Some PUA *t > c in time for PUA *c > Tepiman s
Brian Stubbs (FUAC October 2008)
Uto-Aztecanists are familiar with the chain of changes in Tepiman alveolars from Proto-Uto-Aztecan (PUA):
PUA *t > c before high vowels for some Tepiman languages and PUA *c > s and PUA *s > h. However, there seems
to be evidence that some PUA *t > c in Tepiman in time for the Tepiman sound change PUA *c > s, or at least some
correspondences of PUA *t with Tepiman s (and usually in the vicinity of high vowels) would suggest that is what
happened.
Phonemic frequencies in Uto-Aztecan are revealing for several matters—that of this paper being
one. The phonological frequencies of initial syllables in Miller 1988 (M88) were calculated. The exact numbers of
initial syllables among UA cognate sets are subject to adjustment, yet those in M88 are reasonably proportionate and
available for quick inspection, until a later work’s sets settle sufficiently to be worth counting. The first column is the
number of sets with glottal stop-vowel or initial vowel. The other columns are sets beginning with the specified CV
combination. Totals of the lines (vowel totals) are to the right; and totals of the columns (consonant totals) are below.
The total number of sets in M88 is 1185 and is the total both of the rows and of the columns.
Table 7: Syllabic Frequencies
’
a 39
i 11
ï 19
o 27
u 9
105
c
18
23
15
20
20
96
h
17
7
9
8
21
62
k
43
10
17
38
37
145
kw
15
16
6
--37
m
43
6
11
11
23
94
n
38
2
15
12
5
72
p
64
28
17
26
23
158
s
29
18
22
15
21
105
t
48
1
54
26
24
153
w
27
18
12
14
2
73
y
28
-19
10
28
85
totals
409
140
216
207
213
1185
Note that among all tV syllables, only one ti syllable (M88-ti1 ‘man’) existed until Ken Hill redistributed it (to
KH/M06-ci24, tu10, tï9), so now no ti syllables exist vs. 48 ta, 54 tï, 26 to, and 24 tu. In contrast, the number of ci
syllables (23) is larger than other cV syllables (18, 15, 20, 20) in spite of the fact that i is the least frequent vowel: i.e.,
140 i vs. 409 for a and vs. 200-plus for the other three vowels. All this suggests that many apparent *ci may be from
an earlier **ti. In fact, it may be good to first establish how frequent is *t > c.
Intervocalic *-t- vs. *-tt-/*-Ct- as Clusters, and Many NUA -c- < *-tt-/*-Ct-. Intervocalic *-tusually goes to -r- or -d- in Num and to -l- in Cupan and Tb (Sapir 1914, 451; Manaster-Ramer 1992b). So when we
see intervocalic -t- in those languages, it is likey due to an underlying geminated *-tt- or to a cluster approximating *Ct- that behaves much like *-tt-, as Sapir (1914, 452) also noticed Num geminated -tt- corresponds to Tak and Tb -t-.
Alexis Manaster Ramer (1992a) demonstrated PUA medial *-c- > -y- in NUA, and accordingly suggested that the
various NUA medial -c- are from other sources than PUA *-c-, unless *-cc- is geminated or clustered. Thus, the
source of NUA -c- is often a palatalized *-tt- or *-Ct-, especially before high vowels. In fact, Sapir (1914, 445) noted
that many UA c may be from syncopated *ti. I would only add that many, if not more, are also from non-syncopated
*ti or *tï. In the data below, note the frequency of *-Ct- > -c-, often adjacent to high vowels, but not always.
