Christopher Day 1973 The Jacaltec Language PDF

THE
JACA LT EC
LANGUAGE
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RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE LANGUAGE SCIENCES
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Thomas A. Sebeok Chairman
Andrew Vàzsonyi Associate Chairman, Publications

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Christopher Day
THE
JACALTEC
LANGUAGE
Published by
INDIANA UNIVERSITY, BLOOMINGTON
Mouton & Co., The Hague, The Netherlands

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INDIANA UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS
LANGUAGE SCIENCE MONOGRAPHS
Editor: C. F. Voegelin
Volume 12
Copyright © 1 9 7 3 by Indiana University
All rights reserved
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Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS 2
INTRODUCTION 3
¡.PHONOLOGY 9
1.1 Phonemes and Orthography 9
1.2 Allophonics of Segmental Phonemes 10
1.3 Allophonics of Suprasegmental Phonemes 12
1.4 Distribution of Segmental Phonemes 14
1.5 Canonical Forms of Roots 15
1.6 Morphophonemics 16
1.7 Distribution of Suprasegmental Phonemes 20
2. MORPHOLOGY 25
2.1 Roots and Stems 25
2.2 Stem Formative Suffixes 28
2.3 Inflectional Affixes 29
2.4 Derivational Affixes 41
2.5 Clitics 51
2.6 Numeral Formation 57
2.7 Numeral Classifiers 59
2.8 Some Irregular Verbs and Statives 61
3. SYNTAX 63
3.1 Simple Sentence 64
3.2 Noun Phrase 64
3.3 Verb Phrase 75
3.4 Adverb Phrase 81
3.5 Dependent Clause 84
3.6 Statal Clause 86
3.7 Complex Sentence 89
3.8 Conjoined Sentences 92

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3.9 Indefinite Pronoun 93
3.10 Indefinite Demonstrative 94
3.11 Modifier Verb 96
3.12 xin "then" 96
3.13 Compound Noun 97
3.14 Peripheral Sentence Constituents 103
APPENDIXES
1. Text 105
2. Noun Classifiers, Kin Terms, and Vocative Particles 125
3. Glossary 129

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The friendship and help of many people made possible the writing of this
grammar. Among them, special thanks go to the following: Professor Norman A.
McQuown, whose standards of rigor in the description and documentation of
language are the model, not always attained, for this work; the Maryknoll
Fathers in Guatemala, especially Fr. William Mullan, pastor of Jacaltenango,
whose generosity and friendship will always be warmly remembered; and Sr.
Antonio Feliciano Méndez, of whose rich language this work is only a static
shadow.

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THE
JACALTEC
LANGUAGE

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ABBREVIATIONS
Adj Adjective PMA Class A person marker

Adv Adverb PMB Class B person marker
AdvP Adverb phrase Pos Positional
BndAdv Bound adverbial Prct Proclitic
ComN Compound noun Pron Indefinite pronoun
ComS Complex sentence QedS Quoted sentence
Con Conjunction QingS Quoting sentence
ConNP Conjoined noun phrase RC Relative clause
ConS Conjoined sentence RefNP Reflexive noun phrase
Dem Demonstrative S Sentence
DepC Dependent clause SentCl Sentence clitic
DisStP Disjunct stative phrase StC Statal clause
Enct Enclitic SubC Subordinate clause
IV Intransitive verb SubCon Subordinating conjunction
ModV Modifier verb SV Stative verb
N Noun TV Transitive verb
NCI Noun classifier V Verb
NP Noun phrase VocP Vocative phrase
Num Numeral VocPt Vocative particle
NumCl Numeral classifier VP Verb phrase
Part Particle VStP Verbal stative phrase
PM Person marker

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INTRODUCTION
Location and Population

Jacaltec is a Mayan language spoken in a portion of the
northwestern slope of the Cuchumatanes mountains in the departa-
mento of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, and in a few nearby settle-
ments in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The dialect described here is
that of the town of Jacaltenango, Guatemala. The map on page 4
(fig. 1) shows the Jacaltec-speaking area of Guatemala.
Jacaltec is spoken in the following towns: 1 Jacaltenango, San
Marcos Huista, San Andrés Huista (all in the municipio of
Jacaltenango), Concepción, Petatán (both in the municipio of
Concepción), San Antonio Huista (a few speakers only), and Santa
Ana Huista (a few speakers only). In Chiapas Jacaltec is spoken, but
it is reportedly dying out in Guadalupe Victoria and Paso Hondo. In
each of these Guatemalan towns a somewhat different dialect of
Jacaltec is spoken. These dialects are mutually intelligible with no
difficulty, but they are easily distinguished by phonological, morpho-
logical, and lexical differences. The Mexican settlements speak a
subdialect of the Jacaltenango dialect.
Each Jacaltec-speaking town has several dependent settlements,
or aldeas (Jacaltec wayañb'al, literally "sleeping-place"). The people
of the aldeas usually speak the dialect of the town and consider
themselves members of the town society. Virtually all Jacaltec-
1. "Town" as used here is a Jacaltec designation, coiiob', and does not coincide with
the governmental designation of pueblo. In the list which follows, only Jacaltenango,
Concepción, San Antonio H., and Santa Ana H. are officially towns; they are seats of
municipios (roughly, counties) of the same names. The other Guatemalan settlements are
officially aldeas (roughly, "hamlets"), dependent on the town which is the seat of the
municipio. I do not know the exact location or the official status of the Mexican
settlements.

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Introduction 5
speaking dwellers in the aldeas of Jacaltenango have close family ties

in the t o w n and return to it now and then for Sunday markets, major
t o w n fiestas, and family fiestas of close town relatives. The principal
aldeas of Jacaltenango are Buxup (B'uxub'), Chejbal (Chehb'al), La
Laguna (Alaguna), Lupiná (Lupina'), Tzisbaj (Tzisb'aj), and
Inchewex (Yin Ch'ewex).
Population figures f r o m the 1964 national census for
Jacaltenango and Concepción, the two predominately Jacaltec
municipios, are: 2 habitually speak an indigenous language at home,
9,570 and 5,488; indigenous, 10,865 and 6,067; nonindigenous,
1,482 and 846; totals, 12,347 and 6,913. According to Jacaltecs,
probably between 500 and 1,000 Jacaltec speakers live in other
Guatemalan municipios, principally in Buena Vista, municipio of
Santa Ana Huista. Probably fewer than 1,000 live in the Mexican
settlements.
Neighboring Languages
The Jacaltec area is bordered on the south by Mam (dialects of
Todos Santos Cuchumatán and San Martin), and on the east and
northeast by Kanjobal (dialects of San Juan Ixcoy and San Miguel
Acatán). The northern and western parts of the area are bordered by
Spanish-speaking Ladino towns, coffee planations, and ranches. The
Jacaltec area includes many small settlements of Todos Santos Mam
and San Miguel Kanjobal speakers, who rent or sharecrop Jacaltec
land. T h e area is separated f r o m Chuj, a fairly closely related
language, only by a narrow band of Spanish- and Kanjobal-speaking
settlements to the north and northeast.
Jacaltec is closely related to its eastern neighbor, Kanjobal. It is
mutually intelligible with at least the San Miguel Acatán dialect.
Other works can be consulted f o r the position of Jacaltec within the
Mayan family as a whole. Jacaltec and Kanjobal, as a group, have
recently been classified by different writers as most closely related to
Chuj and to Motocintlec. 3
2. Information obtained from the Dirección General de Estadística, Guatemala City.
3. Norman A. McQuown reviews older classifications and proposes his own in "The
Classification of the Mayan Languages," International Journal of American Linguistics

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6 The Jacaltec Language
Data Sources
The data f o r this grammar were obtained in Jacaltenango f r o m

October 1964 to September 1965 and f r o m February to August
1968. 4 My collaborator-informant was Sr. A n t o n i o Feliciano
Méndez, a young Jacaltec man. He is fluent in Jacaltec and Spanish,
and literate in both. Data f r o m other informants were used
occasionally f o r checking.
The corpus f r o m which the grammar was written consists of (1)
nine stories and ethnographic texts of various lengths, tape-recorded,
transcribed, and translated by the informant; (2) a long recorded
conversation between the informant and a friend, also transcribed
and translated by the informant; (3) a slip-file Jacaltec-Spanish
lexicon of some eight thousand items prepared by the i n f o r m a n t ; and
(4) a slip-file of several thousand words, phrases, and sentences,
mostly elicited, but many suggested by the informant. Many items
f r o m this corpus appear as examples here, and one of the recorded
stories is given in Appendix 1.
Chapters 1 and 2 ( " P h o n o l o g y " and " M o r p h o l o g y " respec-
tively) were written entirely using material analyzed to some extent
in the field with the informant at hand. In Chapter 3 ( " S y n t a x " ) , the
following sections are bas ;d on material analyzed in the field with
the informant: 3.1-3.2.1, 3.2.3, 3.3-3.5, 3.7, and 3.9. T h e remaining
12:3:191-95 (1960). Two glottochronological treatments are: Morris Swadesh, "Inter-

relaciones de las lenguas mayanses," Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e
Historia 13:231-67 (1960); and Marvin K. Mayers, "Linguistic Comparisons," Languages of
Guatemala, Marvin K. Mayers (ed.) (The Hague: Mouton and Co., 1966), pp. 272-302. See
also Norman A. McQuown, "Los origines y la diferenciación de los mayas según se infiere
del estudio comparativo de las lenguas mayanas," and Terrence S. Kaufman, "Materiales
lingüísticos para el estudio de las relaciones internas y externas de la familia de idiomas
mayanos," (both in) Evon V. Vogt and Alberto Ruz L. (eds.), Desarrollo cultural de los
mayas (México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Seminario de Cultura Maya,
1964), pp.49-80, 81-136; Terrence Kaufman, "Some Recent Hypotheses on Mayan
Diversification," ("Language-Behavior Research Laboratory," Working Paper No. 26a;
Berkeley, 1969); and Terrence Kaufman, " T e c o - A New Mayan Language," International
Journal of American Linguistics 35:2:154-74 (1969).
4. The first field trip was supported in part by the American Council of Learned
Societies. The second was supported by National Science Foundation Grant number
GS-1941.

