amerindia n°21, 1996

Long vowels and morpheme boundaries in Nahuatl and Uto-Aztecan:
Comments on historical developments

Karen DAKIN

Seminario de Lenguas Indígenas, Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas / UNAM, México.

Introduction

In this paper, the question of vowel length in Uto-Aztecan with special emphasis on the relation of length found in Nahuatl to the proto-language is explored. It is necessary first , however, to describe certain hypothesis about the structure of proto-Uto-Aztecan (PUA) morphemes.

1. Morpheme structure in Proto-Uto-Aztecan

Reconstructions by Sapir (1913, 1915) and Whorf (1935, 1937) and later by Voegelin, Voegelin and Hale (1962) hypothesized morpheme structures for PUA that reflect the final features found in Numic. Later reconstructions, such as those of Miller (1967) and Campbell and Langacker (1978), paid less attention to these features. In a more recent article, I. Miller (1982) reconstructs final features for proto-Numic, but derives them from PUA *CVCV roots, rather than reconstruct them as features of the proto-language. Both Kaufman (1981) and Manaster-Ramer (1993) have shown that there are reflexes of these features in other Uto-Aztecan branches, suggesting that the features should be reconstructed for the proto-language, much in the way that Sapir and the Voegelins and Hale had done. My own view goes even farther to suggest that the CV_{-final features} syllables are probably mostly, if not all, morphemes, and that combinations of these morphemes have lexicalized to form the CV_{-final feature}CV_{-final feature} shapes more commonly accepted as morphemes of the proto-language. The arguments for this position are given elsewhere (cf. Dakin 1993a, 1993b), and deal more with semantics, while the arguments proposed here are phonological. The following forms are reconstructed because of the relation between vowel length in various other languages and evidence from Numic. In addition to the reconstruction of syllables with features that are spirantizing indicated simply as *CV-; geminating, marked CV"; and nasalizing, indicated by CV_n, all included by one or another of the earlier analyses cited, in this paper syllables with glottalized vowels are also reconstructed. These have been mentioned in different contexts. For instance, Ianucci gives */ as a possible morpheme or word-final consonant for proto-Numic. As will be seen below, evidence for *CVV, or original vowel length, is not completely convincing:

Reconstructed basic PUA syllable types:

*CV_n

*CV"

*CV/(V)

*CV

(*CVV ?)

Combinations of the syllables produce additionally the following possible CVCV forms:

*CV_nCV_n *CV"CV_n *CV/(V)CV_n *CVCV"

*CV_nCV" *CV"CV" *CV/(V)CV" *CVCV_n

*CV_nCV/(V) *CV"CV/(V) *CV/(V)CV/(V) *CVCV/(V)

*CV_nCV *CV"CV *CV/(V)CV *CVCV

2. Long vowels in proto-uto-aztecan

Voegelin, Voegelin and Hale (1962:34) hypothesize the existence of five short vowels, *a, *o, *i, *i and *u, but make the following note about vowel length:

Series generating components which are specified for the daughter languages, as LENGTH and one of three kinds of STRESS—, predictable stress, word stress, alternating stress—remain to be reconstructed for proto Uto-Aztecan.

Some more recent reconstructions of PUA include a series of five long vowels parallel to that of short vowels. For instance, Langacker (1977:22) reconstructs distinctive length mainly on the basis of typology, but notes: "The P-UA vowel system has been retained virtually without modification in Numic, Tubatulabal, and Pimic." However, he does not mention long vowels specifically, but seems to be referring rather to the existence of the five vowels, and that *i should be reconstructed rather than *e.

Nevertheless, in the list of PUA terms and cognates that is part of "Proto-Aztecan vowels", (1978) Campbell and Langacker include forms with the following long vowels for PUA: *uu, *oo, *ii, and *aa, but give no examples for an *ii.

Kaufman (1981:3) argues that "Vowel length can be directly reconstructed from at least Tubatulabal, Serrano, Luiseño, Hopi, Pima-Papago, Yaqui-Mayo and Nahuatl (but not from Numic, Cahuilla-Cupeño)" Regarding Numic, he notes that "Original UA vowel length ... was lost in preNumic before the loss of certain intervocalic consonants."

Reconstructions of the various branches of Uto-Aztecan (proto-Numic, proto-Cupan and proto-Takic, proto-Tepiman) have included long vowels, but do not try to reconstruct the contrast to proto-Uto-Aztecan; in addition, in descriptions it is noted often that there are certain processes through which length would have developed in the intermediate parent languages.

2.1. Proto-Numic

Ianucci (1973:65) makes the following statement about Numic vowels:

We can reconstruct both short and long vowel phonemes in Proto-Numic. All of the Numic languages have distinctive vowel length, but the long vowels are far outnumbered by short; this makes the evidence for reconstructing specific long vowels somewhat scanty at times ...

2.2. Proto-Tepiman

Bascom (1965:7) does not reconstruct vowel length for proto-Tepiman. Kaufman (1981) suggests that in many cases, Tepiman reverses original proto-Uto-Aztecan, that is short vowels became long, and long short.

