p.m.
Para: Michael McCafferty
CC: David Wright; nahuatl at lists.famsi.org
Asunto: Re: [Nahuat-l] Tloc, nahuac, tech, tlan

Nocnihuan,

   The things we call "postpositions" or "relational nouns" obviously 
don't all follow the same distributional map, so I have put a rough one 
together.  "Rough" means that I consider just a draft, so I won't mind 
having mistakes drawn to my attention.

   I include -nahuac in the list in spite of the fact that I know that 
it is really a noun with attached -c(o).

   Category 5 (occurs after a noun) has a neutral label in order to 
avoid calling fish or fowl (i.e., noun compound or noun suffix).

   Obviously, these categories hint strongly at the noun-like behavior 
of these objects of our attention, which goes in the opposite direction 
from their frequent spatial and temporal function in the language.

As Arnie said, "I'll be back."

Joe

  "postpositions"

1   takes a "verber" suffix
2   embeds in -yo(tl)
3   takes absolutive
4   takes a possessive prefix
5   occurs after a noun
6   embeds in -eh (e.g., tloqueh) [not included yet in the chart]

           x = yes

        1       2       3       4       5

can             x       x       x       x

co              x                       x

huan    x                       x

huic    x                       x       x

ican    x                       x

nahuac  x       x       x       x       x

pa              x                       ?

pan     x       x       x       x       x

pampa   x       x               x

tech    x       x       x       x       x

tlan    x       x       x       x       x

tloc    x                       x

tzalan  x       x       x       x       x



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