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Introduction 7
sections are based on material gleaned from the transcribed tape

recordings after leaving the field, checked and amplified by the
informant via correspondence.
Bibliography
Except for a few word lists, all phonologically inaccurate to some degree,
there are three published works on Jacaltec.
La Farge II, Oliver, and Douglas Byers. The Year Bearer's People. Tulane
University Middle American Research Series, no. 3. New Orleans: Tulane
University Press, 1931, pp. 247-329.
Church, Clarence and {Catherine. "Jacaltec Grammar." In Languages of

Guatemala, edited by Marvin K. Mayers. The Hague: Mouton and Co., 1966, pp.
206-18.
Church, Clarence and Katherine. "The Jacaltec Noun Phrase." In Mayan

Studies I, edited by Benjamin Elson. Summer Institute of Linguistics, Linguistics
Series, no. 5. Norman, Oklahoma: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1960, pp.
159-70.
Textual materials in the Concepción dialect of Jacaltec have been published

by the Instituto Lingüístico de Verano en Guatemala for the Panamerican union
and for an unidentified publisher. They are Bible translations and health
pamphlets, authored or edited by Mr. and Mrs. Dennis and Jean Stratmeyer. The
following, published in Spanish and English but otherwise the same, contains a
Concepción Jacaltec text with translation, as well as translations of others, by
the Stratmeyers.
Shaw, Mary ed. According to Our Ancestors: Folk Texts from Guatemala
and Honduras. Norman, Oklahoma: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1972.
Shaw, Mary, ed. Según Nuestros Antepasados: Textos Folklóricos de

Guatemala y Honduras. Guatemala City: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano en
Centro America, 1972.

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1
PHONOLOGY
1.1. Phonemes and orthography

The taxonomic phonemes of Jacaltec are shown in figure 2.
Their arrangement is according to position and manner of articu-
lation. The sounds b, d, g, and J occur only in Spanish loans and
correspond to Spanish b, d, g, and j.
Consonants Vowels
p t tz ch tx c i u
b' t' tz' ch' tx' c' k' e o
b d g a
f s X x
J j h
m n ii
Suprasegmentals
w y
Juncture + f #
Stress
Contour \ t
Fig. 2. Jacaltec phonemes
The orthography used here is nearly the same as that used by

Jacaltecs in writing their language. The Jacaltec alphabet is based on
Spanish orthography, including the use in Guatemala of x for the
alveopalatal fricative. It has some orthographic irregularities. The
phonemes c and c' are written qu and q'u before e and i. Initial '
(glottal stop) is not written. It occurs word-initial only before
vowels, and all words written with initial vowel are pronounced with

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Some phonological inaccuracies in writing suprasegmental
phonemes in this grammar are as follows. First, word divisions are
written according to Jacaltec usage. The juncture + always occurs
where space is written, but + also occurs within words, generally
before certain clitics. The positions of these unwritten junctures are
morphologically predictable and are noted in the appropriate
sections of the grammar. Second, stress is usually morphologically
predictable (see 1.7.2) and is written here only when it is lexically
determined. Third, contours are not distinguished from one another,
but the occurrence of any contour is written as punctuation or
simply the end of the utterance, where some contour always occurs.
The choice of punctuation has been made according to semantic, not
phonological, criteria. Fourth, contour is always accompanied by f
or # juncture, which is also not written then, f also occurs without
contour within sentences, and is then written.
1.2. Allophonics of segmental phonemes

This section describes allophonics before normal transition.
Segmental allophones before juncture are treated in 1.3.1. The
description is most easily organized in terms of columns and rows of
the chart in figure 2 (see p. 9).
1.2.1 Consonant allophonics
1.2.1.1. Position of articulation

p-column: bilabial (including 0- w is a nonsyllabic voiced
vocoid characterized by stronger lip-rounding and by vocoidal
quality higher and more back than the contiguous vowel.
t- and tz-columns: alveolar, with the apex of the tongue just
behind, but not touching, the teeth, and the blade of the tongue in
contact with the rest of the alveoles.
ch-column: palatalized, with the blade of the tongue against
the alveoles and alveolar ridge, y is a nonsyllabic voiced vocoid with
vocoidal quality higher and more front than the continguous vowel
and, if possible, less lip-rounding.
tx-column: retroflex, with the blade of the tongue against the
front of the hard palate.

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Phonology 11
c-column: made with the back of the tongue against the velum,
ii is markedly fronted, sometimes palatalized, before i, e, and a, and
is strongly labialized before o and u.
k'-column: made with the back of the tongue against the uvula.
' -column: ' is glottal stop, h is a nonsyllabic vocoid, voiceless
or with lenis voicing, usually somewhat more centralized than the
contiguous vowel or vowels. After the juncture + and before vowel, h
varies freely over a continuum from voiceless vocoid to a "zero"
allophone, where + is followed phonetically by the onset of the
vowel.
1.2.1.2. Manner of articulation

p-row: voiceless stops, except tz, ch, and tx, which are
affricates. All except' are usually aspirated in all positions.
b'-row: glottalized stops, except tz', ch', and tx', which are
affricates. All except b' and k' are exploded in all positions, b' and k'
are sometimes imploded or made with simultaneous glottal and oral
closure and no apparent implosion or explosion. They are always
exploded before juncture, and are imploded, exploded, or neither in
free variation in other environments, with the imploded allophones
more common, k' has an exploded affricated allophone before
another consonant in normal transition. The affricated allophone of
k' occurs in other positions as well, in free variation with those
already noted.
b-row: voiced stops after juncture and after homorganic nasals
and lateral; voiced fricatives in other environments.
f-row: voiceless fricatives, except h which has been described
above with the '-column, j tends to be lenis after + juncture and
between vowels.
m-row: nasal continuants.
w-row: frictionless nonsyllabic voiced vocoids. They have been
described under their respective columns.
1-row: voiced lateral continuant,
r-row: voiced alveolar flap.
1.2.2. Vowel allophonics

i and e are front vowels, a is central, and o and u are back, i and
u are high, e is low-mid, o is high-mid, and a is low. a, o, and u have

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somewhat fronted allophones when preceding or following conso-
nants in the ch-column. i, e, and a have somewhat backed allophones
when preceding or following consonants in the tx-column, the
k'-column, and w. Any vowel which is both immediately preceded
and followed by consonants made with glottal closure is pronounced
with marked glottal friction.
1.3. Allophonics of suprasegmental phonemes
1.3.1. Juncture allophonics

+, f , and # are signaled by modifications of the preceding
consonant or vowel, consisting of length, echo syllable, and lenis
offglide.
+ is marked by a slight lengthening of the preceding consonant
or vowel. It affects syllable division in the pair V+CV vs. VCV. In the
latter, but not in the former, the consonant is anticipated briefly
before the syllable boundary, although its articulation falls mostly in
the second syllable. Compare ha b'i your name and hab'il year. (Both
contrast with the cluster b'b' in t'eb'b'a make naked above the
waist.) In geminate clusters the consonant is fully articulated on both
sides of the syllable boundary, but usually not rearticulated.
f is signaled by marked lengthening of the preceding consonant
or vowel: tolobVxway n a j they say he slept.
# is marked by allophones which involve length, devoicing, lenis
offglide, and echo syllable. (1) and (2) (see the following two
paragraphs) are in free variation in environments where both occur,
and (3) is in complementary distribution with both. When the last
syllable is stressed, as is usual, all three allophones involve length on
the initial segment of the consonant or vowel allophone immediately
preceding the juncture. When the last syllable is unstressed, the
length feature falls on the previous stressed vowel. Compare t'ihan
really? and t'ihan really.
(1) After consonants other than h the final VC is followed by a
phonetic CV echo syllable which is lenis or trails off with a lenis
segment. The vocoid of the echo syllable is often more centralized
than the preceding vowel. After b' the echo syllable vocoid is

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Phonology 13
sometimes replaced by a voiceless m. After a glottalized consonant,
the contoid element of the echo syllable is often released with an
audible glottal stop.
(2) After all consonants except stops, affricates, and h, a lenis
and/or voiceless trailing off of the consonant, with no echo syllable, is
in free variation with (1).
(3) After vowels and h, a voiceless lenis trailing off of the final
vocoid. V # and V h # , as in na promise it! and hah house, are
distinguished in that the length feature of the former falls on the
voiced segment of the vowel allophone, and that of the latter falls on
the voiceless h.
1.3.2. Stress allophonics

One degree of nonweak stress is written here. However, it is
clear from work with the informant and from listening to tape-
recorded sentences and texts that several degrees should be distin-
guished. Because their distribution and function are poorly under-
stood, and because they proved difficult for the informant to
transcribe, no attempt is made here to describe them. (For the same
reasons, I have ignored distinctions in pitch here, although they are
clearly significant on stressed syllables.)
Stress on a syllable is marked by loudness and pitch higher than
that of contiguous nonstressed syllables. Pitch on a nonstressed
syllable is always lower than pitch on a contiguous stressed syllable.
Pitch over a string of nonstressed syllables glides downward, rising
sharply on the next stressed syllable if there is one.
1.3.3 Contour allophonics

Three contour phonemes, rising / , falling and level -»•, occur
always in conjunction with the junctures f and # . (The junctures,
however, also occur without contour). A contour always occurs at
the end of a normal utterance.
Rising and falling contours are marked phonetically by a rise or
fall in pitch on the last stressed syllable before f or # (most often the
immediately preceding syllable). Level contour is marked by level
pitch and extra length on the same syllable.

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1.4. Distribution of segmental phonemes

The cover symbols C, V, and J are used respectively for
consonant, vowel, and juncture. J also represents the onset of an
utterance.
1.4.1. Distribution of consonants

As already noted, b, d, g, and j occur only in Spanish loans, f
occurs in only two native roots, where the cluster 'f is an alternate
for b': la'fi have a supernatural experience (cf. lab' having a
supernatural experience), ca'fi day before yesterday (cf. cab'e day
after tomorrow).
All C occur in the environments JCV, VCV, VCCV, and VCJ,
with the exceptions that b, d, g, f, and j do not occur in VCJ, and h
does not occur as the second C in VCCV. Some consonant clusters in
VCCV are morphophonemically replaced by a single C (see 1.6).
Examples of b' is these positions are b'aj bone, lab'a snake, xib'te
frighten someone, wetb'i my companion, t'eb'b'a make naked above
the waist, and nab' rain.
All consonant clusters which occur in the local dialect of
Spanish are borrowed into Jacaltec, and are not enumerated here.
Spanish nonsyllabic vocoids are borrowed as y and w, and often
occur in consonant clusters: Dyos God (Spanish Dios), Consepsyón
(name of town; Spanish Consepción), twáya towel (Spanish toalla).
All nonloan JCC clusters begin with one of the sibilants s, x, or
x. Any consonant may occur as the second member, except that s'-
and x'- have not been noted: sti' naj his mouth, xto naj he goes, xto
naj he went, x'ahaw moon.
JCCC clusters are of two types: (1) Spanish loans with JCC
preceded by the third person possessor prefix s-: stwáya naj his
towel, and (2) transitive verbs with an unreduced pair of sibilant
prefixes (reduction is optional, see 1.6.2): xsmak' naj he hit
something.
1.4.2. Distribution of vowels

All vowels occur in the environments CVC, CVJ, and CVVC:
Xap Sebastián, ta i f , yitail its food, c'oan on all fours, xloot it was
eaten, launa one o'clock. A few vowels have been noted in CVVJ,
where the second V is a suffix: xui it happened.