2.3. Proto-Takic

Hill and Hill in 1968 argue that proto-Takic must have had length because of the evidence from Serrano (p. 240), and Munro, in her 1990 reconstruction of stress and vowel length in Cupan absolute nouns, states:

Despite the considerable variation in stress patterns among the modern Cupan languages, Proto-Cupan can be shown to have derived immediately from a language with a long/short vowel contrast and a regular stress rule, with the modern daughter languages' basic stress patterns developing gradually out of this reconstructed system. (p.217).

Munro notes at various points that the Luiseño forms are those that preserve length from a parent language; she does not hypothesize further by suggesting that proto-Uto-Aztecan had long vowels, and it seems more reasonable that she is referring to proto-Takic.

2.4. A view from Nahuatl

As is noted above, the existence of long vowels in Nahuatl is one of the principal kinds of evidence that linguists have used for the reconstruction of vowel length in proto-Uto-Aztecan. However, an examination of long vowels in Nahuatl both internally and in comparison with other Uto-Aztecan languages reveals certain patterns that may reconstruct at least in part to an intermediate proto-language. Long vowels in Nahuatl, as in a number of other Uto-Aztecan languages especially in the southern area, have developed from some of the V/V and CV_{final feature}CV sequences that developed to CVC_glideV sequences. Although these processes have been noted before for the various branches, with the exception of Kaufman's initial work they have not been described for Nahuatl. Such an evolution in Nahuatl as well has implications for the reconstruction of proto-Uto-Aztecan.

Patterns of fusion appear to have been shared by a number of southern Uto-Aztecan languages and possibly Hopi and Takic, but not by Numic and Kern. For that reason, it will be argued that their development was an innovation not shared by the latter two branches. Although Munro's work details the development of vowel length in proto-Cupan, the situation in Takic in relation both to proto-Uto-Aztecan and to Nahuatl is still problematic.

3. Derived vowel length in Uto-Aztecan subbranches

In this section, descriptions drawn from different branches of Uto-Aztecan are cited that have noted the development of vowel length from sequences of VCV, where C is a resonant.

3.1. Vowel length from loss of *h and */ in proto-Cupan

Munro, in her reconstruction of stress and length for proto-Cupan, discusses vowel length in Cahuilla and its implications for proto-Cupan:

Such words illustrate a well-known Cahuilla rule....by which certain intervocalic h's are deleted. Thus we assume that 'basket' is underlyingly /néha-t/ with a syncopated plural whose preconsonantal h is preserved. We may extend the same line of argument to propose underlying forms /méhV-t/ and /múhV-t/ for 'gopher' and 'owl'... the fact that Cahuilla preserves vowel clusters in words like néat suggests that we should regard the long vowels of mé:-t and mú:-t as derived from clusters of like short vowels: thus h-deletion causes /héhe-t/, for instance, to become mée-t, with a medial vowel cluster, which is later simplified to mé:-t...(p. 230 ).

Finally, (p. 248) in a discussion of the term 141. YUCCA SP, Munro notes:

The alternate forms Cu paná:-l (HN) and Ca pánu/u-l (SH) apparently reflect another, complex set—cf. also Lu paná:/a-l 'stalk of Spanish bayonet'—which suggests that Cu long vowels may sometimes derive from the deletion of intervocalic / as well as h..."

However, Munro also notes other sources of vowel length. For instance, she divides the development of stress patterns in Cupan into seven stages, but notes of the second stage: "Proto-Cupan probably had a productive pattern of affective length alternations in verb roots (CVCV-/CV:CV-) like those seen in the Luiseño pairs ..

chúŋi- 'to kiss' /chú:ŋi-/ 'to suck'

máha- 'to stop hurting' /má:ha-/ 'to make up a quarrel'

qás.a- 'to make a clashing noise' /qá:s.a-/ 'to talk loudly' (p. 226)

3.2. Numic final features and vowel length

The term consonant gradation in Uto-Aztecan is another way of referring to final features. Although Langacker makes several comments about consonant gradation, he concludes "Outside of Numic only remnants of such a system survive..."(1977:23). However, the remnants are important for historical analysis, as noted in Manaster-Ramer (1993), and by Kaufman (1981:1-79 ). Of interest here are the contrasts that involve PUA *p.

For proto-Numic, Ianucci contrasts geminates he derives from /*hC/ and /*NC-/ clusters with forms with a single consonant /*-C-/: "Proto-Numic medial /*-C-/ can probably be regarded—as in the modern languages—as a spirantized (intervocalic lenition) variant of the plain initial consonant. ... (1973:83-4). The intervocalic lenition of *p has produced /w/ in a number of other languages.

In his reconstruction, Ianucci also states that "...some of the long vowels, as well as virtually all of the vowel clusters (i.e. of different vowels), that we find in the various languages are either the result of the deletion of an earlier intervocalic consonant—especially /*y *w *h *// ...—or they occur across morpheme boundaries."

Kaufman, while he argues that "Numic languages should not be taken as the most archaic of the family."(1981: 3), later on comments: "Common Numic has (double) vowels and vowel clusters which result from the loss of intervocalic consonants" (1981:16).