P1. *attip-na (< *aCtipa-na?) 'good, do well': CU ’atti 'good'; SP ’attïN ‘good’; Cp á’či’a 'good'; Ca áča’e 'good, fine,
well, very.’ Likely related to these are Hp -’civa 'accord with’; Hp a’civa ‘behave as expected, do what one can with
one’s personal resources and limitations’; Hp àacipna/a’cipna ‘do as expected’ whose morphemes are Hp a-’civa-na
‘3pl-accord with-causative.’ If related, note that Hp a’cipna and Cp á’či’a are quite identical in five segments (a’ci . . .
a) except for a consonant cluster in Hp that aligns with a glottal stop in Cp, and both likely align with SNum (CU, SP)
*’atti, suggesting *-tti- > -ci-.
P2. *paCti’a ‘bat’ > *paci, *pali, etc. NP pitahana'a ‘bat’ actually shows -t-, with another morpheme suffixed. For
details, see discussion at ‘bat’ in Stubbs 2008.
P3. *paCtï ‘daughter’ (at ‘woman’ in Stubbs 2008) > pacï in SP and CU, but pattï in the rest of Numic.
P4. *patta/*patti ‘flat’ > *paci. See at ‘flat.’
Many more examples could be cited. Furthermore, we not only see *t or *-tt- > -c-, but sometimes that change
was early enough to undergo the Tepiman sound change of *c > s, such that some PUA *t / -Ct- > c > Tep s:
1
P5. *matta > *maca/*maci ‘tick’: NP madabi (< *matapi); Kw muu’maa-ci; CU mata-ci (< *matta-ci); Ch matavi;
Cp máčily; Ca máčil; Ls ‘amáča; Sr maca-c; Hp màaca; TO maamş; Wr macá; Tr mačá; Wc mate. While Takic, Hp,
and TrC show -c- (in both NUA and SUA), Num and Wc show -t-/-tt- (again in both NUA and SUA), yet TO has s < c.
P6a. *takoLa/*takuLa 'round, (en)circle': Eu takóris 'circle'; AYq tekolai ‘round’; My tékolai ‘redondo’; Sr ta’kï’q
‘be round, circular.’ From the first vowel a (Eu, Sr), note some raised vowels (AYq, My). If raised a little more, then:
P6b. *tikoLa > *cikoLa (> Tep *sikoLa/i) '(a)round': TO sikoD ‘round, circumscribed’; TO sikol ‘circular, round’;
NT šikóra; NT šikóóraka; ST šikar. Ken Hill adds Cahita číkola ‘alrededor’ which is exactly the link theorized and
also supports the proposed tie.
P7a. *tïkïya 'deer’ is found in most Numic languages and Tb, yet compare
P7b. *ciki 'white-tailed deer' in Tep *siki < *ciki < *tiki: TO siiki 'white-tailed deer'; PYp siiki 'white-tailed deer.'
(For NUA ï and SUA i, see Stubbs 2008, p. 35; for *k > h in NUA, see P124-P127, pp. 25-26.)
P8. *paNtu’ > *paicu’ 'badger': ST vaisïly ‘tejón’; Cr haihcï(-te) ‘tejón(es)’; and Wc háisï ‘tejón’ all match *paicV
(*p > ST v; *p > CrC h). CN peeso’-tli ‘badger’ also parallels ST vaisïly and Wc háisï, all pointing to s.th. near
*paicu, though CN s should be c and CN has p while Cr and Wc have h, so CN may be influenced from Tep or CrC, if
not an early loan from one or the other. Most forms suggest an originally round final vowel, but puzzles remain.
Wr pincúri ‘tejón’ and Tr batúwi ‘tejón’ must be included, in fact, may be key to the cluster. Wr pincúri shows *-nc-,
a nasal-alveolar cluster, and the dipthong *ai > i instead of > e, like CN. ST s agrees nicely with the c of CrC and Wr.
