Thank you Raphael, Davide and Luke. You three give me the spirit, motivation and power to learn my 5th and 6th language: Hindi and Chinese. Siete geniali ragazzi. Thank you very much for doing this, from the deepest part of my heart
I found your chanel, and i tell ya, you got some interesting stuff. I speak K’iche’, a Mayan language, i love it when linguists talk about “Native American” languages. Quetzal comes from Nahuatl, name of the currency used in Guatemala.
I love Mayan languages! As a K'iche' speaker how do you find other Mayan varieties? I just spent a few months in the Yucatan and if I'd had the time I'd have loved to study Yucatec Maya.
@@Glossologia man, I’d love to have a conversation about this, especially with an expert like yourself. I’d like to contact you, is that possible? I have seen some interesting stuff among the Mayan languages as I’ve encountered speakers of Ixil (Guatemala), Tzotzil (Mexico), and some others.
Let me offer some suggestions! One of the best books for beginners is Michel Launey and Christopher Mackay’s “An Introduction to Classical Nahuatl” which can be purchased here on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Introduction-Classical-Nahuatl-Michel-Launey/dp/0521732298 I’d accompany this book with James Lockhart’s “Nahuatl As Written”, which focuses on reading the sources (with their difficult spelling conventions) and contains lots of examples from 16th century texts: www.amazon.com/Nahuatl-Written-Lessons-Copious-Examples/dp/0804744580/ If you’re looking for something to start reading right now, here are some PDF downloads for a two-volume textbook designed by the linguists Joseph Campbell and Frances Karttunen: Foundation Course Volume I part 1: drive.google.com/file/d/1f92YeILoE3i5SIEcZv8kRm-WZSJDJAY1/view Foundation Course Volume I part 2: drive.google.com/file/d/1C80Brq_zvlAd4qJ5-IXpUiFYH4FXhaIe/view?usp=sharing And here’s Volume II of this Foundation Course, which is essentially a vocabulary and key: drive.google.com/file/d/1l-MjxxkDx10RoAbq9aMYSCYsSDzEbGRc/view This next PDF is a dense one. It’s comprehensive almost to a fault! It might not be meant for beginners but it’s still a valuable resource to consult as you’re making your way through the previous texts. A decent foundation in linguistics is helpful, but not too necessary: Introduction to Classical Nahuatl: Revised Edition, by J. Richard Andrews. drive.google.com/file/d/1pXSWo2XszJrtFfnLzo8NJ_cMXcMzuJ-g/view?usp=sharing
I'm a Mesoamerican art, urbanism and general history nerd rather then a linguistics one, so I can't comment much on pronunciation, but I can comment on the art in the background: While it (made by Yashaswi Karthik) is cool, it's got issues. The actual architectural accents and motifs aren't too off, they're mostly solid aside from working in a bit of Puuc maya sculptural fret/reliefwork; and it DOES somewhat adapt the layout of Tenochtitlan's central ceremonial precinct, but various details of that layout are wrong, and more importantly there would not have been canals around the central precinct: Tenochtitlan was originally founded on, and the city center was therefore located on, a natural island. The canals and chinampas that the city is famous for generally only extended out past that island (multiple islands, actually, since as of 1519 the chinampas had exapanded to connect it to other nearby islands/cities, like Tlatelolco). The Central Precinct would have been entirely located on the initial natural island and was on solid ground. Some canals WERE dug through that island based on layouts I have seen, the closest being one which ran by Moctezuma's palace and the Great Plaza just to the South/East oif the Central Precinct, but this depicts the entire precinct surronded by water like a giant moat, which would not be accurate. I'm not sure you plan to do more Mesoamerican content in the future, but if you do, I'd be happy to share my collection of resources with you: I have photos I have personally taken at exhibits, plus collections of artistic recreations, photos, diagrams, site maps, etc from various sources; as well as scholarly papers, books, excerpts, etc; all of which i'm happy to share (and I have relationships with various artists and researchers too). If you're interested in that, let me know and I can send you some stuff. In particular, regarding depictions of Tenochtitlan, my favorite go to depictions are the paintings made by Scott and Stuart Gentling, and the Satellite style maps made by Tomas Filsinger. (sadly, it can be tough to find some of their workj, especially the Gentlings, but I have a large collection for both). TlatoaniMC on Twitter and on Planet Minecraft also has some excellent recreations of the city center and surrounding palaces and complexes made in Minecraft, though earlier versions of the project also had a (not as eregious) moat around the Sacred Precinct.a Mesoamerican
Yeah, I was thinking about the fact when I chose the image that I had no idea if it was particularly accurate and that there was a large possibility someone knowledgeable would call me out for it if it wasn't 😅. That said at the end of the day the point of the video is the language itself rather than the background. Still, in the future I would absolutely be interested in taking you up on that! :D
@@Glossologia Well, do you have an email, Twiter or discord I could reach you at to send you some images or resources? I don't mind doing so in advance even if you don't have anything to use of it planned; or even if you just wanted to peruse the content for fun.