3.3. Hopi

Although Hopi shows CVCV stems in contrast with CV:CV ones, vowel lengthening in open syllables seems to be an innovative, productive process in the language, complemented by the addition of second, probably derivational syllables, to the stems with long vowels.

3.4. Tepiman

For Southern Tepehuan, María Ambriz (1994) has suggested that long vowels have evolved in many cases from a metathesis of CVCV forms to CVVC, in which the dipthongs that arose from the VV sequences, then became long vowels. It may be that this analysis applies to the rest of Tepiman as well, and relates to Kaufman's perception that vowel length has often been reversed in those languages.

3.5. Corachol

Corachol, on the basis of materials available and the analysis of Vázquez (in press) seems to have shared with Nahuatl in the development of length from Uto-Aztecan dipthongs, since contrasts in the stress system relate to the same length contrasts found in Nahuatl; however, Corachol has innovated in other ways, especially as exemplified in Cora through a laryngealization of vowels that rarely corresponds to the laryngealization in the other languages, while on the other hand, losing the mentioned short/long contrasts that had developed as in Nahuatl, and lengthening vowels under other conditions.

4. Nahuatl

4.1. Short vowels

The evolution of Nahuatl vowels was discussed at length by Campbell and Langacker in 1978. Although their basic points about the fate of PUA *u in Nahuatl were disputed in Dakin 1983, Canger and Dakin 1985, and Manaster Ramer and Dakin (ms), they noted several important variants in the reflexes of short vowels, including the frequent loss of short vowels in the first syllable of CVCV forms, and the introduction of an epenthetic /i/ to avoid word-initial CC clusters and word-internal CCC ones following such loss. As noted earlier, it is also necessary to take into account the final features that can be reconstructed for PUA, since Nahuatl short vowels reflect them systematically.

4.2. PUA sources for short vowels in Nahuatl

It now appears that PUA *CV-, *CV_n-, and *CV"- are the sources of short vowels in Nahuatl. They show consistent patterns especially if one considers the reflexes in Numic and Taracahitan languages. The reconstruction and correspondence patterns for representative languages are given below. In the Appendix, additional reconstructions and sets of cognates support each rule.

4.2.1. PUA *CV"(geminating following consonant) > proto-Nah CV

PNum PCupan Hopi Guarijío Mayo Tubar O'odham Nah

CV" CV CV CVh CV" CV CV: CV

Pn pitti(tin) piti pehtiáme bette we:č eti:-k

< PUA *pi"-ti 'heavy'

4.2.2. PUA *CV_n (nasalizing following consonant) > proto-Nah CV

PNum PCupan Hopi Guarijío Mayo Tubar O'odham Nah

CV_{n CV CVn CVh CV" CV CV: CV}

Pn tim- tim tehté tétta te- če:- te-tl

PUA *ti_n-pi 'stone, rock' > proto-Nah te-tl 'rock'

4.2.3. PUA *CV (spirantizing following consonant) > proto-Nah CV

PNum PCupan Hopi Guarijío Mayo Tubar O'odham Nah

CV- CV- CV CV" CV CV

Kw kovo- kabba k�va- ka-kawa-tl

'pod' 'egg' 'egg' 'cacao' (little egg)

PUA *kapa- 'pod, shell' > proto-Nah ka-kawa-tl 'cacao'

4.3. Nahuatl short-vowel reflexes of proto-Uto-Aztecan vowels:

4.3.1. PUA *a > proto-Nah *a, *e, and ø

In most environments PUA **a > *a in Nahuatl. However, PUA *a in CaCV stems became *e after the bilabials *m and *p, as in PUA *ma"-ta > Nah metla-tl 'grinding stone' and PUA*pa"ta(?) > Nah petla-tl 'straw mat' and was lost in some other environments. Suffix final *a was lost word final, or became *e before a following *-t plural suffix.

Also PUA *ahi generally became short *e, as in PUA *tahi > Nah tle-tl 'fire' and PUA *ma(h)i[1] > Nah me-tl 'agave', from which Nah me-ka-tl 'twine' is derived (Dakin, 1996).

4.3.2. PUA *o > proto-Nah *o

Apparently PUA *o became Nah *o in all environments.

4.3.3. PUA *i (mid-vowel) > proto-Nah *e, *o

The unrounded mid-vowel *i[2] , became *e in most environments, but usually *o after *s and in some other environments:

PUA *siki 'acid' > Nah šoko-k 'acid'

PUA *si-li-wa 'divide' > Nah šolowa 'to wrinkle'

PSUA *mi- 'reflexive prefix' > Nah mo-

For instance, the Nahuatl reflexive prefix mo- apparently is cognate of the Tepecano prefix mi-, which would reflect a PUA *mi-. It is easier to understand the morphophonemic variation between mo- with the back vowel before most CC- initial stems and mi- with the front vowel before a -hC- stem in Nahuatl, if the original vowel were a central one.

4.3.4. PUA *i > proto-Nah *i

PUA **i became *i in all environments; it was lost when unstressed in many positions.

