This thesis considers Purepecha from the perspectives of
genealogy and contact, as well as offering insight into word formation
processes. The genealogy study re-visits the most prominent classification
proposals for Purepecha, concluding on the basis of a quantitative lexical
comparison and a typological comparison of affix ordering that there is no
signal of relatedness between Purepecha and any other sampled language. The
two language contact studies address possible interaction between Purepecha
and other languages at long-distance, regional and local levels. The lexicon
of metallurgy, the most convincing archaeological evidence for long-distance
interaction, does not support this contact scenario although the lack of
observable loanwords in this domain may reflect the largely non-verbal nature
of technology transmission. At the regional and local levels Purepecha also
displays very few borrowings from the prehispanic period. This paucity of borrowings
is reversed in the modern period, with Spanish exerting a heavy influence in
all domains. The shift in borrowing pattern is explained by huge
socio-political change since the imposition of Spanish. The word formation
studies focus on the varying semantic transparency of roots and suffixes,
with a specific emphasis on olfactory language. They also introduce the
notion that roots may be precategorial in nature.
Theoretical and Experimental Linguistic