[Aztlan] Tepache

[Nicholas Hopkins]

"There is no clear way that "tepiatl" could end up
"tepache" under the rules of Nahuatl phonology," John F. Schwaller

Right, I agree.  But if the loanword to Spanish is based on  
tepiatzin, not tepiatl, there are parallel loan words that end up  
having "che" in place of "tzin."  So it's not a question of Nahuatl  
phonology, but the assimilation of Nahuatl words to Spanish.

Nick Hopkins