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Phonology 15
1.5. Canonical forms of roots
Most native roots have the canonical forms CV or CVC.
Canonical forms are distributed among root classes as follows.
Intransitive verbs before contour always have a suffix. The
examples below have the stem formative -i (after C) — y i (after V,
except that hu happen takes -i and xi say occurs without the stem
formative). Three intransitive verb roots are CV: toyi go, hui happen,
xi say. Most are CVC: wayi sleep, ok'i cry (with unwritten initial ')•
A few roots are CVCV, CVCC, and CVCCV: tzacoyi itch, tx'ixwi be
ashamed, meltzoyi return.
Most transitive verb roots are CV or CVC. The latter must take
a suffix when before contour, for example, a vowel stem formative:
cha find, tz'unu plant, ila see. The final C in CVC is ' in only two
verbs which have peculiar functions and morphophonemics: a'a give,
put and i'a take, receive, carry. Some transitive verbs are CVCCV:
tzumpe pursue, hunt, meltzo turn over.
Most noun and adjective roots are CVC. Many, especially nouns,
are CVCV and CVCVC: cheh horse, caj red, hot, tzima gourd bowl,
xaxo thin (of flat thing), winaj man, tohol straight. Examples of
some rarer forms are: x'ahaw moon, ak'b'al night, nahat ~ nahata
distant.
All positional roots are CV or CVC; the second C is never '.
Examples are shown with the stem formative -an: waan upright,
tz'oiian sitting.
Numeral roots are CV, CVC, and CVCVC. All those with CV
base forms have CVC alternates before certain suffixes. Examples are
shown with motx basket, basketful, ca motx two basketfuls, ox motx
three basketfuls, waxaj motx eight basketfuls.
Nearly all adverb roots are CVC: pet right away. Other shapes
are illustrated by ewi yesterday, hecal tomorrow.
All onomatopoeic roots are CVC: xhawoni it barked repeatedly
(from haw sound of a bark).
Most particle and conjunction roots are CV or CVC: ta i f , mat
not. Examples of other forms are etza almost, chub'il that. Various
longer forms are also found: yaxcami because, waxamcami although.

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1.6. Morphophonemics
This section deals with morphophonemic changes which apply
to classes of morphemes, either phonologically or morphologically
defined, and not with alternations which apply only to single
morphemes. The latter are described with the appropriate mor-
phemes in Chapters 2 and 3.
1.6.1. Loss of f i n a l ' and j

When ' occurs before open juncture it is optionally lost: hune'
naj, hune naj a man; te' te', te te' the tree.
j before any juncture is optionally lost: naj winaj, na winaj, na
wina the man.
1.6.2. Sibilant and affricate clusters

Initial sibilant and affricate clusters. Initial clusters of two or
three sibilants (s, x, x) or one or two sibilants followed by an
affricate (tz, ch, tx, tz', ch', tx') often occur. The morphemes
involved are x- past, x- nonpast, s- third person verb subject or noun
possessor, and any stem with an initial sibilant or affricate. The order
of occurrence is tense-person-stem.
These clusters optionally, but usually, undergo a cyclic series of
regressive assimilations as to position of articulation and, in the case
of sibilant clusters, reduction. (1) The next-to-last sibilant may take
on the position of articulation of the last sibilant or affricate (e.g.,
x s x - > xxx-, sch-> xch-). (2) If the last consonant is a sibilant, the
resulting geminate cluster may be reduced (e.g., xxx- > xx-). (3) If
the original cluster had three consonants, steps 1 and 2 reapply to
the remaining two-consonant cluster (e.g., x x - > x x - > x-). Homoph-
ony often results, as when xs- past-third person and xs- nonpast-third
person both reduce to s-.
ssat, sat its face
scheh, xcheh its horse
stx'otx', xtx'otx' its dirt
sxic', xxic', xic' its wing
xstomo, sstomo, stomo it cuts something
xstomo, sstomo, stomo it cut something
xsxub'iie, xxub'iie, xxub'iie, xub'iie it whistles at something

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Phonology 17
Sibilant and affricate reduction across juncture. Similarly to the

initial clusters just described, morphophonemic change takes place
when sibilants and affricates are separated by + juncture in compound
nouns and after mach not, there is not. These alternations are
mandatory. The clusters noted all have ch as the first consonant, but
the process probably applies to other consonants as well. The cluster
is reduced to a single affricate with the position and manner of
articulation of the second consonant. The juncture is lost,
mach swalil > matzwalil he has no character
yich tzow > yitzow Under the amate tree (place name)
mach stomo > matztomo it doesn't cut something
mach xub'iie> matxub'rie it doesn't whistle at something
mach ch'ok'i > mach'ok'i it doesn't cry
1.6.3. C-h cluster reduction

h is optionally, but usually, lost in the environment JCh, where
C is always a sibilant: sho', so' fifth. In noninitial C-h clusters, h is
always lost: x-hitx'-h-oni > xhitx'oni, xitx'oni it made the noise of
wind blowing in the trees, how-h-on-an > howonah bark!
1.6.4. Geminate cluster reduction

Some intervocalic geminate clusters are reduced. The conditions
for reduction are not understood; all available examples are given
below. On the other hand, the unreduced clusters b'b', nn, nn, and 11
occur in the corpus,
tzet-taj > tzetaj what? (plural)
i'-'-on-aii > i'onah stutter!
x-sis-s-oni > xsisoni it hissed
1.6.5. Affricate-'clusters
The cluster ch-' is always replaced by the single sound ch'. It
seems probably that other affricate-' clusters reduce in the same way,
but no examples have been found,
x-'uch-'-oni > x'uch'oni it churned
ch-'il-ot > ch'ilot it is seen
1.6.6. Assimilation of n
n takes on the position of articulation of a following bilabial or

Authenticated
velar stop, i.e., it alternates with m and ñ. In some cases, under

conditions not understood, the assimilation is optional,
ten-b'a > tenb'a, temb'a pile up something!
k'an-b'e > k'amb'e ask something!
hun-c'al > huñc'al twenty
n is also assimilated across + juncture, but always optionally:
xcan+canoj, xcañ+canoj it remained once and for all.
1.6.7. o in suffixes and clitics

In any suffix or postposed clitic with the vowel o, o > u when
the preceding vowel is u. The change is optional, but usual. Related
to this is the fact that there are no suffixes or clitics whose base
forms have u.
chin hul-oj > chin huluj I will arrive
tzujl-ob'al > tzujlob'al, tzujlub'al instrument for lighting fire
ñus+toj > nus+tuj bum it up! (toj is a clitic)
1.6.8. The morphophoneme H

One set of person-marking prefixes (2.3.1) has two sets of
allomorphs: one which occurs with '-initial stems and one which
occurs before other stems. However, a few h-initial stems take the
pre-' set of prefixes. We distinguish these stems from other h-initial
stems by writing them with H. Thus, all' and H-initial stems take one
set of prefixes, and all other stems—including h-initial—take the other
set. Contrast the homophonic pairs hak'b'al candle and Hak'b'al
flower, and hala braid something and Hala say something.
hin hak'b'al my candle
wakVal my flower
lañan hin halni I'm braiding something
lañan walni I'm saying something
1.6.9. Suffix-initial h
Some suffixes and clitics of the form -V and -VC are optionally,
especially in careful speech, preceded by h when they follow a vowel,
xmunla-oj naj > xmunlaoj naj, he will work
xmunlahoj naj
co sinta-an > co sihtaan, co sintahan our ribbon
In contrast, some suffixes never take h after a vowel-final stem:
xcha-ot naj > xchaot naj he was found.

Authenticated
Phonology 19
1.6.10. Root alternates
The final consonant of many roots with a CVC base form or
alternate varies among some selection of ', b', h, w, y, and zero when
the root takes a derivational suffix or occurs in a particular
construction. (The suffixes are often nonproductive, and often not
truly analyzable as suffixes.) For the only regular conditioning
process for such alternations, see the listings for the intransitive verb
suffix -0 (2.4.1) and the transitive verb suffix -e (2.4.2).
ya' painful
yab'-il sickness
yaw-ub' sick person
sab' early
sah-c'ayi tomorrow morning
b'eh trail (noun)
b'ey-tze accompany someone
xaw vomit (noun)
xay-e vomit on something
xab'-0-i vomit (intransitive verb)
ca etx'an two pinches (of something)
cab'-laiieb' twelve
cay-el twice
Two roots show alternation between b' and 'f. In lab' to have a
supernatural experience b ' is replaced by 'f whenever a -V or -VC
suffix follows: xla'fi naj he had a supernatural experience. The root
for two cab' ~ ca, takes the alternate only in ca'fi two days ago.
The only two transitive verbs having base forms with final ', i'a
take, receive, carry something a n d a'a put, give something, lose t h e '
when followed by any clitic, whether in normal transition or across
open juncture.
al+toj put something down there! (-1
down, toj there)
a+toj put something there!
ic+tij carry something in here (-c in, tij
here)
A few CVC words with final h optionally lose it: hah double
armspan, h u h by someone, h e h all right.
Other miscellaneous examples of root alternation follow,
k'a' heat, fire
s-k'ak'-al its temperature

Authenticated
co, cu (free variation) our, we (person marker)

hun-e', hon-e' (free variation) a, one
hun-ec, hon-ec (free variation) once
caw, co (free variation) very
Numeral root alternates in forms for days ago and days from
now are given in 2.4.6.
1.7. Distribution of suprasegmental phonemes
1.7.1. Juncture distribution

Each word is bounded by junctures, which are written here as
space, end of utterance, punctuation, or f . (See 1.1.) However, many
postposed clitics and some suffixes are phonologically separated
from the rest of the word by open juncture + which is never
indicated in writing by Jacaltecs. In the following examples, they are
shown by " + " .
xin tir+toj pelota I threw the ball there
xstir+pax+toj naj pelota he threw the ball there too
The juncture f sets off some major constituents from the
remainder of the sentence, and its occurrence is stated in Chapter 3
with the description of the appropriate syntactic units. Its occur-
rence with some constituents is optional. The more important the
syntactic separation, the more likely that it will be marked by f . At
some syntactic breaks f is accompanied by a contour (see 1.7.3).
xto najfmay, xto naj may he went (f ) this morning
ha' naj^xto^may, ha' najfxto may it is he f who went ( f ) this morning
# accompanied by a contour occurs at the end of each normal
sentence and utterance. # optionally replaces f , with or without a
contour, within sentences and indicates a paralinguistic break. Drawl
or some other paralinguistic marker usually accompanies it. This
usage of # is well-illustrated in the text in Appendix 1.
1.7.2. Stress distribution

Stress occurs (1) obligatorily on the first syllable of most stems
(for " s t e m , " see 2.1), (2) on the syllable before a contour except in
emphatic sentences and yes-no questions, and (3) on a lexically
determined syllable of some polysyllabic loans. These are termed
respectively stem-initial stress, precontour stress, and lexical stress.

