Uto-Aztecan Languages
Uto-Aztecan Languages
Uto-Aztecan Languages
Uto-Nahuatl
DUYGU AVCI
CONTENT:
• Uto-Aztecan language family
• History
• Linguistic
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Alphabets
• References
Ximocehuitzino – Welcome
The term Nahuatl (nawatlahtolli) covers a
number of closely related languages that form
the southernmost branch of the Uto-Aztecan
language family. It serves as a general name for
27 linguistic variants (Ethnologue), some
mutually unintelligible, that are spoken by over
1.6 million people in Mexico today. There are
more speakers of Nahuatl than of any other
indigenous language in Mexico today. The name
Nahuatl means ‘something that sounds good’.
The term sometimes also refers to Classical
Nahuatl, the administrative language of the
Aztec empire that served as a lingua franca in
Central America from the 7th to the 16th
century AD when the Spanish conquistadors
arrived in the New World.
Grammar
• Most grammatical forms of nouns are marked by suffixes.
• Nouns belong to one of two classes: animate or inanimate.
• Nouns are marked for number: singular and plural.
• Nouns are marked for gender.
• Noun cases are marked by one of two suffixes: absolutive
and possessive, as in the example below.
• Some varieties of Nahuatl distinguish between inclusive
and exclusive first person plural pronouns.
• Many varieties make a distinction between honorific and
non-honorific second and third person pronouns,
e.g., tehwa:tl ‘non-honorific you singular’
and amehwa:ntzitzin ‘honorific you plural’.
Verbs
Word order
• Some linguists argue that Nahuatl allows all
possible orderings of Subject, Verb, and Object.
Others think that Nahuatl has a basic verb-
initial word order with extensive freedom for
variation, which allows speakers to use word
order for pragmatic purposes such
as focus and topic.
Word Order
• Many Nahuatl words have been borrowed into the Spanish language, most of which are terms
designating things indigenous to the Americas. Some of these loans are restricted to Mexican or
Central American Spanish, but others have entered all the varieties of Spanish in the world. A
number of them, such as chocolate, tomato and avocado have made their way into many other
languages via Spanish.
• For instance, in English, two of the most prominent are undoubtedly chocolate and tomato (from
Nahuatl tomatl). Other common words are coyote (from Nahuatl koyotl), avocado (from
Nahuatl awakatl) and chile or chili (from Nahuatl chilli). The word chicle is also derived from
Nahuatl tsiktli 'sticky stuff, chicle'. Some other English words from Nahuatl
are: Aztec (from astekatl); cacao (from Nahuatl kakawatl 'shell, rind'); ocelot (from oselotl). In Mexico
many words for common everyday concepts attest to the close contact between Spanish and
Nahuatl – so many in fact that entire dictionaries of mexicanismos (words particular to Mexican
Spanish) have been published tracing Nahuatl etymologies, as well as Spanish words with origins in
other indigenous languages. Many well known toponyms also come from Nahuatl,
including Mexico (from the Nahuatl word for the Aztec capital Mexihko) and Guatemala (from the
word Kwahtemallan).
Vocabulary
• Nahuatl has the most extensive literature of all Native American
languages. It includes a relatively large corpus of poetry and a
theological dissertation called Nican Mopohua. At the time of the
Spanish conquest, Aztec writing consisted mostly
of pictographs supplemented by a few ideograms. When needed, it
also used symbols to represent syllables. This writing system did not
adequately represent the spoken language. After Spanish missionaries
adapted the Roman script for writing Nahuatl, it was used to record a
large body of Aztec prose and poetry, dictionaries and grammars. The
missionaries produced many orthographic variants for writing
Nahuatl, partly because they were recording different dialects, and
partly because they were not trained linguists and did not know how
to analyze and represent in writing Nahuatl sounds absent in Spanish.
Today, the Mexican Ministry of Public Education has adopted a
standardized alphabet for use in bilingual education programs.
WRITING
Alphabet
The sample text below is an excerpt from a statement issued in Nahuatl by Emiliano Zapata in 1918 in order to
convince the Nahua towns in the area of Tlaxcala to join the Revolution against the regime of Venustiano
Carranza. The orthography employed in the letter is improvised, and does not distinguish long vowels and only
sporadically marks saltillo (with both ⟨h⟩ and acute accent).
Tlanahuatil Panoloani Message to be passed around
An Altepeme de non cate itech nin tlalpan To the towns that are located in the area
de netehuiloya den tlanahuatiani Arenas. that fought under General Arenas.
Axcan cuan nonques tlalticpacchanéhque Now, that the dwellers of this earth,
de non altepeme tlami quitzetzeloa of those towns, finish shaking out
neca tliltic amo cuali nemiliz Carrancista, that black, evil life of the Carrancismo
noyolo pahpaqui my heart is very happy
ihuan itech nin mahuiztica, and with the dignity
intoca netehuiloanime-tlatzintlaneca, in the name of those who fight in the ranks,
Sample text
REFERENCES:
• https://www.mustgo.com/worl
dlanguages/nahuatl/
• https://youtu.be/9_gp1I5Njig
• https://mexico.sil.org/language
_culture/aztec
• https://www.britannica.com/to
pic/Nahuatl-language
THANK YOU!