A Historical Grammar of the Maya Language of Yucatan (1557-2000) Read online

  2.5.2. Potential Adjectives Derived from Verbal Roots  256

  2.6. Adjectives Derived from Verbal Roots or Stems with -lac or -lic  257

  2.6.1. Adjectives Derived from Celeritive Stems  257

  2.6.2. Adjectives Derived from Inchoative Stems  258

  2.6.3. Adjectives Derived from Transitive Roots with -lac  259

  2.6.4. Adjectives Derived from Positional Roots with -lac or -lic  259

  2.7. Positional Adjectives Marked by -cabal  260

  2.8. Derived Adjectives Marked by -en  260

  2.9. Derived Adjectives Marked by -em or -om  261

  2.10. Adjectives Derived from CVC Transitive and Positional Roots Without Suffixation  262

  3. Participles  264

  3.1. Participles Marked by -(a)an  264

  3.2. Participles Marked by -bil  269

  3.3. Participles Marked by -Vl  274

  4. Pluralization  274

  5. Adjectival Compounds  277

  6. Adjectival Phrases  280

  Contents xi

  7. Summary of Adjectival Changes Through Time  281

  Notes  281

  CHAPTER 11: POSITIONALS  282

  1. Positional Adjectives  283

  1.1. Positional Adjectives in Colonial Yucatec  283

  1.2. Positional Adjectives in Modern Yucatec  284

  2. Positional Verbs  285

  2.1. Positional Verbs in Colonial Yucatec  285

  2.2. Positional Verbs in Modern Yucatec  286

  3. Summary of Changes in Positionals Through Time  287

  CHAPTER 12: AFFECTS  288

  1. Verbal Affects  288

  1.1. Verbal Affects in Colonial Yucatec  288

  1.1.1. Verbal Affects Marked by -m  288

  1.1.2. Verbal Affects Marked by -ancil/-ancal  296

  1.2. Verbal Affects in Modern Yucatec  299

  1.2.1. Verbal Affects Marked by -b’-al  299

  1.2.2. Verbal Affects Marked by -(á)ankil  300

  2. Adjectival Affects  305

  2.1. Adjectival Affects in Colonial Yucatec  305

  2.1.1. Adjectival Affects Marked by -ci  305

  2.1.2. Adjectival Affects Marked by -nac  306

  2.2. Adjectival Affects in Modern Yucatec  313

  3. Adjectival Compounds Derived from Basic Color Terms  314

  3.1. Color Compounds in Colonial Yucatec  314

  3.2. Color Compounds in Modern Yucatec  318

  4. Sound Symbolism  320

  5. Some Semantic Foci of Affects  322

  6. Summary of Changes in Affects Through Time  325

  Note  325

  CHAPTER 13: REDUPLICATION  326

  1. Adjectival Reduplication  326

  1.1. Reduplicated Adjectives Based on Adjectival Roots  326

  1.2. Reduplicated Adjectives Based on Affect Stems  329

  1.2.1. Reduplicated Adjectives Marked by -ci  330

  1.2.2. Reduplicated Adjectives Marked by -nac  335

  2. Participial Reduplication  340

  2.1. Reduplicated Participles Marked by -Vc  340

  2.2. Reduplicated Participles with Infixes  341

  2.2.1. Reduplicated Participles Marked by -Vl-  341

  2.2.2. Reduplicated Participles Marked by -uN- and -aN  341

  2.2.3. Reduplicated Participles Marked by -man-  347

  2.3. Reduplicated Participles Derived from Verbal Roots without Affixes  349

  2.3.1. Reduplicated Participles Derived from Intransitive Roots without Affixes  349

  xii Contents

  2.3.2. Reduplicated Participles Derived from Transitive Roots without Affixes  349

  3. Verbal Reduplication  351

  3.1. Verbal Reduplication without Affixes  351

  3.2. Reduplicated Transitive Verbs in Compound Stems  353

  3.3. Verbal Reduplication with Infixes  354

  4. Nominal Reduplication  354

  5. Reduplicated Particles  355

  5.1. Reduplicated Particle Stems without Suffixes  355

  5.2. Reduplicated Particle Stems with Infixes  356

  6. Reduplicated Number Words  357

  7. Stem Reduplication  358

  8. Phrase Reduplication  359

  8.1. Reduplicated Phrases Composed of Simple and Compound Expressions  359

  8.2. Semantic and Syntactic Parallelism  361

  9. Conclusions  364

  Notes  364

  CHAPTER 14: PARTICLES  366

  1. Particle Roots  366

  2. Derived Particles  367

  3. Adverbial Particles  368

  3.1. Temporal Adverbs  368

  3.2. Locative Adverbs  369

  3.3. Manner Adverbs  370

  4. Interrogative Particles  371

  5. Negative Particles  373

  6. Conjunctive Particles  375

  7. Prepositional Particles  379

  8. Modal Particles  381

  9. Reportative Particles  383

  10. Exclamatory Particles  384

  11. Particle Compounds  386

  12. Particle Phrases  388