Authenticated
Phonology 21
1.7.2.1. Stem-initial stress

Stress occurs on the first syllable of each stem in an utterance,
including monosyllabic stems, except that most particles (a stem
class) are not stressed: ch'ocojtoj hin mamfb'oj wuxtajan my father
and my brother will go in there (b'oj and is an unstressed particle;
hin ~ w- my is a person-marker prefix).
1.7.2.2. Precontour stress

Sentences which lack precontour stress (stress on the last
syllable before the final # -contour combination) are emphatic or are
yes-no questions. Other sentences take precontour stress. (In some of
the examples below tu' that is a particle which does not take
stem-initial stress but which can take precontour stress.)
xto no' wacax tu' that cow went
xto no' wacax tu' did that cow go? / that cow went!
chach to coiiob' you're going to town
chach to coiiob' are you going to town? / you're
going to town!
wa an eat!
wa'aii eat!!
b'ay tu' cach wa'i where did you eat?
b'ay tu' cach wa'i where did you eat?!
In three contexts the difference between the presence and
absence of stress on a precontour syllable is neutralized. If the
precontour syllable is also one which takes stem-initial stress (i.e., is a
monosyllabic nonparticle stem with no suffix or postposed clitic), it
is always stressed: cach to may you went this morning./?/! Cf. cach
to ewi'you went yesterday, cach to ewi you went yesterday?/! The
other two contexts involve the presence of lexical stress and are
described in 1.7.2.3.
1.7.2.3. Lexical stress

Sometimes stress is lexically part of the stem and cannot be
predicted from any other criteria. Two kinds of stems have lexical
stress.
Most particles are unstressed unless they take precontour stress.
A few, however, are lexically stressed. Some are to it's the case that,
xin then (Spanish pues), and the negative particles mat and mach

Authenticated
not. Stress on the negative particle is optional; the others are always
stressed.
ta to chin t o y i , . . . if it's the case that I go. . .
xcam xin no' cheh the horse died, then
mat chehoj no' ~ mat chehoj no' it's not a horse
Second, lexical stress occurs with many polysyllabic loans; it
corresponds to stress in the source language. When a stem has lexical
stress on a nonfinal syllable, and has no suffix or postposed clitic, it
never takes precontour stress. If the stem is suffixed or has a
postposed clitic, precontour stress can occur as for native stems. The
initial syllable takes stem-initial stress, as for any other stem,
escalera ladder./?/!
ha wescalera tu' that ladder of yours
escaleraiie make it into a ladder!
escalerane make it into a ladder!!
When lexical stress falls on the initial syllable of a stem it is
phonologically indistinguishable from stem-initial stress. Its presence
can be known only by the fact that the final syllable never takes
precontour stress, as just described.
xto anma the people went./?/!
hin sinta my ribbon./?/!
sintae ribbon
When a stem without suffix or postposed clitic has lexical stress
on the final syllable and occurs before contour, the syllable is always
stressed.
hune'lugar a place./?/!
hune' lugar tu' that place
As indicated by the examples above, the semantic distinction
between the presence and absence of precontour stress is neutralized
for stems with lexical stress, unless they take a suffix or postposed
clitic.
1.7.3. Contour distribution

The contours \ , / , and -» occur only with one of the junctures f
and #. A contour always accompanies # at the end of a sentence or
utterance. A contour accompanies f within sentences—the combi-
nation being written as comma—at certain kinds of syntactic breaks,
for instance, after a disjunct noun phrase (first example below) and

Authenticated
Phonology 23
between conjoined sentences (second example). The distribution of
^-contour combinations is stated in Chapter 3 with the descriptions
of the sentence constituents with which they occur,
hune' nâj tu', xtô nâj that man, he went
xtô nâj, xmûnla nâj he went and he worked

Authenticated
Authenticated
2
MORPHOLOGY
2.1. Roots and stems

Jacaltec morphemes are divided into three major types: roots,
clitics, and affixes. A stem may consist of a root, a root with one or
more derivational affixes, a root or derived stem with a stem
formative suffix, or a compound formed from these. Most stems may
take inflectional prefixes and suffixes. Stems and inflected stems
may be accompanied by clitics.
With one exception, each root class is matched by a stem class.
(The exception, onomatopoetic roots, is discussed in 2.1.1, below.)
The members of these root classes may occur without derivation as
stems of the corresponding class, sometimes with a semantically
empty stem formative suffix. The reverse is not true: there are stem
classes which are not matched by single root classes.
The major stem classes and their subclasses are verbs (transitive,
intransitive), statives (nouns, numerals, adjectives, positionals, ad-
verbs), bound adverbials, numeral classifiers (object, quantity, and
action numeral classifiers), and particles (many subclasses). The
classes and subclasses of verbs, statives, and particles are matched by
root classes and subclasses. Bound adverbials and numeral classifiers,
on the other hand, are almost always derived or recruited from other
stem classes.
For canonical forms of root classes, see 1.5.
Many positional roots (there are no derived positional stems)
are also transitive verb roots: pak'an flat-sided (positional), pak'a
make something flat-sided (transitive verb; -an and -a are stem
formatives). A few stems are both intransitive and transitive verbs; all
are stems derived by nonproductive suffixes or having a final -CV
which bespeaks a former suffix no longer analyzable as such, (-yi
with intransitive verbs in the examples below is a stem formative.)
25

Authenticated
pohcha multiply something

pohchayi be multiplied
tzilmo tear something
tzilmoyi tear
pitzc'a wake someone up
pitzc'ayi wake up, be born
A few roots are both noun and adjective.
b'aj bone; skinny (person or animal)
tz'il filth; dirty
Otherwise, virtually all verb, stative, and particle stems belong
to only one subclass. On the other hand, there are many sets of
obviously related stems which cannot be said to be derived from one
another and are treated as distinct roots here. For instance, compare
wayi sleep (intransitive verb with stem formative -i), wayan dream
(noun), and wayic sleep (noun), -ah is not a suffix which occurs
elsewhere in the language, -ic has been found only with tz'ayic day,
sun, related to tz'a'i burn, and tz'ulic little, related to tz'ul
youngster.
2.1.1. Onomatopoetic roots

Onomatopoetic roots are the only root class not matched by a
stem class. They occur only in derived verb and bound adverbial
stems. They are often members of more than one root class and
often, but not always, keep their onomatopoetic connotations,
pak'layi make a slapping noise (intransitive
verb derived from onomatopoetic
root)
pak'a slap something, making noise
"pak' "; make something flat-sided
(transitive verb root)
pak'an flat-sided (positional root)
Onomatopoetic roots usually represent sounds, but sometimes
they represent motions, textures, and other things; melnayi go by
rapidly, from mel rapid passing motion.
2.1.2. Verbs
Transitive and intransitive verbs (TV and IV) typically occur
with a tense-person prefix in the verb phrase of sentences. IV take

Authenticated
Morphology 27
one person marker prefix, as subject: c[ach] wayi [you] slept (cach
is the "prefix"). 1 TV may take subject and object person marker
prefixes: c[ach] i [hin] 2 mak'an [I]2 hit (past) [you]] (cach hin is
the "prefix").
Although an object person marker is optional with TV, the
stems always carry the connotation of both an actor and a goal. This
is true whether TV is used as active verb (where only the actor need
be expressed), passive verb (where only the goal need be expressed),
or participle (where neither need be expressed). For this reason, TV
are usually glossed with ". . . (by) something" or " . . . (by)
someone." The abbreviations s.th. and s.o. are often used,
cach mak'a you hit s.th.
cach mak'ot you were hit by s.th.
mak'b'il hit (s.th. by s. th.)
2.1.3. Statives
Statives typically occur in noun and adverb phrases and as
stative verb complements. The examples below show the latter use.
[anma] on we are [people]
[ox] wanofi we are [three]
[al]ach you are [heavy]
[tz'oiian] ach you are [seated] (positional)
[x'ahawil] ha weyi you are a servant; lit. you are (paid)
[by the month]
Adjectives and positionals occur only as stative verb comple-
ments and in compound nouns, both productively and non-
productively derived. For example, q'uej'ih cheh black horse in the
examples below is treated here as a productively derived compound
noun. Some typical uses of statives in noun and adverb phrases
follow.
no' hin [cheh] my [horse]
no [ox] c'oii hin cheh my [three] horses
no' [q'uej'in] cheh the [black] horse
1. What are called prefixes here are sometimes separated from the prefixed word
phonologically and in Jacaltec writing. In nearly all cases, whether the prefix is a separate
word or not is a matter of conditioned allomorphic variation. Cf. the prefix hin ~ w- my in
hin mam my father and wuxtaj my brother.
Square brackets show corresponding parts of Jacaltec examples and English
translations.