4.3.5. PUA *u > proto-Nah *i (*i > i, e)

PUA **u, as argued by Canger and Dakin 1985, became *i in pre-Nahuatl, a change probably shared with Corachol; it then split, so that *i must have been retained after *s and *t and before another central consonant, later becoming i in Eastern Nahuatl and e in the Western Nahuatl. In other environments, pre-Nahuatl *i merged with the reflex of PUA *i as Nah *i. Words showing the change are given below:

*tusu 'to grind' > Nah tesi/tisi

*sun- 'nit' > Nah ah-selin, ah-silin[3]

*sutu-y 'nail, claw; finger' > Nah iste, isti

*su"ŋV- 'corn' > Nah sen-tli, sin-tli

*tu_n- 'hill, rise' > Nah tlatel-li, tlatil-li

*muku 'to die' > Nah miki

4.4. Morphophonemic long vowels in Nahuatl

Sapir (1913:424) proposed the existence of processes of assimilation in Nahuatl, particularly that of a short vowel to /o/ before /wa/. This change was described in much more detail by Canger in 1980, who also noted that the long /o:/'s that appeared morphophonemically in some verb forms must derive historically from /owa/, which in turn would have come from /Vwa/.

4.4.1. Long o: < /owa/

|tla-poli-wa-li-li| > tla- polo:-l-li 'something lost'

|-poli-wa-ti-we| > -polo:-tiw 'went to lose'

|čolowa-s-ka| > čolo:s 'will flee'

4.4.2. Long i: < /iya/ and /ili/

It is also evident that /iya/ and /ili/ become /i:/ morphophonemically, as in the following constructions:

mo-tla:li-ya-s > mo-tla:li:s 'will sit down'

koči+li-wa > koči:wa 'one sleeps (impersonal subject)'

e:wa+(li)-wa > e:o:-wa 'one flies up (impersonal subject)'

koči+li+ti-ya > koči:tiya 'makes sleep'

piya+li-ya > pi:-li-ya 'holds for'

ši-mo-tla:li-ya-ka:-m > ši-mo-tla:li:-ka:n 'sit down (pl. subject)'

In Nahuatl y > š/V__+C, # when V is the root vowel; however, a located another mora removed form the root vowel y > h

4.4.3. Long a: < /a-ha/

k^wa-ha-li-ya > k^wa:-li-ya 'eat for'

4.5. Historical sources of Nahuatl long vowels

The comparison of Nahuatl long vowels with other Uto-Aztecan languages and the reconstruction of PUA shows them to have two principal sources. First, some Nahuatl long vowels correspond to specific types of single syllables in PUA. Secondly, other long vowels in Nahuatl are derived from bisyllabic sequences in words that are minimally trisyllabic.

4.5.1. Long vowels with PUA syllable to proto-Nah syllable correspondences

4.5.1.1. PUA *CV/V > proto-Nah CV:, CVh

Laryngealized vowels in PUA become Vh or V: in Nahuatl. They show the following correspondences with other Uto-Aztecan languages:

PNum PCupan Hopi Guarijío Mayo Tubar O'odham Nah

CV/V CV: CV: CV CV/V, CV: CV- CVh- CVhV

*ki/i *qe/e ki:ki ki/- ke/e ke- ki/i keh-coma

PUA *ki/i 'to bite, use teeth' > Nah keh-coma 'to bite'

PUA *si/i 'guts, to urinate' > Nah ši:ša 'to urinate'

4.5.1.2. PUA *pV > proto-Nah V:

In Dakin (1991), it was initially suggested that some initial long vowels in Nahuatl derive from PUA *pV sequences, since word-initial *p > *h, and the *h probably voiced to become a long vowel. Apparently, the syllable closing feature could be important as well, but the details are not yet clear. Examples of *pV > *V: follow.

PUA *pu-si > Nah i:š-tli 'face'

PUA *pa-ka > Nah a:-ka-tl 'reed'

4.5.2. PUA two-syllable sequences > proto-Nah CV: in three-syllable words

4.5.2.1. Kaufman's hypothesis

Kaufman in 1981 noted that many long vowels in Nahuatl, particularly those in none-root-initial syllables, are derived from sequences with either *w or spirantized *p. These included many cases of /o:/, as seen below:

Long o: < /owa/ (Kaufman)

a:yo:-tl 'turtle' < */ahya-/-wih-ta (+ augm) (p.225)

tekoloo-tl 'owl' < **tukuri-wih-ta (+ augm)

Synchronic descriptions of most Numic languages describe a lenis or fricative allophone for intervocalic /p/, so that it seems probable that through lenition, a [B] allophone of *p merged with the intervocalic allophone of *w. Kaufman maintains that the first vowel was long, and that the *w was simply lost. The alternative suggestion made here is that the length is from coalescence of the sequence. The coalescence does not happen in bisyllabic words where a mono-syllabic stem would result because these are avoided in general in the language.

4.5.2.2. Sequences in three-syllable words with *V_pV and *V_wV >V:

PUA lenis **p > *w in pre-Nahua, and in most cases, the VwV sequence became a long vowel in three-syllable words.