  13. Summary of Changes in Particles Through Time  390

  CHAPTER 15: DEICTIC PARTICLES  391

  1. Terminal Deictics  391

  1.1. Terminal Deictics in Colonial Yucatec  391

  1.2. Terminal Deictics in Modern Yucatec  393

  1.3. Historical Change in Terminal Deictics  393

  2. Initial Deictics and Deictic Frames  395

  2.1. Initial Deictics in Colonial Yucatec  395

  2.2. Initial Deictics in Modern Yucatec  399

  2.3. Embedded Terminal Deictics  402

  2.4. Historical Change in Initial Deictics and Deictic Frames  405

  2.4.1. Vowel Fusion in [y]-Final Initial Deictics  406

  Contents xiii

  2.4.2. Retention of /l/ in Terminal Deictics that Immediately Follow Initial Deictics Ending

  in a Laryngeal Consonant  420

  3. Summary of Changes in Deictic Particles Through Time  421

  Notes  421

  CHAPTER 16: SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE  423

  1. Basic Word Order  423

  1.1. Basic Word Order in Transitive Clauses  424

  1.2. Basic Word Order in Intransitive Clauses  426

  1.2.1. Basic Word Order in Passive Clauses  426

  1.2.2. Basic Word Order in Antipassive Clauses  428

  1.3. Indirect-Object Advancement  429

  2. Focused Word Orders  431

  2.1. Agent Focus  431

  2.2. Patient Focus  435

  2.3. Subject Focus  437

  2.4. Adverbial Focus  439

  2.4.1. Manner Adverbial Focus  439

  2.4.1.1. Focused Manner Adverbials with Transitive Stems  439

  2.4.1.2. Focused Manner Adverbials with Intransitive Stems  443

  2.4.2. Temporal Adverbial Focus  446

  2.4.2.1. Focused Temporal Adverbials with Transitive Stems  447

  2.4.2.2. Focused Temporal Adverbials with Intransitive Stems  449

  2.4.3. Locative Adverbial Focus  451

  2.4.3.1. Focused Locative Adverbials with Transitive Stems  451

  2.4.3.2. Focused Locative Adverbials with Intransitive Stems  453

  2.5. Information Questions  454

  2.6. Conclusions  460

  3. Topicalization  460

  4. Stative and Equational Clauses  462

  4.1. The Formation of Stative Clauses  462

  4.2. The Existential Predicate, yan  466

  4.2.1. Expressing “t
o Have” with yan  466

  4.2.2. yan in Locational Clauses  468

  5. Double Verb Sequences  470

  5.1. Aspectual Head Verbs in Double Verb Sequences  470

  5.2. Complement Constructions  472

  5.3. Coordinate and Subordinate Clauses  478

  6. Imperatives  481

  6.1. Positive Commands  481

  6.2. Negative Commands  485

  7. The Declarative Mode  487

  8. Summary of Changes in Syntax and Discourse Through Time  491

  Notes  492

  Appendix: Documentary Sources of Maya Clauses, Phrases, and Allusions   493

  References Cited  503

  Figures

  1-1. Towns Mentioned in Grammar.  5

  5-1. Chronicle of the Pox Family of Dzan.  86

  5-2. First Page of the Crónica de Mani.  88

  5-3. Aspects of Yucatec Maya.  103

  9-1. Hieroglyphic Spellings of Numbers Between “20” and “40” on Pages 26c-28c of the

  Dresden Codex.  235

  xv

  Tables

  5-1. Comparison of the Frequencies of the Use of of ti- and Ø- for Translating Spanish Preterite

  and Compound Indicative Subjunctive Verbs into Maya.  84

  7-1. Comparison of Inherited and Innovated Passives Derived from Transitive Roots in the

  Calepino de Motul.  143

  7-2. Passives of Laryngeal-Final Transitive Roots in the Calepino de Motul.  144

  7-3. Passives Based on Transitive Stems Derived from Monosyllabic Noun Roots in the

  Calepino de Motul.  160

  7-4. Passives Based on Transitive Stems Derived from Disyllabic Noun Roots with -t in the

  Calepino de Motul.  161

  7-5. Passives of Laryngeal-Medial Transitive Roots in the Calepino de Motul.  162

  8-1. Botanical Terms in the Hocaba Dialect of Modern Yucatec.  222

  12-1. Colonial Affect Verbs and Related Adjectives in the Calepino de Motul.  289

  12-2. Colonial Affect Verbs Marked by -ancil/-ancal in the Calepino de Motul.  297

  12-3. Affect Verbs and Related Adjectives in the Hocaba Dictionary.  301

  12-4. Colonial Affect Adjectives Marked by -nac in the Calepino de Motul.  307

  12-5. Compound Stems Based on Basic Color Terms in Early Colonial Dictionaries.  315

  12-6. Compound Stems Based on Basic Color Terms in Books of Chilam Balam and

  Ritual of Bacabs.  318

  12-7. Compound Stems Based on Basic Color Terms in the Hocaba Dialect of Modern Yucatec.  319