In light of many PUA *t > c adjacent to high vowels and in light of Tr’s t and in light of Cr, Wr, Tr showing PUA *u
after the t/c, something like *paNtu may explain all forms, especially since other examples of UA vowels before
alveolars tending toward i (Stubbs 2008, 31) would explain *paicu (< *pantu). In addition, Wr’s nasal in the cluster
may explain such a cluster > -c- in most languages, for this may have been a different kind of cluster than in ‘bat’ (2
below) which resulted in Cr -c- vs. Cr -hc- for ‘badger.’ Having *paNtu / *paicu in all branches of SUA and *huna in
all branches of NUA (and in SUA with different semantics) provides an interesting NUA-SUA semantic division for
'badger.' In any case, this is a fourth example of *t > c > Tep s.
P2. At *(so’o)-paCti’a ‘bat’ note the -pisa of PYp ho’opisa (Tepiman) and the pita- of NP pitahana'a ‘bat’ among the
dozen-plus reflexes. Because of NUA -c-, the reconstruction must include *-Ct-/*-t- and NP actually has -t- among
many Num -c-, yet in a Tep language (PYp) we find -s-, the usual reflex of *c, but ultimately from *t or *-Ct-.
*(so’o)-paCti’a > *pita- (NP pitahana'a ‘bat’)
> *pali (Ca)
> *paci’a > *paca’a (Tb, Kw, Ch, SP, CU)
> *paci’i > háci’i (Cr)
> *paci > *so’-peci (TrC: Tr, Wr, Eu) > *soci (Yq, My)
> *paci > *so’o-pica > Tepiman ho’o-pisa (PYp)
P9. *natipa (> *nacipa > *nacpa > Tep *naspa) 'fold': ST naspa’ ‘doblar, torcerse’; Eu nátpa ‘doblar’; Nv nasa
‘plegar una cosa.’ Here, we actually have Eu -t- aligning with Tep -s-, suggesting palatalization before c > s in Tep.
P10. *pï(C)ta/i 'all': TO wïïsï / wees; LP vïïs; NT vïïsi; ST vïïs; PYp veesi; Cp petá’ama 'all, every.' In light of Cp -tvs. Tep -s-, this may be another case of *-Ct-/*-t- > *-c- in time for *c > Tep s, though *pïcV-ta > *pïtta is possible.
P11. *tuti (> *tuci (Hp), > cuci > Tep susi(-ka) > Tep susaka) ‘sandals’: TO šuušk; LP šuušak; NT súúsaka;
ST suusak. In light of Tep’s frequent aniticiapatory V assimilation (*V-a > a-a; Stubbs 2008, p.34), an original *tuti
would have high vowels following both consonants, then suffixed -ka would encourage *susi-ka > susaka. As we
often see Tep s < c < *t (i.e., if Tep *susa < *tuti), then Hp tooci (< *tuti) ‘shoe, moccasin’ fits Tep, since Hp o < *u.
P12. *tapputi/*tïpputi ‘flea’: TO čïïpš; PYp teepas; NT tapïïši; ST tapïïis; Eu tepú’u / tepú; Yq téput, tepučim (pl);
My tépput; Wr tehpucí; Tr ŕipučí; Tbr tipú-t; Wc teepïï; Cr tepï-, tepï-ci (pl.). We see a 3rd consonant -t- in Yq, My,
and Tbr, and even if the -t- was originally part of a suffix, it understandably palatalized in Tr, Wr, and the Yq pl, and
that palatalization (c) is as likely the source of Tep s, that is, the 3rd consonant in several Tep forms. The first vowel
may well be a; for NT and ST both show a, not ï, and if ï (a high V) were original, then results similar to *t > c > s as
in ‘deer’ and ‘sandals’ above may have resulted, but that did not happen, and perhaps because an original initial *ta
syllable, which only later became tï, prevented it.