This was an interesting one. It seems like a lot of work yet the result was worthy... beautiful indeed. I was always very curious about Nahuatl but clueless where to find some material for beginners (now I saw Richard's comment and it was very helpful, thanks). However, I keep trying to pronounce some words with the letter "L", and it's a *real* struggle for me, haha. Hats off, man! ~
Yeah, in my case the individual sounds weren't a problem since I've learned how to make them at various points, but this recording was the hardest to get right that I've ever done so I'm really glad you enjoyed it! 😁
I be speaking Nahuatl at work sometimes and everyone swears that im an aliean😂😂. Also, most Nahuatl videos i see here i cannot understand, but this one i do.
Hah, well if you mean in terms of the sounds themselves then not really - Nahuatl and Latin actually have a lot in common phonologically speaking - both have a 5 vowel system with length distinction as well as long and short consonants, with a fairly simple consonant inventory and syllable structure. But if you mean in terms of my intonation and delivery, it's certainly possible that I'm influenced by my background in romance languages and Latin. :-)
@@Glossologia got it. It must be a weird language from a indo European point of view. Right? It must be really really really different from not only indo European but languages of old world in General. I mean in case of languages of old world, you could find common things even between the languages of two different family. For example you see that Semitic, uralic and turkic languages have some weird similarities with IE languages or chinese is some what (just some what) similar to English or Korean is similar to japanese. And many unproven theories such as altaic family or indo-uralic or even proto world have been proposed Because of these weird similarities. Even unrelated languages of old world must have influenced each other as ancient people weren't as isolated as we today think. but there must be nothing like that in case of languages of new world. Right?
@@abhinavchauhan7864 Apologies for the late response! Yes, Nahuatl shares plenty of features with its neighbors, but very little with most Eurasian languages as far as I'm aware. Though one might find more similarities when counting Paleo Siberian languages like Ket which is quite possibly related to Navajo and other languages from the area. Also you do have languages like Yupik which are spoken both in Siberia and in North America.
@@Glossologia oh yes i forget that native americans are related to Siberians. Languages are fascinating and even more so the other things associated with them such as their culture and its mythology. And its alright no need to apologise.
Please see the video description for additional details! Thanks again to Richard Alexander for all of the work you put into this!
I've always loved Nahuatl's unique phonology. That was wonderful.
I'm blown away by your depth of knowledge in historical linguistics. Looking forward to seeing this channel grow and learning from you 👍
Grande Raph! Ci vediamo tra sei mesi per il prossimo video! 🤪
Ne mancano due...
This is truly a fantastic channel. The quality of these videos is great man, keep them coming!
It has been a long time, it is good to see a new video of you.
Thank you Raphael, Davide and Luke. You three give me the spirit, motivation and power to learn my 5th and 6th language: Hindi and Chinese. Siete geniali ragazzi. Thank you very much for doing this, from the deepest part of my heart
Beautiful. Thank you for this recording and all the explanations and effort.
I found your chanel, and i tell ya, you got some interesting stuff. I speak K’iche’, a Mayan language, i love it when linguists talk about “Native American” languages. Quetzal comes from Nahuatl, name of the currency used in Guatemala.