4.5.2.2.1. PUA *CV(_n)pV, *CV(_n)wV_{(one vowel is *a)} > proto-Nah Co:

_{(the other is not i or a)}

PUA *ta-pu(-ci) 'rabbit' > Nah to:-či-n 'rabbit'

PUA *ti_n-wa-(ka) (or *ti_n-pa-ka/) 'name' >Nah to:-ka-yi-tl 'name'

4.5.2.2.2. PUA *CV(_n)pV,*CV(_n)wV_{(both vowels are *a)} >proto-Nah Ca:

PUA *ta_n-wa(-ka) 'man, person' >Nah tla:-ka-tl 'man'

The reason for a form such as *si_n-wa_n giving /a:/ may be that the accent fell on the *a, or that the *r blocked rounding.

PUA *si_n-wa_n(-ri) 'sand' > Nah ša:-l-li 'sand'

4.5.2.2.3. PUA *CV(_n)pV, *CV(_n)wV_{(both vowels *i or *u)}>proto-Nah Ci:

PUA *ci-pu ' bitter' >Nah či-či:-k 'bitter'(reduplication)

4.5.2.2.4. PUA *CV(_n)pV, *CV(_n)wV_{(both vowels are *i )}>proto-Nah Ce:

PUA *ti_n-pi-ŋi 'mouth, lip' >Nah te:-n-tli 'mouth'

PUA *si-pi 'cold' >Nah se-se:-k 'cold' (reduplication)

When the syllable is a geminating one or has a glottalized vowel, the coalescence does not occur:

4.5.2.2.5. PUA *CV"pV, *CV/VpV > proto-Nah CVpV

In contrast to the forms derived from *CVpV sequences discussed in section 4.5.2.1, the following examples contrast because *p does not soften after the glottalized vowel, or before a geminate consonant, since these block lenition.

PUA *si/i-pi- 'to peel' > Nah ši:-pe:-wa 'to skin, peel'

PUA *ta"-pa- 'to break' > Nah tla-pa:-ni 'to break'

4.5.2.3. PUA *VnV > SUA *VrV *CV_1nnV₁(V1 is *u or *i)> proto-Nah i:

PUA *CVCi-ni+wa > Nah CVCi:-wa 'impersonal'

'verb+nominalizer *ni + non-specified agent

PUA *koci-ni-wa > Nah koči:-wa[4] 'one sleeps'

4.5.2.4. PUA *V_(n)yV > proto-Nah *V:

PUA *miya(-ca)[5] 'moon' > Nah me:-c-tli 'moon'

4.5.2.5. PUA *aha > proto-Nah a:

PUA *taha"/teha" 'put away' > Nah tla:-li-ya 'to put', Nah tla:-ti-ya

'to hide', Nah tla:-sa 'to throw'

4.5.2.6. PUA *ayi > proto-Nah a:

PUA *payi > Nah pa:-ki 'to be happy'

4.5.2.7. PUA *VN- > Nah V; VNya > Nah V:

PUA *mi_n-si 'cloud' > Nah miš-tli/meš-tlĭ 'cloud'

*mi_n-ya-(ca) 'moon, month' > Nah me:-c-tli 'moon, month'

4.5.2.8. PUA *ahi > proto-Nah e

Although these are not original three syllable formations, through coalescence of ahi, one would expect Nah e: here, but it shortens to e. Given that Corachol forms show a metathesis of the second CV, from *tahi > taih, and *ma_nyi > *mahi > maih, and that Southern Tepehuan also had such metatheses, it seems possible that Nahuatl shared in the development in this case, and that the resulting *e: shortened before the glottal.

PUA *tahi 'fire' > Nah tle-tl 'fire'

4.5.3. PUA *CV-CV > proto-Nah *CVCV or *iCCV

It is important to note again that two-syllable sequences did not coalesce because monosyllables are avoided.

PUA *sa_n-wa 'leaf' > Nah iswa-tl 'leaf'

PUA *ta-pi 'sun, day' > Nah ilwi-tl[6] 'day'

but: PUA *ta-pi-na- 'to be hot (the sun to go along)' > Nah to:-na 'to be hot'

5. Conclusions

While the case for most if not all of Nahuatl long vowels being derived from different types of sequences seems quite strong, the question of long vowels in proto-Uto-Aztecan having a similar derivation has only been tentatively explored.A word of caution is necessary, because in general in languages long vowels tend to develop from such secondary sequences only when a short/long vowel contrast already exists, since drastic typological changes tend to be avoided[7]. However, the Nahuatl evidence is presented here in the hope that such a situation can be explored for the different branches and the proto-language in greater detail. It would be interesting to find that to the contrary of the general rule, no original long vowels can be reconstructed for PUA, which is precisely what Nahuatl evidence would suggest.

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Heath, Jeffrey

1977 "Uto-Aztecan Morphophonemics", International Journal of American Linguistics 43/1: 27-36.

Hill, Jane H. and Kenneth C. Hill

1968 "Stress in the Cupan (Uto-Aztecan) Languages", International Journal of American Linguistics: 34/4: 233-241.

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Kaufman, Terrence with the assistence of Lyle Campbell XX.

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Langacker, Ronald W.

