Classical Nahuatl (also known simply as Aztec or Nahuatl) is any of the variants of

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

spoken in the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico w ...

and central Mexico as a ''

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

'' at the time of the 16th-century Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. During the subsequent centuries, it was largely displaced by Spanish and evolved into some of the modern Nahuan languages in use today (other modern dialects descend more directly from other 16th-century variants). Although classified as an

extinct language An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers, especially if the language has no living descendants. In contrast, a dead language is one that is no longer the native language of any community, even if it is still in use, l ...

, Classical Nahuatl has survived through a multitude of written sources transcribed by Nahua peoples and Spaniards in the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern ...

Classification

Classical Nahuatl is one of the Nahuan languages within the Uto-Aztecan family. It is classified as a central dialect and is most closely related to the modern dialects of Nahuatl spoken in the valley of Mexico in colonial and modern times. It is probable that the Classical Nahuatl documented by 16th- and 17th-century written sources represents a particularly prestigious

sociolect In sociolinguistics, a sociolect is a form of language (non-standard dialect, restricted register) or a set of lexical items used by a socioeconomic class, profession, an age group, or other social group. Sociolects involve both passive acquisiti ...

. That is to say, the variety of Nahuatl recorded in these documents is most likely to be more particularly representative of the speech of Aztec nobles ('' pīpiltin''), while the commoners ('' mācēhualtin'') spoke a somewhat different variety.

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

Accent

Stress generally falls on the penultimate syllable. The one exception is the vocative suffix (used by men) ''-é'', which is added to the end of a word and is always stressed, e.g. ''Cuāuhtliquetzqui'' (a name, meaning " Eagle Warrior"), but ''Cuāuhtliquetzqué'' "O Cuauhtliquetzqui!" When women use the vocative, the stress is shifted to the final syllable without adding any suffix. ''Oquichtli'' means "man", and ''oquichtlí'' means "O man!"

Phonotactics

Maximally complex Nahuatl syllables are of the form CVC; that is, there can be at most one consonant at the beginning and end of every syllable. In contrast,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, for example, allows up to three consonants syllable-initially and up to four

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced w ...

s to occur at the end of syllables (e.g. ''strengths)'' (''ngths'' = ). Consonant clusters are only allowed word-medially, Nahuatl uses processes of both epenthesis (usually of ) and deletion to deal with this constraint. For such purposes, ''tl'' , like all other affricates, is treated as a single sound, and not all consonants can occur in both syllable-initial and syllable-final position. The consonants and are devoiced in syllable-final position. Likewise, is also devoiced and merged into in syllable-final position.

Grammar

Writing system

At the time of the Spanish conquest, Aztec writing used mostly

pictogram A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and ...

s supplemented with a few

ideogram An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by famili ...

s. When needed, it also used syllabic equivalences; Diego Durán recorded how the ''tlacuilos'' could render a prayer in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

using this system but it was difficult to use. The writing system was adequate for keeping such records as genealogies, astronomical information, and tribute lists, but it could not represent a full vocabulary of spoken language in the way that the

writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable fo ...

s of the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by thei ...

or the

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, ...

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of ha ...

could. The Spanish introduced the

, which was then used to record a large body of Aztec prose and poetry, which somewhat diminished the devastating loss caused by the burning of thousands of Aztec codices by the Spanish authorities.

Literature

Nahuatl literature is extensive (probably the most extensive of all Indigenous languages of the Americas), including a relatively large corpus of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

(see also

Nezahualcoyotl Nezahualcoyotl may refer to: * Nezahualcoyotl (tlatoani), the ruler of Texcoco * Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, a city in the State of Mexico * Nezahualcóyotl metro station, in Mexico City * The Nezahualcóyotl Award, a literary prize in Mexico * Neza ...

). The '' Huei tlamahuiçoltica'' is an early sample of literary Nahuatl. A

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...

dictionary with Spanish, '' Vocabulario manual de las lenguas castellana y mexicana'', was first published in 1611 and is "the most important and most frequently reprinted Spanish work on Nahuatl," according to the

World Digital Library The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...

. Now, Classical Nahuatl is used by

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

groups of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

supporting '' indigenismo'', such as Kukulcan, Tlateotocani and Comando de Exterminio.

References

Sources

* * * Arenas, Pedro de: ''Vocabulario manual de las lenguas castellana y mexicana''. 611Reprint: México 1982 * * * Carochi, Horacio: ''Arte de la lengua mexicana: con la declaración de los adverbios della.''

645 __NOTOC__ Year 645 ( DCXLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 645 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

Reprint: Porrúa México 1983
Curl, John: ''Ancient American Poets''. Tempe AZ: Bilingual Press, 2005.
* Garibay, Angel Maria : ''Llave de Náhuatl''. México 19?? * Garibay, Angel María, ''Historia de la literatura náhuatl''. México 1953 * Garibay, Angel María, ''Poesía náhuatl''. vol 1-3 México 1964 * * Humboldt, Wilhelm von (1767-1835): ''Mexicanische Grammatik''. Paderborn/München 1994 * Karttunen, Frances, ''An analytical dictionary of Nahuatl''. Norman 1992 * Karttunen, Frances, ''Nahuatl in the Middle Years: Language Contact Phenomena in Texts of the Colonial Period''. Los Angeles 1976 * Launey, Michel : ''Introduction à la langue et à la littérature aztèques''. Paris 1980 * Launey, Michel : ''Introducción a la lengua y a la literatura Náhuatl.'' UNAM, México 1992 * * León-Portilla, Ascensión H. de : ''Tepuztlahcuilolli, Impresos en Nahuatl: Historia y Bibliografia''. Vol. 1–2. México 1988 * León-Portilla, Miguel : ''Literaturas Indígenas de México''. Madrid 1992 * Lockhart, James (ed): ''We people here. Nahuatl Accounts of the conquest of Mexico''. Los Angeles 1993 * Molina, Fray Alonso de: ''Vocabulario en Lengua Castellana y Mexicana y Mexicana y Castellana'' .

555 Year 555 ( DLV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 555 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the p ...

Reprint: Porrúa México 1992 * Olmos, Fray Andrés de: ''Arte de la lengua mexicana concluído en el convento de San Andrés de Ueytlalpan, en la provincia de Totonacapan que es en la Nueva España''. 547Reprint: México 1993 * Rincón, Antonio del : ''Arte mexicana compuesta por el padre Antonio del Rincón''.

595 __NOTOC__ Year 595 ( DXCV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 595 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

Reprint: México 1885 * Sahagún, Fray Bernardino de (1499-1590): ''Florentine Codex. General History of the Things of New Spain'' (Historia General de las Cosas de la Nueva España). Eds Charles Dibble/Arthr Anderson, vol I-XII Santa Fe 1950-71 * Siméon, Rémi: ''Dictionnaire de la Langue Nahuatl ou Mexicaine''.

aris 1885 Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Ja ...

Reprint: Graz 1963 * Siméon, Rémi: ''Diccionario dße la Lengua Nahuatl o Mexicana''.

Reprint: México 2001 * Sullivan, Thelma D. : ''Compendium of Nahuatl Grammar''. Salt Lake City 1988 * The Nahua Newsletter: edited by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies of the Indiana University (Chief Editor Alan Sandstrom) * Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl: ''special interest-yearbook of the Instituto de Investigaciones Historicas (IIH) of the Universidad Autonoma de México (UNAM)'', Ed.: Miguel Leon Portilla

External links

* {{Uto-Aztecan languages