  13-1. Fully Reduplicated Adjectives Marked by -ci in the Calepino de Motul.  330

  13-2. Partially Reduplicated Adjectives Marked by -ci in the Calepino de Motul.  331

  13-3. Partially Reduplicated Adjectives Marked by -kil in the Hocaba Dictionary.  336

  13-4. Partially Reduplicated Adjectives Marked by -nac in the Calepino de Motul.  339

  13-5. Reduplicated Adjectives with -Vl- Infix in the Calepino de Motul.  342

  15-1. Documents Containing le, ley, or lei as Initial Deictics in the Titles of Ebtun.  408

  15-2. Documents Containing le, ley, or lei as Initial Deictics in the Documentos de Tekanto.  409

  16-1. Abbreviation Conventions.  423

  16-2. Comparison of the Aspectual Suffixes Associated with the Basic and Focused Word Orders

  for the Agents of Transitive Verbs.  433

  16-3. Aspectual Suffixes that Co-Occur with Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in the Basic Word Order

  Compared with Those Governed by Focused Adverbials.  440

  xvii

  Preface

  Although I was not aware of it at the time, this project had its early beginnings more than 40 years ago,

  when I spent the summer of 1971 in Yucatan with the goal of collecting oral histories of the Caste War of

  Yucatan (1847–1853) and its aftermath for a comparative study of revitalization movements in the Maya

  area. That study culminated in the publication of my second book, The Indian Christ, the Indian King: The

  Historical Substrate of Maya Myth and Ritual ten years later (Bricker 1981). As was customary then, shortly

  after arriving in Merida, I went to pay my respects to the leading scholar of the region, Don Alfredo Bar-

  rera Vásquez, who was then Director of the Instituto Yucateco de Antropología e Historia in the Palacio

  Cantón on the Paseo Montejo. After I had explained the research that I was hoping to carry out that sum-

  mer, he told me that the Biblioteca Crescencio Carrillo y Ancona, which at that time was housed in the

  Palacio Cantón, had about 200 letters from the Caste War, many of them written in Maya, and he asked

  me whether I would like to include them in my study. Of course, I said “yes.” And that opportunity not only

  enlarged the scope of the research I carried out during that summer, as well as in subsequent years, but

  also planted the seeds for the research that is described in this book.

  During the 1970s, the purely synchronic focus of the field of social anthropology in which I had been

  trained was gradually superceded by a more diachronic approach to ethnographic research, in which his-

  torical documents were employed for contextualizing the communities that were the object of study in

  time. Don Alfredo’s timely offer set me firmly on this path and alerted me to the possibility that such docu-

  ments could be used for contextualizing the language as well as the culture historically. So also did the

  holdings of such documents in the Latin American Library at Tulane University, where I spent my academic

  career, especially the Hacienda Tabi papers, the Crónica de Mani, and facsimile copies of the Xiu Chronicles

  and the testaments in the Libro de Cacalcħen (also known as the Libro de los Cocomes).

  Another influence on this work was the fact that I had originally been hired at Tulane to teach Anthro-

  pology 680 “Spoken Yucatecan Maya,” which I continued to do on a usually biennial schedule until I retired

  from teaching at the end of 2005. Therefore, although my initial research project after coming to Tulane

  was in sociocultural anthropology, the language of the people became another priority in my academic life.

  By the end of 1978, I had finished the book manuscript whose research had introduced me to Maya

  historical documents and had submitted it for publication. I was now ready to move in an entirely different

  direction.

  Although I had been teaching Yucatecan Maya for almost a decade with the assistance of Eleuterio

  Poʔot Yah, a native speaker of the language from the town of Hocaba, and had acquired some mastery

  over its grammar, I wanted to develop the kind of oral fluency that comes only from living in a community

  where the language is spoken on a daily basis. My first sabbatical, during the spring semester of 1979,

  provided me with the opportunity to carry out this goal. I chose for this purpose the town of Ebtun, situ-

  ated about four kilometers west of Valladolid in the center of the peninsula, because of the existence of a

  large corpus of Maya documents known as the Titles of Ebtun (Roys 1939), a collection encompassing 125

  documents, running from 1600 to 1833. I wanted to document the twentieth-century dialect of this town

  in order to compare it with what had been recorded in the Colonial documents, as a first step in the task of

  xix

  xx Preface

  identifying the grammatical changes that had taken place over time. In all, I spent three and a half months

  in Ebtun during that semester, living with a Maya midwife and local he
alth promoter, whose home served

  as a clinic for pregnant women who were usually accompanied by their husbands. Their conversations, as

  well as those of other people who dropped by for a visit, were instrumental in my acquisition of fluency in

  their language.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Several people have had a pivotal role in the design and execution of this study.

  The first was Don Alfredo Barrera Vásquez, who, as explained above, called my attention to letters and

  other documents penned by native speakers of the Maya language, making a historical grammar possi-

  ble. I am indebted to him for setting me on the path to explore the antecedents of the Modern Yucatecan