Abstract
The study describes phonological pluralization of nouns and adjectives in Nahuatl. It is based on selected groups of substantives and adjectives taken from Nahuatl and is focused on comparing their singular and plural forms in the phonological context. The groups are presented by the following semantic domains: Animals, Natural force (weather), Number, Perception visual colors, Physical artifact (dress and tool weapon), Physical celestial body, Physical condition form change, Physical somatic, Physical somatic body part, Physical spatial, Physical substance, Plant and Plant part, Quality, Social clan and Social kin, Time phase.
The purpose of the paper consists in revealing phonological patterns of nouns and adjectives pluralization in the above-mentioned groups and their correlation with morphological markedness of plural. Similarly, within the present study it is supposed to analyze how plural marking phonemes correlate with semantics of nouns and adjectives (e.g. animated/unanimated, mass nouns, etc. ).
Methodologically the present research relies on a number of studies of Nahuatl grammar carried out by various linguists. In particular we have reviewed the works on Nahuatl by J. Brunner, G. Kimball, K. Wolgemuth, K. Dakin and others. In the study a number of methods have been used to reveal phonological patterns of pluralization in Nahuatl nouns and adjectives including comparative and quantitative methodological approaches which helped us to find out different pluralization patterns (/ƛ/ → /me/,/ƛi /→-/tiŋ/, etc.). The latter is based on Wolgemuth’s description of main substantives’ plural markers, such as ending –me, reduplication, etc. (Wolgemuth, 2007).
The main hypothesis of the study is based on Jane Brunner’s research carried out with 42 languages where the author explains how phonological length marking nouns, pronouns and adjectives correlates with typological markedness of these categories (Brunner, 2010). The idea of our work consists in that phonological markedness of nouns and adjectives pluralization in Nahuatl meets the common linguistic requirements of language economy and iconicity, i.e. one marker corresponds to each conceptual value and works together with morphological markers (Brunner, 2010, p. 3).
Another key idea of the present study relies on that phonological marking of pluralization of nouns and adjectives in Nahuatl correlates with their semantics, in particular according to the presence of some semantic tokens such as animacy. This is based on the idea of that some phonological patterns can mark “animacy in plural formation” (Kimball, 1990, p. 198).
In summary, the present work may be useful for further investigations on Nahuatl phonology and its correlation with Nahuatl morphology and semantics. The findings of the present study may be also used in practical way while composing grammar references and dictionaries on Nahuatl.
(494 words)
References
Bruner, J. (2010). Phonological length of number marking morphemes in the framework of typological markedness. Retrieved from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.462.9780&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Dakin, K. (1979). Phonological Changes in Nahuatl: The Tense/Aspect/Number Systems. International Journal of American Linguistics, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 48-71
Kimball, G. Noun Pluralization in Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl. International Journal of American Linguistics. Vol. 56, No. 2, pp. 196-216
Wolgemuth, C (2007). Nahuatl Grammar of the townships of Mecayapan and Tatahuicapan de Juarez, Veracruz, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano.
