Proto-Nahuan (also called Proto-Aztecan) is a hypothetical daughter language of the Proto-Uto-Aztecan language. It is the common ancestor from which the modern Nahuan languages have developed.

Homeland

There is some controversy about where and when Proto-Nahuan was spoken. Following Nahuan ethnohistorical sources describing a southward migration of Nahuatl speakers, as well as the fact that all other Uto-Aztecan languages are north of the Nahuan languages, the homeland has traditionally been considered to be located to the north of the current area of extension. An alternative hypothesis by Jane Hill is that Proto-Nahuatl arose within Mesoamerica, and the Nahuas are the only remainders after a large-scale northward migration.

Phonology

The following phonological changes are shared by all Nahuan languages:

Morphology

Proto-Nahuan was an agglutinative language, and its words used suffix complexes for a variety of purposes, with several morphemes strung together.

Lexicon

Some Proto-Aztecan (i.e., Proto-Nahuan) reconstructions by Davletshin (2012): ! gloss !! Proto-Aztecan

Sources