Proto-Totonacan language

Proto-Totonacan or Proto-Totonac-Tepehua (abbreviated PTn or PTT) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Totonacan languages of Mexico. It was first reconstructed using comparative methods in 1953 by Evangelina Arana Osnaya.[1] Some linguists[a] have proposed a link between the Totonacan and Mixe–Zoque language families; therefore making Proto-Totonacan a sister language of Proto-Mixe–Zoque and descendant of Proto-Totozoquean.[2]

Proto-Totonacan (PTn)
Proto-Totonac-Tepehua (PTT)
Reconstruction ofTotonacan languages

Phonology

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Consonants

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Proto-Totonacan consonants
Arana Osnaya (1953)[1]
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
plain sibilant lateral
Nasal m n
Plosive/
Affricate
plain p t ts k q (ʔ)
ejective () () (tsʼ) (tɬʼ) (tʃʼ) () ()
Fricative s ɬ ʃ x (h)
Approximant w l j
Notes
  • MacKay and Trechsel (2018) add ejective stops and affricates.[3]
  • Davletshin (2008) and Brown et al. (2011) add /ʔ/ and /h/.[4][2] MacKay and Trechsel (2018) accept /ʔ/ but reject /h/.[3]

Vowels

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Proto-Totonacan vowels
Arana Osnaya 1953[1]
plain laryngealized
Front Central Back Front Central Back
Close i   u     ḭː   ṵː
Open a     a̰ː
Notes
  • Brown et al. (2011) accept this vowel inventory.[2]
  • MacKay and Trechsel (2018) reject laryngealized vowels in Proto-Totonacan. They argue that laryngealized vowels in the Totonac languages are too infrequent and erratic after fricatives and sonorants to support their reconstruction.[3]

Lexicon

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The following Proto-Totonac-Tepehua reconstructions are from MacKay and Trechsel (2018).[3]

no. gloss Proto-Totonac-Tepehua
1 ‘spicy’ *ɬkaka
2 ‘ash(es)’ *ɬk’ak’a
3 ‘dances’ *ƛ’ii-ya
4 ‘vomits’ *p’aƛ’an-ya
5 ‘ear of corn’ *ƛ’aqƛ’a
6 ‘counts’ *puuƛ’aq’i-ya
7 ‘walks’ *ƛ’aawan-ya
8 ‘pot’, ‘pitcher’ *ƛ’amank
9 ‘bends’, ‘breaks’, ‘twists’ *taƛ’aq’i-ya
10 ‘ripe’, ‘mature’ *k’aƛa’
11 ‘wins’, ‘earns’ *ƛaha-ya
12 ‘tires’, ‘gets tired’ *ƛaqwan-ya
13 ‘talks to X’, ‘greets X’ šaqaƛii-ya
14 ‘makes’, ‘does’ *ƛawa-ya
15 ‘avocado tree’ *kukaƛiiɬi
16 ‘nettle’ *qahni
17 ‘lime (mineral)’ *qaštah
18 ‘dust’, ‘powder’ *puqšni
19 ‘flea’ *aq¢’iis
20 ‘wasp’ *qalaati
21 ‘turtle’ *qahin
22 ‘knee’ *¢uqutni
23 ‘tomato’ *paqɬča
24 ‘plays’ qamaanan-ya
25 ‘whistles’ *squli-ya
26 ‘infant’, ‘baby’ *sq’at’a
27 ‘heron’ *luuq’u
28 ‘tongue’ *siimaq’aati
29 ‘egg’ *q’aɬwaati
30 yucca *q’ušq’ihu
31 ‘gourd’ *q’aaši
32 ‘washes X’ *č’aq’aa-ya
33 ‘salty’ *sq’uq’u
34 ‘steals’, ‘steals X’ *q’aɬa-
35 ‘remembers’, ‘remembers X’ *paastak’-ya
36 ‘piles X up’ *maast’uq’-ya
37 ‘drinks’, ‘drinks X’ *q’ut’-ya
38 ‘hears’, ‘hears X’ *qašmat’-ya
39 ‘returns’ *tasp’it’-ya
40 ‘cuts X’ *sit’-ya
41 ‘squeezes X’ *č’it’-ya
42 ‘unties X’ *škut’-ya
43 ‘picks X up’ *sak’-ya
44 ‘writes’, ‘writes X’ *¢’uq’-ya
45 ‘foam’ *puputi
46 ‘neck-related (body-part prefix)’ *piš-
47 ‘pig’ *p’ašni
48 ‘cuts X’ *p’uš-ya
49 ‘louse’ *skaata
50 ‘sleeps’ *ɬtata-ya
51 ‘two’ *-t’uy
52 ‘sells X’ *st’aa-ya
53 ‘mouth’ *kiɬni
54 ‘hand-related (body-part prefix)’ *maka-
55 ‘knows X’ *k’a¢ii-ya
56 ‘year’ *k’aata
57 ‘tooth-related (body-part prefix)’ *ta¢a-
58 ‘breast’ *¢’ík’iiti
59 ‘stone’ *čiwiš
60 ‘sugar cane’ *č’ankati
61 ‘rain’ *saʔiini
62 ‘blows X’ *sunu-ya
63 ‘sweet’ *saqsi(ʔ)
64 ‘bitter’ *suuni
65 ‘eats’ *wahin-ya
66 ‘is lying down’, ‘is supine’ *maa-ɬi
67 ‘lizard’ *slul
68 ‘is seated’ *wii-ɬi
69 ‘liver’ *ɬwak’ak’a
70 ‘throws X’, ‘throws X away’ *maq’an-ya

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Belmar 1910; Whorf 1935; McQuown 1942, 1956; Witkowski & Brown 1978; Greenberg 1987; Campbell 1997; Brown et al. 2011, among others

References

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  1. ^ a b c Arana Osnaya, Evangelina (1953). "Reconstrucción del protototonaco. Huastecos, Totonacos y sus vecinos". Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos (in Spanish). 23: 123–130.
  2. ^ a b c Brown, Cecil H., David Beck, Grzegorz Kondrak, James K. Watters, and Søren Wichmann (2011). "Totozoquean". International Journal of American Linguistics. 77 (2): 323–372. doi:10.1086/660972. S2CID 224807468.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d MacKay, Carolyn J.; Trechsel, Frank (2018). "An alternative reconstruction of Proto-Totonac-Tepehua". International Journal of American Linguistics. 84 (1). The University of Chicago: 51–92. doi:10.1086/694609. S2CID 148972240.
  4. ^ Davletshin, A. (2008). Classification of the Totonacan languages. Paper read at the conference "Проблемы изучения дальнего родства языков (к 55-летию С. А. Старостина)" Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, 25–28 March 2008.