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 of	Totonacan languages

Phonology

Consonants

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	tɬ	tʃ	k	q	(ʔ)
	ejective	(pʼ)	(tʼ)	(tsʼ)	(tɬʼ)	(tʃʼ)	(kʼ)	(qʼ)
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

Proto-Totonacan vowels
Arana Osnaya 1953^[1]

	plain				laryngealized
	Front	Central	Back		Front	Central	Back
Close	i  iː		u  uː		ḭ  ḭː		ṵ  ṵː
Open		a  aː				a̰  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

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

• Totonacan languages
• Totozoquean languages

Notes

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