P13. *’ati / *ata / *aCti ‘laugh’: Wr a’ci 'estar riendose'; Tr ačí 'reirse'; My aače 'reírse'; AYq aače; Cr ra-’á’ace 'he is
laughing at him'; TO a’as; LP ’a’aši; PYp a’asi; NT ááši-/ásyi; ST ’aas/ašia. Miller includes Ca ’ála’ 'mock, echo s.o.,
vt’ which is probably cognate. Because Ca ’ála’ has l, which is the Cupan reflex for intervocalic *-t-, it again may
suggest a medial *-t- or cluster *-Ct- originally, which again did the cycle *t > c > s in Tepiman *asi. Ca ’ála’ is a
transitive verb and thus may have preserved the final vowel -a, of the alternation -a ‘transitive, active’ vs. -i
intransitive, stative.’ 1
2
P14. *tïyuna ‘keep’: Mn tïyuna ‘store, v’; NP notïïna 'keep s.th.'; Ca téyan 'preserve, carry on (custom, rite)’; and
NT šiidyúñdyi ‘retacar, guardar, llenar mucho.’ With *t- > *c > Tep *s preceding high vowels, Mn and NT agree well.
P15. *koCti/*koCta 'bark, shell, money' (at shell): Ls qéš-la 'seashell'; Ls qéš-la-ka-š 'skull'; Gb (a)-xóxoc ‘(su)
cáscara’; Cp qíči-ly 'money, silver'; Ca qíč-ily 'money' (pl: qišlyam); Sr -qöč 'hide, bark'; Sr qöčaaviam 'money';
Cr kúcape’e (Cr u < *o) 'cáscara’; Cr kuhca’ana 'type of tree with useful bark'; Cr ra-ká-kuhca’an 'he is skinning it.'
Ken Hill adds Ktn koco ‘shell (of turtle), peel, skin.’ The following three languages devoted this cognate to ‘shrimp
(shell)’: *koCti ‘shrimp’: L.Son90 *koci ‘camarón’; Wr kohcí ‘camarón, canqui’; Tbr koci-kal ‘camarón’; and My
kóči kapá’ora = baa kóočim ‘camarón.’ Let us also add Nv koska 'concha de nácar [mother of pearl shell, nacre]’; this
Tep form fits the Cup/Tak sound correspondences. When both SUA and NUA have medial *-c-, it is probably from
medial *-t- or a cluster, thus making NP kota ‘crayfish’ (Nichols) and/or NP kotyottï ‘white shell necklace’ possible.
The *koyo and *koCta/i forms have often been combined, which is possible, since some, like the NP forms, could
feasibly fit either; but a different medial C and different 2nd V are vexing. On the other hand, My koyóole (above) and
NP kotyottï, short of a missing -t- in My, offer substantial resemblance, and shells being a trade item may mean that
many of these are loan possibilities, as well. Nevertheless, note Nv -s- < *-Ct-, again Tep s < c < *-t- or *-Ct-.
P16a. *kwitta/i / *kuhita ‘smoke’: Mn ku”-kuhi” ‘smoke’; Mn kuhida ‘smoke out, vt’; Mn kuhita’i ‘be smokey, vi’;
NP kwitta; TSh kukkwi ‘smoke, v.’; TSh kukkwippï ‘smoke, n.’; Sh (kuk)kwiippïh ‘smoke’; Kw kwihi ‘be smoky’;
SP kwii”; CU kwíi-vï; Hp kwiici(ŋw); My bwicía ‘está humeando’; My bwiiči ‘hizo humo.’ Add Yq bwičía ‘smoke,
n’; Eu bici ‘smoke, n’; Cr kïïcí ‘smoke, dust’; Wc kïcí ‘smoke.’ The Corachol forms are cognate since CrC *kïci <
*kuci < *kwici. Manaster-Ramer (1992b) astutely proposes that *kwici ‘smoke’ (<**kwit-) may involve an original t,
on the Hopi evidence: Hp kwiit-an-ta ‘purify with (juniper) smoke, fumigate’; Hp kwiit- ‘smoke. n.’ (combining form
of Hp kwiiciŋw ‘smoke, n.’) in contrast to *kwici for most other UA languages; supporting that is also the NP
evidence: NP kwitta ‘smoke’ and NP kwidaba ‘smolder’ and the Mn forms. Thus, Mn, NP, and Hp lend credence to
Manaster-Ramer’s suggestion that we are dealing with medial *-t- / *-Ct- here instead of medial *-c-, and in the
following Tep forms we find -s-.
