Phonological Description in New Spain

Descripción fonológica en Nueva España

Object Details

Subject LanguageSpanish
Nahuatl
Purepecha
Otomí
Language PID(s)ailla:119496
ailla:119659
ailla:119815
ailla:119711
Title [Indigenous]
Language of Indigenous Title
TitlePhonological Description in New Spain
Language Community
Country(ies)Mexico
Place CreatedMexico City, Mexico
Date Created2005
Description [Indigenous]
Language of Indigenous Description
DescriptionTraditionally it has been affirmed that the colonial grammars of American languages
were especially deficient in their treatment of phonology. Nevertheless, by focusing on their achievements rather than their failures, and considering them in terms of contemporary levels of linguistic knowledge rather than
our modern expectations, it can be argued that missionary linguists
advanced in phonological description significantly. Based on material
of 20 authors who wrote about a dozen languages of six families
of New Spain between 1547 and 1767, it is shown that they identified numerous
types of new sounds that did not exist in Spanish, were able to assess phonological data in phonological terms, recognized phonological and morphophonological processes, recorded phonotactic data, used minimum pairs to identify distinctive oppositions, and justified their analysis with phonological argumentation. The work of the Franciscans Olmos, Gilberti,
Lagunas and Cárceres, and of the Jesuits Rincón and Carochi, in particular, stand out by
their descriptive acuity. It is important to recognize that the scope of this period
were made possible in part by the participation of a cast of native speakers
intelligent, reflective, and experienced in the manipulation of their languages as
objects of study.
GenresArticle
Source Note
ReferencesSmith-Stark, Thomas C. 2005. Phonological description in New Spain. Missionary Linguistics II. Zwartjes, O., Altman, C., eds.
Contributor(s) Individual / RoleSmith-Stark, Thomas C. (Author)
Contributor(s) Corporate / Role

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