indefinite nonpersonal obj.; prefix of verbs; also prefixed to relational words to make absolute forms; also prefixed to intransitive verbs to make impersonals
& xi- (imperative) = "please"; a polite way of phrasing the imperative
Celiya in cuahuitl = The tree turns green, Tlaceliya = Everything turns green
-Tla- is an indefinite prefix that is used to refer to non-humans, indefinite things or animals. E.g. nitlacaqui = I hear things, or I hear something.
In Classical we have "tlate:ntli" with two definitions: 1. cosa echada (which comes from te:ma) and 2. cuff (of a shirt of pair of pants) (from te:ntli). They are obviously two different words. In Modern Huastecan Nahuatl, for "tlate:ntli" we have 1. "at the side of the road where the forest begins" and 2. "a sharp knife or machete." Both of these come from "te:ntli". I'm interested in the "tlate:ntli" that comes from "te:ntli." What is the "tla-" doing?
In Modern Huastecan Nahuatl we have "tlaye:ctli," meaning "something that no longer has little specks of things (basuritas) mixed in with it." It looks like this is built on a noun, "ye:ctli", in the same way that "tlate:ntli" is. Again, what is the "tla-" doing?
Consider these examples, in which final morphemes are deleted in the process of converting a verb to a noun, and how parallel options are used to provide shades of meaning:
1. cuelpachoa, nic, "to fold s.t." > tlacuelpachtli, "a cuff" vs tlacuelpacholli, "folded clothing."
2. payania, nic, "to crumble s.t." > cintli tlapayantli, "corn pieces" vs "cintli tlapayanilli", "crumbled corn."
3. tentia, nic, "to sharpen s.t." > tlatentli, "cochiyoh tlatentli", "a sharp knife," vs. "cochiyoh tlatentilli", "a sharpened knife."
4. pahtia, nic. "to fertilize or apply herbicide to a plant." > "toctli tlapahtli", "a fertilized corn plant," "toctli tlapahtilli," "a corn plant that has been fertilized."
On the one hand we have objects that have undergone a completed action, and on the other hand we have words that emphasize more the process which the objects have undergone. Then there that little detail of the morpheme deletion.