Authenticated
te' te' f [pak'an] yeyi the stick which is [flat-sided]

chach way [hecal] youH sleep [tomorrow]
2.1.4. Bound adverbials

Bound adverbials are a class of stems, usually with adverbial
meanings, which follow verbs in verb phrases. Most are derived from
verb, positional, or onomatopoetic stems.
x'ay [pak'la] te' te' the tree fell [flatly]
ayafi [hilnoj] lie down!; lit. go down [lying]!
2.1.5. Numeral classifiers

Numeral classifiers occur after numerals in noun phrases. Most
are recruited from verb, positional, and noun stems,
ox pak' three slaps
ox pilan si' three cylindrical pieces of firewood
ox chehal si' three horseloads of firewood
In the following sections, each affix and clitic is assigned a

three-place number for reference.
2.2. Stem formative suffixes

- i — y i (101) IV stem formative, -yi occurs only after V; -i
occurs only after C. The suffix occurs on IV and pseudointransitive
TV (TV with -n [ 5 0 1 ] ) stems which lack inflectional suffixes or
postposed clitics, on some bound adverbials, and on the copula -eyi
(with root -e). It always occurs on these stems when they
immediately precede a contour. In other environments it is found
only on stems which terminate in a CC cluster or C followed by the
IV derivational suffix -0 (505).
chach wayi you sleep
cf. chach way hecal you'll sleep tomorrow
cf. chach wayoj you will sleep
chach chaloyi you are found
lañan smak'ni naj he is hitting s.th.
x'alb'i naj he got heavy
xtz'oñ-0-i naj he sat down
pilan yeyi it is cylindrical
cf. pilan ye te' te' the stick is cylindrical
a o ~ -u (102) TV stem formative occurs only on TV roots
of the form CVC, and occurs only before contour in the absence of

Authenticated
Morphology 29
an inflectional suffix or postposed clitic, -o and -u occur when the

preceding root vowel is o and u respectively, -a occurs when the root
vowel is i, e, or a.
xa b'ik'a you swallowed s.th.
cf. xa b'ik' ewi you swallowed s.th. yesterday
cf. xb'ik'ot s.th. was swallowed
b'ik'a swallow s.th.!
cf. b'ik' ha' ha' swallow the water!
xa lek'a you licked s.th.
xa mak'a you hit s.th.
xa potx'o you killed s.th.
xa tz'unu you planted s.th.
-an (103) positional stem formative occurs on positional stems
(which are always roots) in all environments except when the
reduplicative distributive plural suffix (407) occurs,
pilan yeyi it is cylindrical
cf. pilpil yeyi each is cylindrical
tz'oiianach you are seated
-a (104) stem formative occurs on three irregular roots. The IV
tita come (last example below) does not take the IV stem formative
(101).
maca who?, someone
cf. mac winajil who is that man?
hune' naj f [aya] it's a man that [is there]
cf. [ay] hune' naj [there's] a man
cach tita you came
cf. cach tit ewi you came yesterday
2.3. Inflectional affixes

Inflectional affixes are described in the following order: (1)
person markers, used with verbs and statives, (2) verb tense and
aspect markers, (3) the verb future suffix, (4) verb imperative and
exhortative suffixes, and (5) stative inflectional suffixes. Indicative
verbs take a prefix consisting of a tense or aspect marker and one or
two person markers. The structure of the resulting "tense-person
prefix" is described with the second item in the above list.
2.3.1. Person markers

Person markers (PM) are used with verb and most stative stems.

Authenticated
30 The Ja calte c Language
They occur pre- or postposed to these stems, with several functions.

Placement of PM is described at the end of this section.
There are two classes of PM, labeled PMA and PMB. PMA are
always prefixed to the stem, and serve as TV subject, IV subject in
some constructions, noun possessor, and prefixed to the copula -eyi
as stative verb subject. PMB are prefixed or suffixed, and are used as
IV subject, TV object, and subject of stative verbs without the
copula.
PMA have two sets of allomorphs. The examples show PMA as
noun possessor, with oje foot and b'i name.
Seti
Is (201) woj my foot
2s (202) ha woj your foot
3s/p (203) yoj its foot, their feet
IP (204) j°j our feet
2p (205) he yoj you-all's feet
Set 2
Is (201) hin b'i my name
2s (202) ha b'i your name
3s/p (203) sb'i its name, their names
IP (204) co b'i our names
2p (205) he b'i you-all's names
Morphophonemics: (1) Set 1 allomorphs occur with '- or
H-initial stems. (For the morphophoneme H see 1.6.8.) The initial '
or H is lost after the PM. (Initial ' is not written in any case, so
orthographically it is not "lost".) Set 2 allomorphs are used before
all other consonants. (2) Initial h of all PMA is lost after a consonant
in normal transition.
ch[aw]ila [you] see s.th.
x[in] tz'unu [I] planted s.th.
lanan [s] way naj [he] is sleeping
PMB are as follows. The examples show PMB as stative verb
subject.
1s (206) hin yahaw I am its owner
2s (207) hach yahaw you are its owner
3s/p (208) 0 yahaw it is its owner, they are
its owners

Authenticated
Morphology 31
IP (209) hoii yahaw we are its owners

2P (210) hex yahaw you-all are its owners
Morphophonemics: As for PMA, initial h is lost after conso-

nants in normal transition.
winaj [ach] [you] are a man
c[ach] wayi [you] slept
qu [in] ha wilan you saw [me]
PMA always immediately precedes the stem. PMB occurs either
before or after the stem, as follows.
1. When a tense or aspect marker occurs with a verb, PMB
follows the tense or aspect marker: c[ach] wayi [you] slept. (See
2.3.2.1 for the structure of the tense-person verb prefix.)
2. When both PMA and PMB occur with a verb or stative, they
occur in the order PMB-PMA-stem.
c[oii] i [y] 2il naj [he] 2 saw [us] 1
x[-0-] 1 [j] 211 naJ t w e ] 2 sa w [him] 1
[hach] j [y] 2ixal naj [you] 1 are [his] 2 wife
3. When neither tense, aspect, or PMA occur, PMB is suffixed
to the stem or to the stem already inflected by other suffixes.
winaj [ach] [you] are a man
way [on] let['s] sleep!
2.3.2. Transitive and intransitive verb inflection
2 . 3 . 2 . 1 . Tense and aspect markers; tense-person prefix

Tense markers are as follows:
ch- (~x- ~ chi- ~ 0) (301) nonpast
x- (~xma-~ma-~0) (302) past
c- (303) past
[ch] a wila you see s.th.
[x] a wila you saw s.th.
[c] ach wilan~[x] [c] ach wilan I saw you
The nonpast prefix ch- is interpreted as present tense unless
context indicates a future meaning. Such a context may be the verb
future suffix (307) or an adverb like hecal tomorrow.
The aspect markers are particles which occur preposed to verbs
which lack a tense prefix.

Authenticated
lañan (304) continuative

cat (305) postsequentive
lahwi (306) presequentive
The aspect particles function much like the tense prefixes, but
differ in several ways. (1) Verbs with aspect markers are negated
differently than verbs with tense prefixes (see 3.3.3). (2) TV with
aspect markers require the pseudointransitive suffix -n (501 in 2.4.1).
(3) IV with aspect markers take PMA subject prefixes rather than
PMB. (4) cat and lahwi occur only in sentences conjoined to other
sentences (see 3.8).
lañan yilni naj he is watching s.th.
lañan sway naj he is sleeping
xul naj, cat yilni naj he arrived, then he saw s.th.
lahwi yilni naj, xul naj after he saw s.th., he arrived
lañan is related to the positional lañan long and flexible, lahwi is
also an IV stem finish, cat may be related to the suppletive command
for tita come: cata come\
The tactics of tense and aspect markers and their complicated
morphophonemics can only be described in the context of the
tense-person prefix. The description of the prefix which follows is in
terms of independent active IV and TV. In some other verb forms
(e.g., verbs in dependent clauses and TV passives) the functions and
occurrences of elements are different, but the same ordering and
morphophonemics apply. These other usages are described in the
appropriate sections.
Proclitics (2.5.2) sometimes occur within the tense-person
prefix. The prefix is first described without proclitics (immediately
below), then with them. The tense prefix allomorphs chi- and 0
nonpast and xma-, ma-, and 0 past are used only when proclitics are
present.
For both IV and TV, the tense-person prefix has the following
form, although not necessarily all of the elements shown. Positions
are numbered for reference. The missing numbers are for positions
where proclitics may occur. Paradigms are given as examples later in
this section.

Authenticated
Morphology 33
1 3 4 6
x- past c- past
ch- nonpast
lañan confirmative PMB PMA
cat postsequentive
lahwi presequentive
Position 6: PMA marks TV subject, and IV subject after one of
the aspect particles.
Position 4: PMB marks TV object, and IV subject in the past or
non-past tense.
Position 3: c- (written qu- before i and e) marks the past tense
if PMB occurs and is not 0 3s/p.
Position 1: the marker for any tense or aspect occurs here. If
past is marked by c- in position 3, then x- is optional (and
redundant), yielding x c — c- past. Initial h of any PM and the PMA
y- 3s/p are lost when either ch- nonpast or x- past immediately
precedes them.
Nonpast has two allomorphs, ch- and x-. ch- occurs only before
h and y, which are then lost, and before stem-initial (and unwritten)
', yielding ch' as per 1.6.5. x- occurs before all other consonants.
(Intervening 0 3s/p has no phonological effect in this or any other
statement.)
Note that the description of assimilation and reduction of
sibilant and affricate clusters, 1.6.2, applies to x- and x-.
Some verb paradigms illustrating the tense-person prefix and its
morphophonemics follow. Examples with cat and lahwi are not
given; they behave like those with lañan.
IV, nonpast, non-'-initial stem; positions 1 and 4 filled,
ch-hin wayi chin wayi I sleep
ch-hach wayi chach wayi you sleep
ch-0 way naj xway naj he sleeps
ch-hoñ wayi choñ wayi we sleep
ch-hex wayi chex wayi you-all sleep
IV, past, non-'-initial stem; positions 1, 3, and 4 filled.
(x-)qu-hin wayi (x)quin wayi I slept
(x-)c-hach wayi (x)cach wayi you slept
x-0 way naj xway naj he slept

Authenticated
(x-)c-hoñ wayi (x)coñ wayi we slept

(x-)qu-hex wayi (x)quex wayi you-all slept
IV, continuative, non-'-initial stem; positions 1 and 6 filled,
lañan hin wayi lañan hin wayi I'm sleeping
lañan ha wayi lañan ha wayi you're sleeping
lañan s-way naj lañan sway naj he's sleeping
lañan co wayi lañan co wayi we're sleeping
lañan he wayi lañan he wayi you-all're sleeping
IV, nonpast, '-initial stem; positions 1 and 4 filled,
ch-hin ok'i chin ok'i I cry
ch-hach ok'i chach ok'i you cry
ch-0 ok' naj ch'ok' naj he cries
ch-hoñ ok'i choñ ok'i we cry
ch-hex ok'i chex ok'i you-all cry
IV, past, '-initial stem; positions 1, 3, and 4 filled.
(x-)qu-hin ok'i (x)quin ok'i I cried
(x-)c-hach ok'i (x)cach ok'i you cried
x-0 ok' naj x'ok' naj he cried
(x-)c-hoñ ok'i (x)coñ ok'i we cried
(x-)qu-hex ok'i (x)quex ok'i you-all cried
IV, continuative, '-initial stem; positions 1 and 6 filled,
lañan w-ok'i lañan wok'i I'm crying
lañan ha w-ok'i lañan ha wok'i you're crying
lañan y-ok' naj lañan yok' naj he's crying
lañan j-ok'i lañan jok'i we're crying
lañan he y-ok'i lañan he yok'i you-all're crying
T V , nonpast, n o object, non-'-initial s t e m ; positions 1 and 6
filled.
ch-hin mak'a chin mak'a I hit s.th.
ch-ha mak'a cha mak'a you hit s.th.
ch-s-mak' naj (x)smak' naj he hits s.th.
ch-co mak'a xco mak'a we hit s.th.
ch-he mak'a che mak'a you-all hit s.th.
T V , past, n o object, non-'-initial stem; positions 1 and 6 filled,
x-hin mak'a xin mak'a I hit s.th.
x-ha mak'a xa mak'a you hit s.th.
x-s-mak' naj (x)smak' naj he hit s.th.
x-co mak'a xco mak'a we hit s.th.
x-he mak'a xe mak'a you-all hit s.th.

