The particle in today: its use and function in Ixquihuacán Nahuatl

Mitsuya SASAKI

University of Tokyo, JSPS research fellow Northeastern Nahuatl Conference 2014

May 9, 2014 at Yale University

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Abstract

(I)n is used systematically in Ixquihuacán

Nahuatl, just like a definite article

– Information structure

– Semantic type of the host NPs

Still, it retains its original status as an

adjunctor / subordinator

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Particle in in Nahuatl

Classical Nahuatl

In īc cē capítulo īntechpa tlahtoa in oc cencah

tlapanahuiah tēteoh in quinmoteōtiāyah īhuān in

quintlamaniliāyan in ye huehcāuh.

(Florentine Codex I, 1)

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What exactly does in mean?

“... [T]he particle in is an adjunctor, NOT a determiner. ... Adjunction in Nahuatl can be marked or not ...”

(Andrews 2003:40–41)

“A noun complex preceded by in is somewhat more likely to refer to a specific thing or being, a noun without it to be indefinite.”

(Lockhart 2001:60)

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In in Classical Nahuatl

A “subordinator” (Lockhart) or

“adjunctor” (Andrews)

Likely to correspond to specificity or

givenness, but only incompletely

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San Francisco Ixquihuacán

San Francisco Ixquihuacán

– Municipality of Ahuacatlán, Puebla

– 3,500 inhabitants (mostly Nahuatl speakers)

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Municipality of Ahuacatlán

State of Puebla

Ixquihuacán Nahuatl

A variant of Zacatlán–Ahuacatlán–Tepetzintla

Nahuatl (ISO 639-3: nhi)

More innovative than the neighboring dialects

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Dialectological features of Ixquihuacán Nahuatl

Simple past ō- vs. perfective yō-

Systematic use of -tok (progressive)

Decline of honorifics

Systematic use of the particle (i)n

etc.

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Particle (i)n in Ixquihuacán

Realizes as in / C_C, but:

– Word-final Vh becomes a simple V

– Word-final Vn becomes Ṽ (a nasal vowel)

Realizes as n elsewhere

– Usually procliticizes to a following word

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(I)n vs. sē

(5a) witsis in bāsoh “The glass will fall.”

(5b) witsis sē bāsoh “A glass will fall.”

(6a) n Guadalupe kikwās in nakatl de kaxtīl “Guadalupe will eat chicken meat.”

(6b) n Guadalupe kikwās sē nakatl de kaxtīl “Guadalupe will eat a [cut of] chicken meat.”

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Obligatoriness

(9) n tichalōtl kikwa n būitl

“A/the squirrel bites a/the tree.”

(10) yōkalakeh n itskwimeh

“Dogs came in.”

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Obligatoriness (2)

(11) n īchã (*n) Japón

“His home is in Japan.”

(12) kipixtok (*in) pistōlah

“He/she has a pistol.”

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Obligatoriness (3)

(13a) niktlatiwīs in tlahsōl.

“I will throw garbage away.”

(13b) niktlatiwīs tlahsōl.

“I discharge garbage from my body.”

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Absence is (i)n in predicates

(15a) bēx dies in tokambioh?

“Is our change ten pesos?”

(15b) bēx in dies tokambioh?

“Is this ten-peso coin our change?”

(15c) ? bēx in dies in tokambioh?

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Absence is (i)n in predicates (2)

(16a) n tichalōtl kikwa n būitl “A/the squirrel bites a/the tree.”

(16b) n tichalōtl kikwa būitl “A squirrel eats a tree as its staple food.”

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Discourse function of (i)n

(17a) n Luis kiniki kafēn

“Luis wants coffee.”

(17b) n Luis kiniki n kafēn

“Luis wants the coffee.”

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Discourse function of (i)n (2)

(18) n īchã (*n) Japón

“His home is in Japan.”

(19) kipixtok (*in) pistōlah

“He/she has a pistol.”

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Discourse function of (i)n (3)

(20a) niās sakatlã īka kombih

“I will go to Zacatlán by combi.”

(20b) niās sakatlã īka n kombih

“I will go to Zacatlán in the combi.”

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Discourse function of (i)n (4)

(22) nikniki (*n) gasolīnah “I want gasoline.”

(24) tikwīkas in gasolīnah ītich (in) kārroh? “Will you carry the gasoline by car?”

“Will you carry the gasoline in the car?”

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Semantic type and (i)n

Person names (or more generally,

expressions of “type e”) consistently have

(i)n even in focus / new information

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Semantic type and (i)n (2)

(25) āmo tikitstok n Elías?

“Haven’t you seen Elías?”

(26) n Elías? āxah āmo nikitstok

“Elías? No, I haven’t seen him today.”

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Semantic type and (i)n (3)

(29) wan ōehkok n īprīmoh

“Then his/her cousin arrived.”

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Semantic type and (i)n (4)

Demonstratives nīn “this” and nōn “that”

– Combinations of the particle (i)n and the stem

īn/ōn ?

– cf. Classical inīn/inōn

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Type-e expressions in focus

Type-e expressions consistently have (i)n

But a predicate cannot have (i)n

What happens when a person name

appears in the focus position?

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Type-e expressions in focus (2)

(30) āki nōn ōahsik achtõ, yēn (< yeh n)

Dulce o yēn Ebelardo?

“Who arrived first, Dulce or Ebelardo?”

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Type-e expressions in focus (3)

Classical Nahuatl

in tēuctli yehhuātl in Pedro

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Type-e expressions in focus: summary

Given / non-focus New / focus

Ordinary nominals (i)n No marking

Person names (i)n yeh (i)n

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Conclusion: the particle (i)n in Ixquihuacán Nahuatl

In Ixquihuacán Nahuatl, (i)n is used in a

systematic and elegant way to build a

sentence or discourse

(I)n today is quite article-like, but it

retains its original status as a subordinator

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¡Tlasohkāmati! ¡Muchas gracias!

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