Alonso de Molina
Alonso de Molina (1513[1] or 1514[2][3] – 1579[1] or 1585[2][3]) was a Franciscan priest and grammarian, who wrote a well-known dictionary of the Nahuatl language published in 1571[4].
He was born in Spain but arrived in Mexico while still a child[5] and he became fluent in Nahuatl[6] while playing with Aztec children. Molina arrived in Mexico immediately following Cortes' invasion. As a young man he entered the Franciscan order and became ordained as a priest. He taught at the Colegio de Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco along with Bernardino de Sahagún and Andrés de Olmos. Besides his priestly duties, Molina devoted himself to the study, understanding and writing of Nahuatl. He composed and preached many sermons in the Nahuatl tongue.
Molina's Vocabulary in Castilian and Mexican language which he composed between 1555 and 1571 was the first dictionary printed in the New World, and, together with Olmos’ work, was the first published systematic approach to an indigenous language. It is still considered an indispensable tool for students of Classical Nahuatl language.[7]
Molina was named a saint in the early 17th century, he is not highly known. But he is revered in his lifelong devotion to the church and by translating the bible to the native language. Molina has decedents traced to Guatemala, Mexico City, and even the United States.
[edit] Works
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- Doctrina christiana breve traduzida en lengua mexicana (1547)[8]
- Aquí comiença un vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana (1555)
- Confessionario mayor, en lengua mexicana y castellana (1565)
- Arte de la lengua mexicana y castellana (1571)
- Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana (1571)
- Confessionario breve, en lengua mexicana (1577)
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Guadalupe Hidalgo, Margarita (2006). Mexican indigenous languages at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Walter de Gruyter. p. 39. ISBN 3110185970. http://books.google.com/books?id=3uJbbmkw9rQC&pg=PA39&dq=%22alonso%20de%20molina%22%20%221513%22..
- ^ a b Hernández de León-Portilla 2007, p. 63.
- ^ a b Stevenson, Robert (1968). Music in Aztec & Inca Territory. University of California Press. p. 106. http://books.google.com/books?id=VGLT-pJDxcYC&pg=PA106&dq=%22alonso%20de%20molina%22%20%221514%22..
- ^ Lockhart, James (2001). Nahuatl as written: lessons in older written Nahuatl, with copious examples and texts. Stanford University Press. pp. 152. ISBN 0804742820. http://books.google.com/books?id=jbMp1DxWvPcC&pg=PA152..
- ^ Escandón, Patricia (2006). De la Iglesia indiana: Homenaje a Elsa Cecilia Frost. UNAM. p. 17. ISBN 9703241719. http://books.google.fr/books?id=gEcbnHdpEh8C&pg=PA17&dq=%22Alonso%20de%20Molina%20lleg%C3%B3%20a%20la%20Nueva%20Espa%C3%B1a%20siendo%20todav%C3%ADa%20muy%20ni%C3%B1o%22..
- ^ Hernández de León-Portilla 2007, p. 74.
- ^ Karttunen, Frances E. (1992). An analytical dictionary of Nahuatl. University of Oklahoma Press. p. xvii (Introduction). ISBN 0806124210. http://books.google.com/books?id=s4LURGT0h2AC&pg=PR17&dq=%22Fray%20Alonso%20de%22%20Molina%20%22the%20most%20important%22%20%22reference%20works%20about%20Nahuatl%20in%20existence%22..
- ^ Hernández de León-Portilla 2007, p. 73.
[edit] References
- Hernández de León-Portilla, Ascensión (2009). "El arte de la lengua mexicana y castellana de fray Alonso de Molina: morfología y composición" (in spanish). Estudios de Historia Novohispana (UNAM) (39): 167–206. http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/ecn/ecnahuatl39/ECN039000008.pdf.
- Hernández de León-Portilla, Ascensión (janvier-juin 2007). "Fray Alonso de Molina y el proyecto indigenista de la orden seráfica" (in spanish). Estudios de Historia Novohispana (UNAM) (36): 63–81. http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/ehn/ehn36/EHN003600002.pdf.
- Máynez, Pilar (2002). "Las doctrinas de Molina y Sahagún: similitudes y diferencias" (in spanish). Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl (UNAM) (33): 267–276. http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/ecn/ecnahuatl33/ECN03312.pdf.
- Máynez, Pilar (1999). "La incidencia de hispanismos en los ”confessionarios” mayor y menor de fray Alonso de Molina: un análisis contrastivo" (in spanish). Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl (UNAM) (30): 275–284. http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/ecn/ecnahuatl30/ECN03014.pdf.
- Hernández de León-Portilla, Ascensión (1999). "Un prólogo en náhuatl suscrito por Bernardino de Sahagún y Alonso de Molina" (in spanish). Estudios de Historia Novohispana (UNAM) (29): 199–208. http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/ehn/ehn36/EHN003600002.pdf.
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