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Morphology 35
TV, continuative, n o object, non-'-initial s t e m ; positions 1 and 6

filled.
lañan hin mak'ni lañan hin mak'ni I'm hitting s.th.
lañan ha mak'ni lañan ha mak'ni you're hitting s.th.
(etc., as for third paradigm, but with mak'ni)
TV, n o n p a s t , n o o b j e c t , '-initial stem; positions 1 and 6 filled,
ch-w-ila xwila I see s.th.
ch-ha w-ila cha wila you see s.th.
ch-y-il naj chil naj he sees s.th.
ch-j-ila xjila we see s.th.
ch-he y-ila che yila you-all see s.th.
TV, past, no object, '-initial s t e m ; positions 1 and 6 filled.
x-w-ila xwila I saw s.th.
x-ha w-ila xa wila you saw s.th.
x-y-il naj xil naj he saw s.th.
x-j-ila xjila we saw s.th.
x-he y-ila xe yila you-all saw s.th.
TV, continuative, no object, '-initial s t e m ; positions 1 and 6
filled.
lañan w-ilni lañan wilni I'm seeing s.th.
(etc., as for sixth paradigm, but with -ilni)
T V , n o n p a s t , object, non-'-initial stem; positions 1, 4, and 6
filled, (-an is a clitic; see 2.5.3.)
ch-hin ha mak'an chin ha mak'an you hit me
ch-hach hin mak'an chach hin mak'an I hit you
ch-0 hin mak' naj chin mak' naj I hit him
ch-hoñ s-mak' naj choñ smak' naj he hits us
ch-hex hin mak'an chex hin mak'an I hit you-all
T V , past, object, non-'-initial stem; positions 1, 3, 4, and 6
filled.
(x-)qu-hin ha mak'an (x)quin ha mak'an you hit me
(x-)c-hach hin mak'an (x)cach hin mak'an I hit you
x-0 hin mak' naj xin mak' naj I hit him
(x-)c-hoñ s-mak' naj (x)coñ smak' naj he hit us
(x-)qu-hex hin mak'an (x)quex hin mak'an I hit you-all
TV, continuative, object, non-'-initial stem; positions 1, 4, and 6
filled.
lañan hin ha mak'nian lañan hin ha mak'nian you're hitting me
lañan hach hin mak'nian lañan hach hin mak'nian I'm hitting you

Authenticated
lañan 0 hin mak'ni naj lañan hin mak'ni naj I'm hitting him
lañan hoñ s-mak'ni naj lañan hoñ smak'ni naj he's hitting us
lañan hex hin mak'nian lañan hex hin mak'nian I'm hitting you-all
TV, nonpast, object, '-initial stem; positions 1, 4, and 6 filled,
ch-hin ha w-ilan chin ha wilan you see me
ch-hach w-ilan chach wilan I see you
ch-0 w-il naj xwil naj I see him
ch-hoñ y-il naj choñ yil naj he sees us
ch-hex w-ilan chex wilan I see you-all
TV, past, object, '-initial stem; positions 1, 3, 4, 6 filled.
(x-)qu-hin ha w-ilan (x)quin ha wilan you saw me
(etc.)
TV, continuative, object, '-initial stem; positions 1, 4, and 6
filled.
lañan hin ha w-ilnian lañan hin ha wilnian you're seeing me
(etc.)
Tense-person prefix with proclitics. In negative sentences, with

the preposted particle mach not (3.3.3), one or more proclitics (see
2.5.2) may follow mach. The tense-person prefix is not affected.
Before to still and tic'a always, mach > max: maxto chin wayi I'm
still not sleeping.
In affirmative declarative sentences one or more proclitics may
occur in either position 2 or position 5, but not in both, of the
tense-person prefix. The choice of position is a matter of free
variation. If the PMB 0 3s/p is in position 4, then position 3 is never
filled and the two proclitic positions merge. It is not possible to tell
whether 0 precedes or follows the proclitic: ch-to 0 w-il naj (or) ch-0
to w-il naj > xto wil naj I still see him.
1 3 4 5 6
(x-) c- hach xa w-ilan (x)cach xa wilan I already see you
ch- hach to w-ilan chach to wilan I still see you
(x-) c- hach to wayi (x)cach to wayi you still slept
1 2 4 6
ch- to hach w-ilan xto hach wilan I still see you
ch- tic'a hex y-il naj xtic'a hex yil naj he always sees you-all
With any proclitic in position 2, and a non-0 PMB in position 4,
the past tense is shown obligatorily by x- in position 1 and also,

Authenticated
Morphology 37
optionally, by c- in position 3: x-to (c-)hach wayi (positions 1, 2, 3,

and 4) > xto cach wayi, xto hach wayi you still slept.
If xa already is in position 2 then several morphophonemic
changes take place. (1) x-xam past already-perhaps > xam: x-xam
w - i l a > x a m wila perhaps I already saw s.th. ( 2 ) x-xa past already
(without m perhaps) > xax.
1 2 6
x- xa w-ila xax wila I already saw s.th.
x- xatic'a w-ila xaxtic'a wila I already always saw s.th.
( 3 ) ch- nonpast is replaced by 0: ch-xa ha w-ila > xa ha wila you
already see s. th.
If h e only, just as or m perhaps are in position 2, t h e tense
markers take special allomorphs. x- past > xma- ~ ma-; ch-
nonpast> chi-.
x-iie w-ila (x)maiie wila just as I saw s . t h . . . .
x-m w-ila (x)mam wila perhaps I saw s.th.
ch-iie w-ila chine wila just as 1 see s.th. . . .
ch-m w-ila chim wila perhaps I see s.th.
2.3.2.2. Verb future suffix

IV and TV not in the past tense can take a. future suffix: -oj ~
. a ' ~ -o' ~ - u ' ~ ~ -b' (307).
-oj occurs with all IV and pseudointransitive TV (TV with -n,
501) stems,
chach wayoj you will sleep
lanan ha mak'noj you will be hitting s.th.
The other future allomorphs occur with TV stems, -b' occurs with
TV roots of the form CV: cha lob' you will eat s. th. -' occurs with all
other vowel-final TV stems: cha cajhe' you will make s.th. red. The
-V' allomorphs occur with TV roots of the form CVC. -u' occurs
after roots with the vowel u, -o' with those with o, and -a' with those
with i, e, and a.
cha wila' you will see s.th.
cha lek'a' you will lick s.th.
cha mak'a' you will hit s.th.
cha potx'o' you will kill s.th.
cha tz'unu' you will plant s.th.

Authenticated
The future suffix also forms statals (used in noun and adverb
phrases; see 3.6.1) from IV and TV. Literate Jacaltecs consider verb
stems with the future suffix as the equivalent of Spanish infinitives:
wayoj to sleep, mak'a' to hit.
2.3.2.3. Imperatives
Imperative mode IV and TV are formed with the following
suffixes,
-an (308) ~ no suffix imperative
-ab' (309) exhortative
Affirmative imperatives without proclitics. These imperatives do
not take tense or aspect markers. Simple second person commands
are formed with -an for IV, and the uninflected stem for TV. TV can
take suffixed PMB object. IV and TV commands are pluralized by
the enclitic wej (801 in 2.5.1).
way an sleep!
wayanwej you-all sleep!
mak'a hit s.th.!
mak'inan hit me!
mak'wej you-all hit s.th.!
First person plural affirmative imperatives without proclitics are
formed for IV by the PMB suffix -on lp and for TV by the PMA
prefix co or yip. TV object is then shown by preposed PMB.
wayoñ let's sleep!
co mak'a let's hit s.th.!
hach jaxñe let's bathe you!
For IV, other imperative forms for all persons are formed by
suffixing -oj future (307) and PMB subject,
wayojoñ may we sleep!
wayoj-0 naj may he sleep!
Affirmative "exhortative" imperatives without proclitics use
suffixed -ab' for IV and TV in all persons. IV must also take -oj
future.
wayojab'oñ would that we sleep!
wayojab'-0 naj would that he sleep!
co mak'ab' would that we hit s.th.!
hach smak'ab' naj would that he hit you!
Negative imperatives and imperatives with proclitics. Negative
imperatives, with the preposed particle mach not, and imperatives

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Morphology 39
with proclitics are inflected similarly to one another. They differ

from affirmative imperatives and imperatives without proclitics as
follows. (1) They have a tense-person prefix with ch- ~ x- nonpast
(301). (2) The imperative suffix (308) is not used. (3) -ab'
exhortative (309), when it occurs, is always preceded by -oj future
(307).
Simple second person and first person plural negative
commands have the same form as negative declarative sentences,
except that mach not is obligatorily stressed (otherwise it is
optionally stressed). For the morphophonemics of mach, see 1.6.2.
machin ha wila ( < mach chin ha wila) don't look at me!
machach wayi ( < mach chach wayi) don't sleep!
machco mak'a ( < mach xco mak'a) let's not hit s.th.!
machon wayi ( < mach choii wayi) let's not sleep!
All other negative imperatives and imperatives with procitics,
positive or negative, take -oj-ab (307, 309), preceded by a proclitic if
one occurs, in the proclitic position—i.e., after mach not or in the
tense-person prefix (2.3.2.1). -oj is usually preceded by h as per
1.6.9. mach-oj-ab' > majab'. mach > max before the proclitics to still
and tic'a always.
majab' chin smak' naj would that he not hit me!
majab' xway naj would that he not sleep!
maxtohojab' xway naj would that he still not sleep!
xtohojab' smak' naj would that he still hit s.th.!
xtic'ahojab' way naj would that he always sleep!
2.3.2.4. Transitive verb passive suffix

TV can take the suffix -ot (310) passive. TV with -ot must have
a tense-person prefix with PMB subject, and cannot take a future
suffix. An actor is understood in passive sentences, and may be
expressed with the preposition -Hu by s.o. in an adverb phrase,
xmak'ot ix yu naj she was hit by him
xmak'ot naj he is hit
(x)quin mak'ot I was hit
Another passive suffix occurs with TV stems, -lax (507 in
2.4.1), but is treated here as derivational, yeilding IV, rather than
inflectional.

