# 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. Some linguists 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.

## Phonology
### Consonants

Proto-Totonacan consonants Arana Osnaya (1953) :
| | | Bilabial | Alveolar | Alveolar | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
| | | Bilabial | plain | sibilant | lateral | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | | | | | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | plain | p | t | ts | tɬ | tʃ | k | q | (ʔ) |
| Plosive/ Affricate | ejective | (pʼ) | (tʼ) | (tsʼ) | (tɬʼ) | (tʃʼ) | (kʼ) | (qʼ) | (ʔ) |
| Fricative | Fricative | | | s | ɬ | ʃ | x | | (h) |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | | | l | j | | | |

#### Notes

* MacKay and Trechsel (2018) add ejective stops and affricates.
* Davletshin (2008) and Brown et al. (2011) add /ʔ/ and /h/. MacKay and Trechsel (2018) accept /ʔ/ but reject /h/.

### Vowels

Proto-Totonacan vowels Arana Osnaya 1953 :
| | plain | plain | plain | laryngealized | laryngealized | 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.
* 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.

## Lexicon

The following Proto-Totonac-Tepehua reconstructions are from MacKay and Trechsel (2018).
    no.glossProto-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