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1986 El eudeve, un idioma extinto de Sonora. México: Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

1978aElementos de la lengua cahita (yaqui-mayo). México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

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1984 "Kern laws", International Journal of American Linguistics, 50/3: 325-334.

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Miller, Irving W.

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Munro, Pamela

1973 "Proto-Uto-Aztecan *w-. One source for Luiseño N", International Journal of American Linguistics 39/3: 135-136.

1990 "Stress and vowel length in Cupan absolute nouns", International Journal of American Linguistics 56/2: 217-250.

Sapir, Edward

1913 "Southern Paiute and Nahuatl, A Study in Uto-Aztecan", Part I Journal de la Societé des Americanistes de Paris 10: 379-425.

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Vázquez Soto, Guadalupe Verónica

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1935 "The comparative linguistics of Uto-Aztecan", American Anthropologist , 37: 600-608.

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Zigmond, Maurice L., Curtis G. Booth, and Pamela Munro

1991 Kawaiisu: A Grammar and Dictionary with Texts. University of California Publications in Linguistics, no. 119.

Appendix : Sample cognate sets

(Numbering follows sections in paper)

Abbreviations:

Ca Cahuilla (Munro; Hill & Hill)

Cu Cupeño (Munro; Hill & Hill)

Eud Eudeve (Lionnet)

Gu Eastern Guarijio (Miller)

GuO Western Guarijio (Barreras)

Hp Hopi (Shaul)

Hui Huichol (Grimes et al)

Kw Kawaiisu (Zigmond, Booth and Munro)

Ls Luiseño (Munro; Hill & Hill; Bright)

My Mayo (Lionnet, Collard and Collard)

Nah Nahuatl

O'o O'othham (Saxton et al.)

PCu Proto-Cupan (Munro)

Pn Panamint (Dayley)

Se Serrano (Munro; Hill & Hill)

SP Southern Paiute, Sapir

Tbr Tubar (Lionnet)

4.2.1. PUA *V"-, *V- > Nah V (and Nah Ø)

*ka"-ni- house, shelter

SP qanni-s house

(n geminates in SP, but goes to hn in

Pn and some other Numic languages)

Pn kahni

Tu hani:-l

Hp qeni place, room

My ka:ri

(r does not geminate, but lengthens preceding vowel in Mayo)

Eud kal/i-,-kal

Nah kalli house

*ku"-na-/*ku_n-na sack (M ku-11)

SP qunna-s sack

PCu *kú:ni-la

Nah ki- (čiki-witl, šikipilli) basket, bag

*sa"-na- gum, to stick

SP sanna-g gum

Tu sa:na-t pitch

Hp sa:na gum

Nah salo-wa to stick

*kwasi" to ripen, cook

Pn kwasi"- to ripen

(s does not geminate in Numic)

My bwasse to ripen

Tbr kvase-, kvasi- to ripen

Nah [i]kwsi to ripen, cook

*kwi"-ta excrement

Mn k^witta-ppi excrement

Gu wihtá (s.) excrement

wihtá-ra

My bwitta excrement

Tbr kvitá-t excrement

Nah kwitla-tl excrement

*kwi"-ca- excrement

SP qwitca- to defecate

*pi"-ti heavy

Pn pitti(tin) heavy

Tu pili:/it heavy

O'o we:č

GuO pehtiáme heavy

My bette to be heavy

Nah eti:-k heavy

*su"-tu nail, finger (this set is problematic, especially in comparison with that of *pe"-ti 'heavy') (M su-01)

Pn -situn nail

SP šiču-ppi nail

(č se interpreta como -tt- ante u)

Tu sulun-t

SP sit-su- finger-nail, claw

GuO suhtú-ra finger

My súttu nail

Nah iste-/isti- nail

4.2.2. PUA *VN > Gua Vh = My V" = Nah V

*ti_n-pi" stone, rock

SP tim-pi-" rock, iron

O'o če:- rock

GuO tehté rock

My tétta rock

Nah te-tl rock

*ta_n-mi tooth

Pn taman

SP taŋwa-N tooth

Tu tamant teeth

Hp tama

GuO tamé-ra tooth

My támmi tooth

Nah tlan-tli tooth

*ti_n-ma/ti_n-wa to steam (to use stones?)

SP ti/ma- to roast under ashes; to bury

Hp tima griddle

Gu teméi (s.) tortilla (PUA *VN >

V/_C_+nasal)

Nah tema to steam

Nah tama-l-li tamale

*wi_nca thorn

Pn winnu(pi) thorn (PUA wi_nca >

PNUA wi_nyV > winnu-)

GuO wehcha-ra thorn

Nah wic-tli thorn

*woŋko pine

SP �g�- fir

Pn wo_nkopin

Tu wo:_nhal

PCu *wəxé- pine

GuO ohkó pine

Nah oko-tl pine

PSUA *pahc- first

GuO pahčá first

Nah ač-to first

PSUA *tah-ku palm

Gu tahkú (s.) 'palmilla, tipo de planta'