Authenticated
2.3.3. Stative inflection

Statives and some noun phrases are inflected by PMB (206-210)
to form stative verbs: winajon we are men (with winaj man). Stative
verbs are discussed fully in 3.3.2.1. Nouns may take PMA possessor
prefixes. See 2.3.1 for PMA and examples.
Any stative may take the suffix -oj (401) potential, -oj indicates
an unrealized state, or approximation. Its most common use is with
negative stative verbs.
mat chehoj no' it's not a horse (mat not, cheh
horse, no 'it)
cf. cheh no' it's a horse
mat winajojin I'm not a man
cf. winajin I'm a man
mat ewioj it wasn't yesterday
cab'oj a couple or so (cab' two)
A few nouns, mostly words for people, take a plural suffix, -taj
(402).
tzehtaj youths
k'opotaj girls
mactaj who (pi.)?, some people
tzetaj ( < tzet-taj) what (pi.)?, some things
In noun phrases and in counting, numerals from one to nineteen
and the indefinite numeral hay how many?, several must be followed
by a numeral classifier (see 3.2.1.7) or be inflected by one of the
following suffixes, or both,
-e' (403) singular
-eb' (404) things
-wan (405) people
-c'oh (406) animals
-e' occurs only with the root hun one, in hune'. hune' has the
free variant hone'. The other suffixes are used with other numerals to
count things, people, and animals respectively, hunc'al twenty can
take -wan and -c'oii but takes no suffix when counting inanimates,
ca-eb' > cab' two (things); ho-eb' > howeb' five (things).
hune' naj one man
hune' no' one animal
hay wan heb'naj how many men?, several men
hayeb' te' iiah how many houses?, several houses
cawaii heb'naj two men

Authenticated
Morphology 41
cac'oii no' two animals

cab' te' iiah two houses
Positionals take a suffix consisting of reduplication of the entire
root: -Red(root) ( 4 0 7 ) distributive plural. The positional stem
formative -an ( 1 0 3 ) is then lost: pilpil ye te' te' the sticks are each
cylindrical (cf. pilan ye te' te' the stick is/sticks are cylindrical).
2.4. Derivational affixes

Only derivational affixes are given here which are productive or
which are common but of uncertain productivity. All but one of the
affixes are suffixes. They are presented in the following order:
(1) intransitive verb (IV), (2) transitive verb (TV), (3) both IV and
TV, ( 4 ) noun (N), ( 5 ) adjective (Adj), ( 6 ) adverb (Adv), and
( 7 ) bound adverbial (BndAdv). Other abbreviations used are: Pos for
positional, Num for numeral, Part for particle, Onom for
onomatopoeic root, and " ? " for roots whose class is indeterminate.
Preposed hyphen used with a noun shows that a possessor PMA is
mandatory.
2.4.1. Intransitive verb derivation

-n ( 5 0 1 ) pseudointransitive forms "pseudo"-IV from TV. Stems
with -n take TV prefix inflection but IV suffixes, i.e., the IV stem
formative -i ( 1 0 1 ) and the IV future allomorph -oj ( 3 0 7 ) . -n tends to
occur on T V in coordinate sentences and dependent clauses.
References to the section o f the grammar where the usage is
described is given with the examples below.
1. -n occurs after the aspect particles laiian continuative, cat
postsequentive, and lahwi presequentive ( 3 0 4 - 3 0 7 , 2.3.2.1): lahwi
sta'we[n] naj^cat slo[n]itoj heb'naj yita after he had accepted it,
then they ate their meal.
2. -n shows temporal sequence in conjoined sentences ( 3 . 8 ) or
in the context of other sentences: xul naj, xquin yil[n]i naj he
arrived, then he saw me.
3. -n marks dependent clauses whose third person subject has
been deleted (3.5): xul naj^x'il[n]i ix he who saw her arrived.
4. -n occurs with some noun and adverb phrases derived from
imbedded sentences (3.6.1), and in subordinate clauses introduced
by yet when (3.6.2).

Authenticated
xwil slo[n] itoj naj I saw him eat s.th.
xto naj ssay [n] oj ix he went to look for her
x'ayc'ay najf yet xil [n] i naj ix he fell when he saw her
5. -n marks modifier verbs (3.11): xil naj ixfjal[n] i he saw her,
let's say.
-w (502) intransitivizer derives IV from virtually all TV and
from many N. Most IV derived from TV by -w, and a few derived
from N, require a following object noun (not noun phrase). This
seems to be the Jacaltec version of "object incorporation"—the
binding of the object with the verb rather than its expression in a
noun phrase. (See 601, 602, 604 in 2.4.4, below, for compound
nouns similar to these verbs; also see 503 and 504.) Glosses of IV
with incorporated objects are of the form "you—habitually or as a
task."
chach ilwi anma you watch people (habitually) (ila
see, watch s.th.)
chach tulwi you play at dice (tul die)
chach tulwi melyu you win money at dice (habitually)
chach aritewi you cure (ante cure s.o.)
chach caiialwi you dance (canal dance N)
-wa (503) intransitivizer occurs with most of those TV stems
which require an incorporated object when intransitivized by -w
(502). -wa is the counterpart of -w not requiring an incorporated
object: chach ilwayij^ow see, watch (ila see, watch s.th.).
-1 (504) intransitivizer derives IV from N and TV non-
productively (?). Some IV stems in -1, from already derived TV
stems, may or must be followed by an object noun, as described by
-w (502). In this case, -1 and -w are in free variation,
chach txahli you pray (txah prayer)
chach tzoteli you talk (tzote talk about s.th.)
chach aiiteli you cure (ante cure s.o.)
chach ahteli anma you cure people (as a profession)
-0 (505) intransitivizer derives IV productively from a subclass
of positionals denoting positions of the human body, and non-
productively from a few nouns and a few roots of indeterminate
class. After-0 the IV stem formative -i (101) is not lost in
phonological contexts where it otherwise would be lost. Note that:
(1) after Pos and after the N txoh merchandize, -0 is in free variation

Authenticated
Morphology 43
with -y (516); (2) several N roots, and all of the roots whose class is
indeterminate, which take -0 also take -e transitivizer (511); (3) three
of these N roots have been noted which have root alternates (1.6.10)
CVb' before -0 and CVy before -e.
chach tz'oii-0-i you sit down (Pos tz'oiian seated)
chach txoii-0-i you sell (txoii merchandize)
x'aw-0-i naj he shouted (N aw shout)
xsiqu-0-i naj he got tired (?—cf. sique make s.o.
tired)
xtzeb'-0-i naj he laughed (tze' laughter; cf. tzeye
laugh at s.th.)
-b' (506) inceptive derives IV from N and Adj. It forms IV
counterparts of causatives in -he (512).
chach alb'i you're getting heavy (al heavy)
xchic'b'i naj he got bloody (chic' blood)
ch'ok'b'i it's becoming a waterhole (ok'
waterhole)
-lax (507) passive forms IV with passive glosses from TV. Cf. -ot
passive (310,^2.3.2.4).
x'illax naj he was seen (ila see s.th.)
chin illaxoj yu naj I will be seen by him
-la (508) make a noise, keep mentioning s.th. derives IV from
Onom and N. Cf. 509 and 701.
xpak'layi it makes a slapping noise (Onom
pak' slapping noise)
chach mi'layi you keep mentioning "mother"
(-mi' mother)
-on (509) repetitive derives IV from stems already derived by
-Red(Ci) (517) or -x (518). Stems in -on are the "repetitive"
counterparts of stems in -la (508). (Cf. 702.) For examples, see under
517 and 518 in 2.4.3.
-n (510) nonproductively derives IV from N and other stems:
xsatni te' te' the tree gives fruit (sat fruit)
2.4.2. Transitive verb derivation

-e (511) transitivizer derives TV from various classes of stems
and from stems already derived by the verbalizing suffixes listed in
2.4.3., below. It seems to be productive only after -Red(Cj) (517)

Authenticated
and -x (518). See the note under -0 (505) for the relation between -0
and -e.
cha sique you make s.o. tired (?—cf. siqu-0-i
get tired)
cha tzeye you laugh at s.th. (tze' laughter)
cha paye you set s.th. afire (Pos payan afire)
For examples of -e with already-derived stems, see 2.4.3.
-he (512) causative, applicative derives TV from many classes of
stems. Used with N and Adj, if forms the TV counterparts of
inceptives in -b' (506).
cha walne you make s.th. heavy (al heavy)
cha chic'rie you make s.th. bloody (chic' blood)
cha wok'iie you make s.th. into a waterhole (ok'
waterhole)
cha sic'iie you make s.o. tired (?—cf. cha sique
[same gloss])
cha wayiie you care for s.o. sleeping (IV wayi
sleep)
cha pexhe you leave s.th. unfinished (Pos
pexan unfinished)
-tze (513) causative, applicative nonproductively (?) derives TV
from several stem classes, -tze is sometimes further derived by -he
(512) and is sometimes in free variation with it.
cha waytze you put s.o. to sleep (IV wayi
sleep)
cha cajtze, cajtzene, cajne you heat s.th. (caj hot)
cha pajtze you repay s.th. (paj repayment in
kind)
-te (514) causative, applicative drives TV from N (produc-
tively?) and from IV (nonproductively).
cha waiite you cure s.o. (an remedy, medicine)
cha xib'te you scare s.o. (xiwi be afraid)
-b'a (515) derives TV from Pos.
cha tz'oiib'a you seat s.o. (tz'ohan seated)
cha tenb'a you pile s.th. (tenan piled)
2.4.3. Intransitive and transitive verb derivation

The suffixes listed in this section must be further derived by -e
(511) to form TV stems.

