La relación del varojío con el mayo y el tarahumara

Abstract

Frorn a synchronic viewpoint, the three Varohio dialects which have been studied until now are spaced between Mayo and Tarahumara. From a diachronic viewpoint however, it is possible to reconstruct a Prototaracahitan, very close to both Western Varohio and Voegelin's Voegelin-k and Hale's Protoutoaztecan, which reflects in each of the above languages through regular phonetic changes. An attempt is made to explain the divergent evolution, from prototaracahitan to Mayo on the one hand, and to Tarahumara on the other, from the chosen starting point of divergent evolutions of the accentual system. Incidentally the occurrence is discussed of two liquids in one phonemic inventory, conceived as a structural characteristic of Taracahitan.