GuO tahkú (s.), palmilla

Eud tákut (J)takát, (J)takít palm

Nah tlako-tl palm

PSUA *yah-ka nose

GuO yahká-ra nose

My yékka nose

Nah yaka-tl nose

4.2.3. PUA *V-pV> Nah VwV

*ka-pa pod; pot, shell

Kw kovonigwi= pod

My kabba to lay an egg

Tbr k�va- egg

Nah kakawa-tl cacao

*yi-paN-na" autumn

Pn yipani autumn

SP -yivan:a-g autumn

Nah yowa-l-li night, dark

4.5.1.1. *V/V > Nah Vh

*ci/i to spit

Kw čičii/i-,

Nah čihča to spit

*ki/i to use teeth

SP qi/i to bite

My ké/e- to bite

Tbr kéra-k

Eud ké, ket bite, mouthful

Nah ke/-coma to bite

*su/u grandmother

Hp so/o grandmother

Nah sih-tli grandmother

*su/i jackrabbit

Hp sowi jackrabbit

PCu *su/iš jackrabbit

Nah sih-tli jackrabbit

PUA *V/V > Nah V:

*ko/o to hurt

My kó/ko illness

Tbr k�-, k�-k�`

Nah koko-ya, koko-wa to get sick

*kwa/a skirt

My koá'ari enaguas

Tbr koayí-t

Eud kóa edge; skirt

Nah kwe:yi-tl skirt

*kwa/a-we- eagle

Gu wa/-wé (s.) eagle

Nah kwa:w-tli eagle

*o/o bone

SP ��- bone

SP � round object

SP �-paq:i-, �-vagi- there is a hole

SP ��-mpa fist-fight

SP ��-y'ai- to be lean, starved

My ótta

Eud ho-wa-t (-ouh-, -owa- reduced forms) bone

Nah o:mi-tl bone

*po/i to lie down

SP pe/tí/pe/ti-pó, suj. pl. to be lying

down, sg. subj.

Gu po/í/po/i-má to be lying down

Tbr h�ne-

Eud bo/ó-n to lie down

Nah o:- to be lying down

*si/i guts, to urinate

Kw si/i-gwi to urinate

Kw si/i-pi urine

PCu *s,a:/i-š guts

SP si'i-s to urinate

EU sísa-n to urinate

*si/i-ka, si/i-ku navel

SP sigu-n navel

Gu sikú (s.) navel

MY si:ku navel

EU siikát navel

Tbr sikú-r

Nah ši:k-tli navel

*si/i-wa guts

EU siwát stomach, guts

*si/-pi to scrape, peel

Pn -sipeh, -saape to peel

Pn -sii-wah to scratch

SP si-va= to whittle

Gu si-ba-ná/-má to scrape

Gu si/-pána-ni (si/páca-ni) (v.t.)

to tear, split apart a rag

Tbr si-pe-, si-pe-da/a-m to be peeled

(as a snake that has shed its skin)

Nah ši:-pe:-wa to peel, skin

PSUA *si:-ta sprouting corn ear (probably <

PUA *si/-ta)

Gu sitá, (or) sita-póa cornsilk

Hui sita sprouting corn ear

Nah ši:-lo:-tl sprouting corn ear

(probably < PUA *si/-ta-pe or *si/-ta-hawi)

*su/u- star

Hp soohu star

PCu *sú:/u-la

Gu so/póri (s.) estrella

Nah si:-tla-li-n star (<*si:-la-li-n)

*to/i cattail

SP to/i-vi 'cattail'

Nah to:-li-n cattail

*-pa/i to have, possess

Pn -pa/7i-n to have

Nah -wa:-n, -wa/ mediated possession

*wa/i(-ke) to dry, roast

SP wai- to roast in the ashes

Eud wáke-n to dry up, get thin

Tbr ^mwai-

Eud wa:wa (guaagua) to dry; roast

Nah wa:-ki to dry (iv)

Nah wa:-¢a to dry (tv)

*wa/ai- fibrous and flat

SP wa/ai- grass seed

SP wa/a-" cedar

4.5.1.2. PUA *pV> Proto-Nah V:

*payi three

SP pai three

Gu paiká three

Nah e:-yi three

4.5.2.2. Long vowels from VCV sequences

4.5.2.2.1. PUA *V-pV > *V:

*ci-pu bitter

PCu *čí:vu-t

Eud cipu

Nah či:či:-k bitter

*haya-pi- turtle

Tbr haya-wé-t turtle

Nah a:yo:-tl turtle

*haya-pi-/ (Kaufman) squash

Tbr haya- squash

Nah a:yo'-tli squash

*na-pu prickly pear; nopal

PCu *ná:və-t

My naábo; nabo-taáka-m prickly pear

Eud nabúc

Nah no:-č-tli prickly pear fruit

Nah noh-pal-li nopal prickly pear

*ta-pi sun, day

Pn tape(ttsi)m tapai(ttsi) sun; day;

in the daytime

Nah [i]lwi-tl day

Nah to:-na 'to be warm, to shine (sun)'

Nah tlap-ko-pa east

(Contrast with CCV sequence in *tape > Nah ilwi-tl 'day')

*ta-pu rabbit

SP tavu- cotton-tailed rabbit

Pn tapu-n, tapu"-ci cottontail

Kw tavu-ci cottontail

My taábu rabbit

Eud tábu

Nah to:-či-n rabbit

4.5.2.2.2. PUA *Vŋ-wa > Gu Vwa = My V:wa = Nah V:

*siŋ-waN sand

SP siŋ-wa-mpU- sand, gravel

Pn pa-siŋo-mpin

Gu se-té

Eud sá

Nah ša:-l-li sand

(*siŋ-wa/) > PSUA *siwa flower

Gu sewá flower.