P16b. *kut-kwitti > *ku-kwici > Tep ku-bisi ‘smoke, dust’: TO kuub(s); UP kuubsï; LP kuubiš; Nv kupsa ‘humear’;
PYp kuubisi ‘smoke, n’; PYp kuuba smoke, vt’; NT kuubúši; ST kuubïš. The first element is likely *kut ‘fire.’
P17. *pita/*piti > *pica/pici/picu ‘wasp, bee’: several NUA languages show medial -c- as well as SUA languages:
Eu pica/pisat 'avispa'; Wr pi’cá ‘vuitachi (como abeja, rojo, pica, que secreta goma usada como incienso)’; Tr pičé
‘avispa sp’; My bíica; AYq viiča (*p > v in AYq); Pl eca-t; Gb píčokwar 'mosca'; Sr piičiču'a|ţ /piiččua’|ţ 'fly, n';
Ktn picucu’a-č. However, NUA -c- is normally from *-t- or *-Ct- or *-Cc-; so the several Tep forms showing s are
likely the result of *-t-/*-Ct- > -c- > -s- in Tep: TO wiipš; PYp vipisi 'wasp, hummingbird'; LP(EF) wípis 'avispa,
bitache'; NT pipííši 'wasp, hummingbird'; ST viipis 'wasp'; ST vipiiš 'hummingbird.’ I could not find Spanish vuitachi
and bitache in the three largest Spanish dictionaries in vicinity, so I surmise they must be rather local terms and
perhaps loans from UA; if so, the fact they show -t- may also suggest an earlier -t-.
Fourteen examples above (2, 5-17) show PUA *t > c > Tep s.
1.
The final vowel alternation *-a/-i ‘vowel alternation on the end of verbs, such that *-a ‘transitive, active’ and
*-i ‘intransitive, passive, stative’ is noted in various languages and to varying degrees by Sapir 1930, 73, 143; Whorf
1935; Langacker 1977, 132; and Dakin 1982. Obvious or subtle traces of this pattern are found in all eight branches.
Cr -i ‘stative suffix’ (Casad 1984, 159);
Yq -i ‘stative suffix’ (Etrada Fernández et al 2004, 399)
Wr has transitive verbs ending in -a with corresponding intransitive verbs ending in -i (Miller 1996, 130):
Wr ço’a ‘put out fire’; Wr ço’i ‘be no fire’;
Wr wela ‘put upright/standing’; Wr weri ‘be upright/standing’;
Wr mo’a ‘put pl obj’s inside’; Wr mo’i ‘enter, pl subj’s’;
Wr sa’wa ‘cure s.o., alleviate s.th.’; Wr sa’wi ‘be alleviated, go away.’
Tr also has such pairs of verbs (Hilton 1993, 139):
Tr mana ‘put, place, set’; Tr mani ‘be (in/at a place), exist’;
Tr bi’wá ‘clean it’; Tr bi’wí ‘be(come) clean’
Tr čiwá ‘stick, vt’; Tr čiwí ‘be stuck, vi’;
CN also has such pairs of verbs (Sullivan 1988, 171):
CN tla-tema ‘fill, place s.th.’; CN temi ‘be full, be lying down’;
CN tla-kotona ‘break s.th.’; CN kotoni ‘be broken’;
3
CN tla-mana ‘put s.th. on the floor’; CN mani ‘be stretched out, extended’;
CN tla-toma ‘undo s.th.’; CN tomi ‘be undone’;
Tbr towa ‘leave s.th. behind, vt’; Tbr towi/tovi ‘stay, remain, vi.’
