Full Description
Mayan civilization, renowned for its mathematics, writing, architecture, religion, calendrics, and agriculture, fascinates scholars and a wide lay public as archaeology and glyphic decipherment reveal more of its secrets. In this pathfinding study of the Mayan language family, John S. Robertson explores major changes that have occurred in the core of Mayan grammar from the earliest, reconstructed ancestral language down through the colonial languages to the modern languages that are spoken today.
Building on groundwork already laid in phonological studies and in the study of the pronominal system, Robertson's examination of tense/ aspect/ mood/voice is the next logical step in the general linguistic study of Mayan. Robertson offers careful consideration of all the major subgroups of Mayan, from Yucatecan to Quichean, as they are spoken today. He also draws extensively on colonial documents assembled by bilingual Spanish-Mayan speaking clerics. These documents provide a check on the accuracy of both the reconstructed ancient language, Common Mayan, and the theoretical evolution of the modern languages from this ancestor. The study will also be of value to students of the Maya glyphs, since it discusses the grammatical system that most probably underlies the glyphic representations.
Beyond its obvious interest for Mayan linguistics, the study proposes a theory of language change that will be important for all students of comparative linguistics. Robertson's work sets forth the basic, universal assumptions that provide for an appropriate description of the grammatical systems of all languages. It will be a significant reference for future researchers.
Contents
Abbreviations
Preface
Chapter 1. Introduction
The Comparative Historical Method and the Mayan Languages
Chapter 2. Deductive Principles of Language Change
The Peircian Notion of Sign
The Organization of Linguistic Signs into Grammatical Systems
Systems of Oppositions
Opposition and Classification
A Definition of Index, Icon, and Symbol
Conformative, Reciprocal, and Constructive in Grammatical Systems
Principles of Diachronic Change
Influence
Markedness Reversal
The Hierarchical Status of Syntagmatic Combination and Paradigmatic Cumulation
Introductive Change
Displacement
Summary
Chapter 3. The System of TAMV in the Common Language
Predicates and Arguments
Voice and Transitivity
Arguments of Predicates and Prepositions
Aspectual vs. Nonaspectual Predication
ERGATIVE and ABSOLUTIVE Pronouns
Split Ergativity
INHERENT vs. REDUCTIVE VOICE
OBJECT INCORPORATION
Substantival Transitivity
Substantival "Voice"
The Reconstruction of the Markers for Single and Double Arguments
The Four Major Prefixal Categories
COMPLETIVE/INCOMPLETIVE
The Relationship between COMPLETIVE Aspect and PAST Tense
OPTATIVE
FUTURE
TAMV in the Context of More than One Predication
The Category ABS-VOICE
The Category NOM-VOICE
The Category ABS-MOOD
The Category NOM-MOOD
The Relationship between NOM-VOICE and NOM-MOOD
Another Kind of Nominalization
The Relationship between NOM-VOICE (Progressive) and the INCOMPLETIVE
The Influence of NOM-MOOD on the FUTURE
Chapter 4. Mamean
Mam
COMPLETIVE
Influence of the PROGRESSIVE on the INCOMPLETIVE
Summary of Mam
Awakatek
The INCOMPLETIVE
Dependent and Independent Clauses in the PROXIMATE PAST
Influence of the INCOMPLETIVE by NOM-VOICE
Displacement of FUTURE by OPTATIVE
The Directional Verbs: ABS-MOOD and NOM-MOOD
Summary of Awakatek
Ixil
INCOMPLETIVE, COMPLETIVE, OPTATIVE, and FUTURE
Directional Verbs
Conclusion
Chapter 5. K'iche'an
K'iche'
Colonial K'iche': INCOMPLETIVE, OPTATIVE, and COMPLETIVE
Colonial K'iche' FUTURE
Modern K'iche'
COMPLETIVE, INCOMPLETIVE, OPTATIVE, and FUTURE
The Directional Verbs
Summary of Colonial K'iche'
Colonial Kaqchikel
COMPLETIVE, INCOMPLETIVE, OPTATIVE, and FUTURE
Summary of Kaqchikel
Tz'utujil
COMPLETIVE, INCOMPLETIVE, OPTATIVE, and FUTURE
Summary of Tz'utujil
Poqom
COMPLETIVE
FUTURE
Another INCOMPLETIVE
Modern Poqomchi'
Summary of Poqom
Q'eqchi'
INCOMPLETIVE and COMPLETIVE
OPTATIVE and FUTURE
From Colonial to Modern Q'eqchi'
COMPLETIVE, INCOMPLETIVE, OPTATIVE, and FUTURE
Summary of Q'eqchi'
Chapter 6. Q'anjob'alan
Q'anjob'al
COMPLETIVE and PROXIMATE PAST
INCOMPLETIVE
OPTATIVE and FUTURE
The Directional Verbs
Summary of Q'anjob'al
Jakaltek
COMPLETIVE and PROXIMATE PAST
FUTURE
Summary of Jakaltek
Chuj
COMPLETIVE and PROXIMATE PAST
INCOMPLETIVE
OPTATIVE
FUTURE
Summary of Chuj
Chapter 7. CholtÍ and Chorti'
CholtÍ
PROGRESSIVE, INCOMPLETIVE, and FUTURE
From CholtÍ to Chorti'
Loss of INCOMPLETIVE/COMPLETIVE/FUTURE
The Negative in Common Mayan, CholtÍ, and Chorti'
The Fate of the Common Mayan Suffixes *-ik, *-O, *-oq, and -A?
Summary of CholtÍ/Chorti'
Chapter 8. Tzeltalan
Pre-Tzeltalan COMPLETIVE and PROXIMATE PAST
Pronominal Affixation
The INCOMPLETIVE in Tzeltalan
The FUTURE and the OPTATIVE in Tzeltalan
From the Colonial to the Modern Tzeltalan Languages
From Colonial to Modern Tzeltal
COMPLETIVE/INCOMPLETIVE with TRANSITIVE/INTRANSITIVE
The Tzeltalan INCOMPLETIVE
Summary of Tzeltalan
Tojolab'al
Chapter 9. Yukatek Maya
Colonial Yukatekan
Voice: Replacement of NOMINATIVE VOICE by RELATIVE VOICE
Replacement of the INCOMPLETIVE by the NOMINATIVE VOICE
Colonial Yukatek Maya FUTURE
The COMPLETIVE in Colonial Yukatek Maya
From Colonial to Modern Yukatek Maya
Summary of Yukatek Maya
Chapter 10. Huastec
Summary of Huastec
Chapter 11. Summary
Chaining
Bibliography
Index