My seéwa flower

Nah šo:-či-tl flower

*ta_nwa-ka- person, man M273a (*tawa)

Nah tla:-ka-tl man, person

*ti_n-pi- mouth, to name

Pn timpe- mouth

SP timpa- mouth

My teé-ni/te-m- mouth

Nah te:-n-tli mouth

Hp tuŋwa name it

PCu *təə:wa-la

Gu tewá, (o) rewá name

Nah to:-ka-yi-tl name

4.5.2.2.3. PUA*CV(_n)pV,*CV(_n)wV_{(both vowels are *i or *u)} >Nah Ci:

PUA *ci-pu bitter

Ls cívu-t

Hp cí:vo

Pg sív

My ciibu

Nah či-či:-k bitter (reduplication)

4.5.2.2.4 PUA *CV(_n)pV, *CV(_n)wV _{(both vowels are *i )} > Nah Ce:

*te-N-Ha tell, order

Pn tiŋa to tell

Nah tena to complain

(perhaps Nah [i]htowa to speak ?< *pu-tiŋ-wa)

4.5.2.2.5 PUA *CV"pV > Nah CVpV Notice the contrast with geminated *p:

*ta"-pa to split

Gu ta/pá-ni/-ma (v.i.) to split

Gu ta/pána-ni (ta/páca-ni) (v.t.) to split

Nah tlapa:ni to split

*ta"-pV to tie

SP tap:it:ca- to tie

Hui tapi- to tie

Nah ilpiya to tie

4.5.2.5. PUA *aha > Nah a:

*taha/teha put away

Pn taha" put (away), locate,

situate,place

Nah tla:tia to hide

Nah tla:lia to put

4.5.2.6. PUA *ayi > Proto-Nah a:

*payi to be happy

Eud báde-ce-n to be happy

Gu pohá-ni/-ma (v.i.) to be happy

Nah pa:-ki to be happy

4.5.2.7. PUA *VN- > Nah V; VNya > Nah V:

*me_n-si cloud

Eud mosít cloud

Gu to-mó-a-ri cloud

Nah miš-tli/mes-tlĭ cloud

*me_n-ya moon, month

PCu *məəyi-la

Eud me-cá-t moon, month

Tub

Nah me:-c-tli moon, month

4.5.2.8. PUA *ahi > Nah e

*mahi, *ma_nyi agave, maguey

PCu */amú:-l

Gu to-to-sá, (o) mahí totosá (s.) kind of agave

Eud méit agave

Nah me-tl maguey

*tahi fire

Eud té, J té'e fire

Nah tletl, tat, tlitl fire

*tah- to be hot, to burn

Gu tahtá-ni/tahtaré-ma

(o) tahtá-wa/tahtaré-ma (v.i)

Nah tlatla to burn

*sa_n-wa leaf

SP saŋwa-s sagebrush

Pn samapi juniper, cedar

PCu *s,a:ma-t

GuO sawá-ra leaf

My sawwa (saugua) grass

Tbr samoá-r, samwá-t

Nah [i]swa-tl corn leaf

---

[1] Since Tubar has mañi-t, it seems probable that the PUA form was *manyi- that then became *mahi.

[2] Reconstructions in the Appendix show *e for the PUA *i mentioned here; some linguists reconstruct it as a more anterior *e; however, it probably really was a *ə, as suggested by Kaufman (19481).

[3] *pa- 'on top' + *sun- 'nit', by lenition of *p > h and metathesis of the *pa > ah-.

[4] PUA *n > pre-Nahuatl -r-/V_V, which is found as Nahuatl -l- when not between two high vowels, as in tla-kwa-lo 'one eats', from *tla-kwa-li-wa (Dakin, 1990).

[5] Manaster Ramer (1992) has identified and strongly argued for an important NUA innovation by which PUA *c > NUA *y. Manaster Ramer includes the terms for 'moon' as examples of the correspondence, and analyzes the NUA *y as cognate with Nah *c. Although I am in agreement with his identification of the innovation, I think that in the case of 'moon', the NUA forms with mIya are cognate with Nah me:-, and that the Nah -c is a suffix not found in the NUA words.

[6] PUA *t > *tl or *l/_a, *p > w/V_V, then *a is lost before Nahuatl /w/, and an epenthetic i is prefixed before the stem-initial consonant group to give the proper phonological form in Nahuatl ilwi-tl; by a similar process PUA *tappi- 'to tie', with the geminate p > *tlapi- > Nahuatl ilpi-a (Dakin, 1989).

[7] Here I am grateful to comments by Drs. Wolfgang Dressler, Verónica Vázquez, and Ricardo Maldonado, and Heriberto Avelino at a recent presentation of these hypotheses in the CILI of Guadalajara.