I love Mayan languages! As a K'iche' speaker how do you find other Mayan varieties? I just spent a few months in the Yucatan and if I'd had the time I'd have loved to study Yucatec Maya.
@@Glossologia man, I’d love to have a conversation about this, especially with an expert like yourself. I’d like to contact you, is that possible? I have seen some interesting stuff among the Mayan languages as I’ve encountered speakers of Ixil (Guatemala), Tzotzil (Mexico), and some others.
@@paxomejia7542 Heh well I'm hardly an expert in Mayan languages but I'd be happy to chat! Do you have discord? :-)
@@Glossologia yes i do, how can i find you in discord? I don’t use that much.
@@paxomejia7542 You can add me at
Saludos de la liga románica 🙋
I'd like to learn Classical Nahuatl but there just doesn't seem to be enough material to read, especially for beginners. Do you have any suggestions?
Let me offer some suggestions!
One of the best books for beginners is Michel Launey and Christopher Mackay’s “An Introduction to Classical Nahuatl” which can be purchased here on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Introduction-Classical-Nahuatl-Michel-Launey/dp/0521732298
I’d accompany this book with James Lockhart’s “Nahuatl As Written”, which focuses on reading the sources (with their difficult spelling conventions) and contains lots of examples from 16th century texts:
www.amazon.com/Nahuatl-Written-Lessons-Copious-Examples/dp/0804744580/
If you’re looking for something to start reading right now, here are some PDF downloads for a two-volume textbook designed by the linguists Joseph Campbell and Frances Karttunen:
Foundation Course Volume I part 1:
drive.google.com/file/d/1f92YeILoE3i5SIEcZv8kRm-WZSJDJAY1/view
Foundation Course Volume I part 2:
drive.google.com/file/d/1C80Brq_zvlAd4qJ5-IXpUiFYH4FXhaIe/view?usp=sharing
And here’s Volume II of this Foundation Course, which is essentially a vocabulary and key:
drive.google.com/file/d/1l-MjxxkDx10RoAbq9aMYSCYsSDzEbGRc/view
This next PDF is a dense one. It’s comprehensive almost to a fault! It might not be meant for beginners but it’s still a valuable resource to consult as you’re making your way through the previous texts. A decent foundation in linguistics is helpful, but not too necessary:
Introduction to Classical Nahuatl: Revised Edition, by J. Richard Andrews.
drive.google.com/file/d/1pXSWo2XszJrtFfnLzo8NJ_cMXcMzuJ-g/view?usp=sharing
@@richeefswitchee woow! Thanks a lot
Any suggestions?
Hermoso escuchar Náhuatl !! Yo soy mexicana pero vivo en Madrid, me emociono mucho escuchar la lengua de mis antepasados ❤️🇲🇽
Bravo, Raph!
I'm a Mesoamerican art, urbanism and general history nerd rather then a linguistics one, so I can't comment much on pronunciation, but I can comment on the art in the background: While it (made by Yashaswi Karthik) is cool, it's got issues. The actual architectural accents and motifs aren't too off, they're mostly solid aside from working in a bit of Puuc maya sculptural fret/reliefwork; and it DOES somewhat adapt the layout of Tenochtitlan's central ceremonial precinct, but various details of that layout are wrong, and more importantly there would not have been canals around the central precinct: Tenochtitlan was originally founded on, and the city center was therefore located on, a natural island. The canals and chinampas that the city is famous for generally only extended out past that island (multiple islands, actually, since as of 1519 the chinampas had exapanded to connect it to other nearby islands/cities, like Tlatelolco). The Central Precinct would have been entirely located on the initial natural island and was on solid ground. Some canals WERE dug through that island based on layouts I have seen, the closest being one which ran by Moctezuma's palace and the Great Plaza just to the South/East oif the Central Precinct, but this depicts the entire precinct surronded by water like a giant moat, which would not be accurate.
