Nahuatl was the primary native language of central Mexico both
before and after the Spanish conquest. It is the Latin of the
indigenous languages of the New World. Its tradition of alphabetic
writing goes back to the middle years of the sixteenth century and
embraces not only grammars, dictionaries, collections of
preconquest lore, and works of religious instruction, but also,
above all, a great mass of mundane writing by the Nahuas themselves
for their own purposes. Though the past quarter century has seen a
flourishing of ethnohistorical, philological, and grammatical
studies based on this corpus, those interested in the world of
Nahuatl texts still find access to it difficult. James Lockhart, an
eminent historian of early Latin America, is also perhaps the
leading interpreter of this large body of work. He has translated
and edited a wide range of texts, analyzed their cultural and
linguistic implications, and over the years trained a large number
of students, several of whom have gone on to become well known
scholars of Nahuatl and other indigenous languages. Lockhart's main
tools of instruction were: (1) a gradually growing set of lessons
consisting primarily of examples culled from many sources of the
sixteenth through eighteenth centuries (or concocted in the spirit
of that time), and (2) the grammar or Arte of Nahuatl published in
Spanish by the Florentine Jesuit Horacio de Carochi in 1645. In
small groups of students, with a maximum of personal instruction
and discussion, these materials accomplished their purpose, but the
lessons were only in skeletal form, and the Carochi grammar, too,
in the Spanish editions available, needed extensive explanation.
Now, Lockhart has organized and expanded these materials into
volumes that can be understood by students working alone or used in
organized Nahuatl classes. The two books together will allow any
seriously interested person to master Nahuatl sufficiently to begin
reading the texts, and they will provide essential reference works
as one progresses. They are geared primarily to the older form of
the language and its written texts, but they can also be extremely
useful to those studying the spoken Nahuatl of later times. Nahuatl
as Written presumes no previous knowledge of the language. Treating
all essential features of Nahuatl, it is organized on purely
pedagogical principles, using techniques developed over many years
of practical teaching experience. The book is in large format,
almost like a workbook, with a great abundance of examples that
serve as exercises; the examples are also available separately for
the student's convenience. The orthography and vocabulary are those
found in texts of the time, and the last several of the twenty
lessons give the student training in working with texts as they
were actually written. Some of the lessons deal with syntax in a
way not found elsewhere and develop notions of anticipation and
crossreference that are basic to Nahuatl grammar. In line with
Lockhart's wish to bring more people into the Nahuatl documentary
world, an Epilogue surveys many of the published Nahuatl texts and
an Appendix presents substantial selections from ten different
texts. Carochi's 1645 Grammar is the most influential work ever
published on Nahuatl grammar and remains an essential work of
reference. The best recent grammars of Nahuatl are based on it, but
they have not exhausted it. It includes an extensive discussion of
adverbial expressions and particles that is found nowhere else, as
well as an irreplaceable fund of authentic examples from the time,
translated by a contemporary. Though a facsimile edition is
available, the original is very difficult to read, and only a few
experts can fully understand the seventeenth-century Spanish and
Latinate grammatical terms. This new edition presents the original
Spanish and an English translation on facing pages. Helpful
footnotes provide explanatory commentary and more literal
translations of some of Carochi's examples. The volume is at once
an indispensable pedagogical tool and the first critical edition of
the premier monument of the Nahuatl grammatical literature. The two
books are published jointly with UCLA Latin American Center
Publications.
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