Nv vurha ‘atar, vt’ vs. Nv vurhi ‘atado’;
Nv tuha ‘moler, vt’ vs. Nv tuhi ‘cosa molida’;
Nv virioka ‘desatar’ vs. Nv virioki ‘cosa desatada’;
TSh sawa ‘boil, vt’ vs. TSh sawi 'melt, vi’; and others;
SP muntunaa ‘cover oneself, active’ vs. SP muntun’i ‘be covered, stative’ (see also Sapir 1930, 73, 143)
SP -yauqqwa ‘push in one obj’ vs. SP yauqwi ‘go in, set (of sun)’;
Hp -iwa ‘passive suffix’ eliminates final -a of transitive verbs, so it could feasibly also be -a > -i with added -wa:
Hp aama ‘buried’ vs. aamiwa ‘was buried’; maqa ‘give’ vs. makiwa ‘was given’ (Ken Hill 1998b, 881);
Hp paata 'melt, vt'; Hp paati 'melt, vi';
Tb -iwa ‘passive suffix’ (like Hp); also note –a vs. –i in Tb weeh- ~ eeweha ‘lick, vt’ and Tb weehiwat ‘being licked’
(Voegelin 1935a, 99) though such a pattern is not always consistent in Tb;
ST taapna’ ‘partir, rajar, vt’; ST taapñia’ ‘partirse, rajarse, vi.’
Some UA languages have the final –i vowel as the perfective (having been done) rather than stative (is done):
Cm -i ‘completive suffix on verbs’ (Charney 1993, 142-3).
TO -i ‘perfective is marked by a final vowel change to –i’ (Langacker 1977, 131);
Op -i ‘perfective changes final -a to -i’ (Shaul 2003, 25);
Eu -i ‘the final stem vowel changes to final –i for the Eu preterite (past tense) in many, if not most Eu verbs, vs. Eu -an ‘present indicative verb ending’:
Eu hipra-n ‘watch over, care for’ vs. preterite: hipri ‘watched over, cared for’;
Eu maka-n ‘give’ vs. preterite: maki ‘gave’;
Eu taha-n ‘burn’ vs. preterite: tahi ‘burned’;
However, some Eu pairs show an -a transitive and -e intransitive distinction (e being halfway from a to i in position),
as well as the -i preterite for both:
Eu wehra ‘stand s.th. up, vt’ (pret: wehri); Eu wehre ‘stand up, grow, vi’ (pret: wehri);
Eu pitása ‘smash, flatten, vt’ (pret: pitási); Eu pitáse ‘be/get flattened’ (pret: pitási).
Ls has this feature, but it was somehow reversed to -a being intransitive/passive and –i being active/transitive.
The Uto-Aztecan Languages and Their Abbreviations
Mn
NP
Mono
Northern Paiute
TSh
Sh
WSh
Cm
Kw
Ch
SP
WM
CU
Tümpisha Shoshoni
Shoshoni
Western Shoshoni
Comanche
Kawaiisu
Chemehuevi
Southern Paiute
White Mesa Ute
Colorado Ute
Hp
Tb
Ls
Ca
Cp
Sr
Gb
Ktn
TO
PYp
PYc
Nv
LP
NT
ST
UP
Hopi
Tübatülabal
Luiseño
Cahuilla
Cupeño
Serrano
Gabrielino
Kitanemuk
Tohono O’odham
Yepáchic Pima
Yécora Pima
Nevome
Lower Pima/Pima Bajo
Northern Tepehuan
Southern Tepehuan
Upper/Arizona Pima
Bibliography
See Stubbs’ Uto-Aztecan: A Comparative Vocabulary 2008.
4
Eu
Op
Tbr
Yq
AYq
My
Wr
Tr
WTr
Cr
Wc
CN
Pl
HN
Eudeve
Opata
Tubar
Yaqui
Arizona Yaqui
Mayo
Guarijio
Tarahumara
Western Tarahumara
Cora
Huichol
Classical Nahuatl
Pipil
Huastec Nahuatl