I'm not sure you plan to do more Mesoamerican content in the future, but if you do, I'd be happy to share my collection of resources with you: I have photos I have personally taken at exhibits, plus collections of artistic recreations, photos, diagrams, site maps, etc from various sources; as well as scholarly papers, books, excerpts, etc; all of which i'm happy to share (and I have relationships with various artists and researchers too). If you're interested in that, let me know and I can send you some stuff.
In particular, regarding depictions of Tenochtitlan, my favorite go to depictions are the paintings made by Scott and Stuart Gentling, and the Satellite style maps made by Tomas Filsinger. (sadly, it can be tough to find some of their workj, especially the Gentlings, but I have a large collection for both). TlatoaniMC on Twitter and on Planet Minecraft also has some excellent recreations of the city center and surrounding palaces and complexes made in Minecraft, though earlier versions of the project also had a (not as eregious) moat around the Sacred Precinct.a Mesoamerican
Yeah, I was thinking about the fact when I chose the image that I had no idea if it was particularly accurate and that there was a large possibility someone knowledgeable would call me out for it if it wasn't 😅. That said at the end of the day the point of the video is the language itself rather than the background. Still, in the future I would absolutely be interested in taking you up on that! :D
@@Glossologia Well, do you have an email, Twiter or discord I could reach you at to send you some images or resources? I don't mind doing so in advance even if you don't have anything to use of it planned; or even if you just wanted to peruse the content for fun.
@@MajoraZ I would love to peruse this stuff! I'm of course no expert but I'm extremely interested in art/architecture/history. My discord is
@@Glossologia Went ahead and sent a FR
This was an interesting one. It seems like a lot of work yet the result was worthy... beautiful indeed. I was always very curious about Nahuatl but clueless where to find some material for beginners (now I saw Richard's comment and it was very helpful, thanks). However, I keep trying to pronounce some words with the letter "L", and it's a *real* struggle for me, haha. Hats off, man! ~
Yeah, in my case the individual sounds weren't a problem since I've learned how to make them at various points, but this recording was the hardest to get right that I've ever done so I'm really glad you enjoyed it! 😁
Really good, as always!
Beautiful😍👌
Bella y interesante lengua.
Por favor , podrías recitar en pukina o en muchik , idiomas andinos actualmente extintos 🥲🥲🥲
How to learn classical nahuatl
Voy a usar el audio en mi rpg. Gracias
Bravo!
I be speaking Nahuatl at work sometimes and everyone swears that im an aliean😂😂. Also, most Nahuatl videos i see here i cannot understand, but this one i do.
Doesn't it sound too much like Latin? Btw beautiful language
Hah, well if you mean in terms of the sounds themselves then not really - Nahuatl and Latin actually have a lot in common phonologically speaking - both have a 5 vowel system with length distinction as well as long and short consonants, with a fairly simple consonant inventory and syllable structure. But if you mean in terms of my intonation and delivery, it's certainly possible that I'm influenced by my background in romance languages and Latin. :-)
@@Glossologia got it. It must be a weird language from a indo European point of view. Right? It must be really really really different from not only indo European but languages of old world in General. I mean in case of languages of old world, you could find common things even between the languages of two different family. For example you see that Semitic, uralic and turkic languages have some weird similarities with IE languages or chinese is some what (just some what) similar to English or Korean is similar to japanese. And many unproven theories such as altaic family or indo-uralic or even proto world have been proposed Because of these weird similarities. Even unrelated languages of old world must have influenced each other as ancient people weren't as isolated as we today think. but there must be nothing like that in case of languages of new world. Right?
@@abhinavchauhan7864 Apologies for the late response! Yes, Nahuatl shares plenty of features with its neighbors, but very little with most Eurasian languages as far as I'm aware. Though one might find more similarities when counting Paleo Siberian languages like Ket which is quite possibly related to Navajo and other languages from the area. Also you do have languages like Yupik which are spoken both in Siberia and in North America.
@@Glossologia oh yes i forget that native americans are related to Siberians. Languages are fascinating and even more so the other things associated with them such as their culture and its mythology. And its alright no need to apologise.
Hi raph