Authenticated
Morphology 45
-y (516) verbalizer derives IV from Pos productively and IV and

TV from N nonproductively. See the note under -0 (505).
chach tz'oiiyi you sit down (Pos tz'orian seated)
chach txoiiyi you sell (txoii merchandize)
chach tzahyi you defecate (tza' feces)
cha txahye you bless s.th. (txah prayer)
-Red(Ci) (517) iterative consists of reduplication of the first
consonant of a CVC root. It derives IV and TV from several classes
of stems. The resulting CC clusters are sometimes altered according
to the morphophonemic statements in 1.6. If no reduction takes
place, -Red(Ci) is optionally preceded by open juncture +. -Red(Cl)
must be followed by -e (511) or -on (509). Cf. 518, below, and 2.4.7.
cha pitz'pe you squeeze s.th. gently several
times (pitz'a squeeze s.th. gently)
cha yucye you shake s.th. (Onom yuc noise
and/or motion of leaves on shaken
tree, drops in shaken bottle)
xyucyuni it keeps shaking (making noise yuc)
chach tx'ihtx'oni you keep acting (i.e., barking) like a
dog (tx'i' dog)
chach mi'moni you keep mentioning "mother"
repeatedly (-mi' mother)
chach oh'oni you are very old and stooped (Pos
ohan stooped with age)
-x ~ -ex ( 5 1 8 ) repetitive, of noise or motion d e r i v e s I V a n d T V
from Pos and Onom. -ex occurs when a consonant-initial suffix
follows; -x occurs otherwise. To form IV, -x may be followed by -on
(509). -x is closely related to -Red(Ci) (517) in usage.
xpocxi it's flopping (like dog's ears) (Pos
pocan doubled over)
poquextaj very floppy, warped (Adj derived
by -taj, 613, from IV stem pocxi)
xyucxi it's shaking (making noise yuc)
(Onom yuc)
xyucxuni it's shaking a lot (making noise yuc)
cha yucxe you shake s.th.
2.4.4. Noun derivation

-om (601) agentive is used with IV and TV. Many agentives
formed from TV must be followed by an object noun in a compound

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construction. The same is true for the suffixes 602 and 604, below.
These compounds are described in 3.13. They are similar to IV in -w
(502) with incorporated objects. Corresponding noncompounded
agentives are formed with -om from IV in -wa (503).
ilom ánma people-watcher (ila see, watch s.th.)
ilwahom watcher (ilwayi see, watch)
txahlom someone who prays (txahli pray)
-(o)b'al (602) instrumentive, gerund derives N from various root
classes. The initial o occurs when the preceding stem terminates in a
CC cluster or in the suffix -0 (505). -(o)b'al with IV stems can form
mandatorily possessed gerunds (first example below). With other
stems, N are formed with glosses of instruments, places, and times
appropriate to the action of the stem. The note under 601, above,
applies here. Corresponding noncompounded instrumentives are
formed with -(o)b'anil (603).
ha titb'al your coming (tita come)
tz'oiiyob'al ~ tz'oii-0-ob'al seat (tz'onyi ~ tz'ori-0-i sit)
mak'b'al chiyo chicken-hitting instrument (mak'a
hit s.th.)
txahyeb'al blessing (txahye bless s.th.)
txahb'al incense burner (txah prayer)
capeb'al coffee orchard (cape coffee)
-(o)b'anil (603) instrumentive forms noncompounded N corre-
sponding to compounded N with -(o)b'al (602). See 602 for the
conditions under which the initial o occurs: mak'b'anil hitting
instrument.
r
-o' ~ -1 (604) statalizer forms statals (used as N or Adv)
from IV and TV. -o' occurs with underived CV and CVC TV roots. -'
occurs with other TV roots and stems. -1 occurs only with IV in -wa
(503). All statals in -(o)' must be followed by an object noun (cf.
601). Statals in -1 are the uncompounded counterparts. These statals
occur in noun and adverb phrases (3.6.1) and are glossed as "to - , -
-ing.
ilo' ánma people-watching (ila see, watch
s.th.)
tz'oñb'a' ánma seating people (tz'oiib'a seat s.o.)
ilwal seeing, watching (ilwayi see, watch)

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Morphology 47
-e (605) inherently possessed marks "inherent" but unstated

possession. It usually occurs on nonpossessed nouns, but occurs
rarely on possessed nouns whose inherent possessor is different than
the overt possessor (last example below). Most nouns for kin, body
parts and excretions, and clothing take -e.
mame father (cf. hin mam my father)
camixe shirt (cf. hin camix my shirt)
k'ab'e hand, arm
echele photo of a person (cf. wechel photo
of me)
wechele my photo of someone else
-al ~ -il ( 6 0 5 ) inseparably possessed, collective, -il o c c u r s a f t e r
stems whose last vowel is a and after chic' blood, -al occurs in all
other cases. With N and Adj, the suffix shows that the N or Adj
"inseparably" belongs to or is a property of the possessor. All stems
with the suffix also occur without it.
-tz'umal skin, bark, shell, etc. (cf. tz'um
leather)
-ixal wife (ix woman)
-xiwquilal fright
-cajil redness
-caiieb'al all four of s.th.
-ununal (all) children of s.o.
-al ~ -il (607) has morphophonemics as for 606, above. It
occurs on nouns and noun classifiers (3.2.1.4) after an indefinite
pronoun (3.9).
mac winajil who is that man? (winaj man)
tzet no'al what is it? (noun classifier no'
animal class)
-al ~ -il (608) -fulls forms numeral classifiers from N.
Morphophonemics are as for 606: hun nahil anma one housefull of
people (hah house).
-al (609) nominalizer is always preceded by another suffix, -il,
probably to be identified with the adjectivizing suffix -il (616).
tz'a'ilal burn (on body) (Adj tz'a'il burned)
ya'ilal pain (?-cf. ya' painful)
-laj (610) locative of abundance is used with N: chehlaj place
where there are many horses ( c h e h horse).

Authenticated
ah (611) person from, agentive is a " p r e f i x " separated f r o m the

following N by open juncture. It is preposed to words for population
units to yield nouns with the gloss "person from, native of—" (but,
except in the first example below, these stems can always have this
gloss without ah). It also occurs optionally, and redundantly, on
some nouns in -om agentive (601).
ah cohob' Jacaltec from Jacaltenango (coiiob'
town, i.e., Jacaltenango)
ah Payil Mateano (Payil San Mateo Ixtatan)
ah wayom s.o. who sleeps a lot (wayom [same
gloss], IV wayi sleep)
2.4.5. Adjective derivation

-b'il — n a j (612) participle occur respectively with TV and IV.
(See 2.1.2 for remarks on TV participles.)
tz'unb'il wu planted by me (tz'unu plant s.th.,
-Hu by s.o.)
tx'ixwinaj ashamed (tx'ixwi be ashamed)
-taj (613) full of derives Adj and Adv from various root classes.
It is optionally preceded by open juncture.
pojojtaj dusty (pojoj dust)
ya'taj difficult (ya' painful)
ewantaj secretly (Adv) (Pos ewan dark, of
place)
pok'taj dented all over (Pos pok'an dented)
-la (614) compounding suffix is used with most Adj when they
occur in a type of Adj-N compound. Cf. -'in (615); for compounds
see 3.13.
cajla ha' hot water (caj hot)
toholla te' straight stick (tohol straight)
-'in (615) animal color is used on Adj when they denote the
color of an animal. The compounding suffix -la (614) does not occur
on Adj with -'in. It is related to the N-in exterior of s.th.
no' cheh^q'uej'iri the horse which is black (q'uej
black)
saj'iii tx'i' white dog (compound noun; saj
white)

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Morphology 49
-il (616) adjectivizer has been noted with N and IV. It is

probably homophonous with the various -al — i l suffixes, e.g., 606,
but no examples with -al have been found.
akValil of the night (akVal night)
tz'a'il burned (of body) (IV tz'a'i burn)
2.4.6. Adverb derivation

-taj (613 in 2.4.5, above) derives Adv as well as Adj.
-al il (617) adverbalizer is used with N stems. Its morpho-
phonemics are as for 606, 2.4.4.
lunisal on Monday (lunis Monday)
x'ahawil by the month (as in "to work. ..";
x'ahaw month)
Adverbs formed from numerals have irregular paradigms. With
higher numbers these paradigms tend to be replaced by phrases,
sometimes in free variation with the suffixed forms. Note that root
alternates are common. (For numerals, see 2.6, below.)
-el ~ el (618) times. The suffixed allomorph is used with
numerals through seven and with the indefinite pronoun hay how
many, several. The postposed allomorph is used with other numerals
and words.
hunel once
cayel twice
oxel three times
howel five times
waxaj el eight times
tx'ihal el many times
Days from now ( 6 1 9 ) .
hecal tomorrow
cab'e in two days
oxe in three days
cone in four days
hob'ix in five days
wak'e in six days
hujb'ix in seven days
waxak'e in eight days
b'aluhe in nine days
cab'laiie in twelve days
(etc., with -e, up to nineteen)

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Further forms are phrases of the form yih Num tz'ayic (Num is a
cardinal numeral with -eb', 404; tz'ayic days): yih cab'laneb'
tz'ayic in twelve days.
Days ago (620)
ewi yesterday
ca'fi two days ago
syoxi three days ago
scoiii four days ago
shob'xi five days ago
swak'i six days ago
Further forms are phrases of the form Num k'in (where Num is an
ordinal numeral; k'in with the gloss day is used only in this phrase)
or Num-xa tz'ayic (where Num is a cardinal numeral with -eb', 404;
xa already, tz'ayic day): shuj k'in, hujeb'xa tz'ayic seven days ago.
Years from now (621)
hunab' one year from now
cab'ab' two years from now
Further forms use the type of phrase cited under 619, but with hab'il
year\ yin caneb' hab'il four years from now.
Years ago (622) has only one single-word form: hunb'i one year
ago. Further forms are like the phrases cited under 620, but with
hab'il year: syox hab'il, oxeb'xa hab'il three years ago.
2.4.7. Bound adverbial derivation

-la (701) with noise -, in a - manner derives BndAdv from Pos
and Onom. -la and -on (702, below) both derive IV as well as
BndAdv, and are listed above as 508 and 509. -la, however, does not
derive IV from Pos as it does BndAdv. -la must be further suffixed by
-oj (705) or the IV stem formative -yi (101), which is lost under the
usual conditions,
xa' t'oslahoj naj he hit s.th. so that it made a dull
thud (Onom t'os dull thud)
ch'ay pak'layi they are falling flatly (Pos pak'an
flat-sided) (or) they are falling with
slapping noises (Onom pak' slap)
-on (702) repetitive derives BndAdv from verb stems in
-Red(Ci) (517). These BndAdv are the "repetitive" counterparts of

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Morphology 51
those in -la (701), and take the IV stem formative -i (101), which is
lost under the usual conditions.
as pak'poni walk making slapping noises (with
your hard shoes)! (Onom pak' slap)
ch'el pak'pon tx'otx' b'itz'ab' the wall is flaking off continuously
(Pos pak'an flat-sided, eli separate,
tx'otx' b'itz'ab' the wall)
-na (703) in a - manner derives BndAdv from Pos and Onom.
They take the IV stem formative -yi (101).
x'ay pak'nayi it fell with a slapping noise (Onom
pak' slap) (or) it fell flatly (Pos
pak'an flat-sided)
x'ec'toj melna naj he passed like a flash (Onom mel
quick motion to the side)
-o (704) in a - manner derives BndAdv from Pos roots
verbalized by -Red(Cj) (517), and is of uncertain productivity.
BndAdv in -o are used only with stative verbs, and no other BndAdv
are used with stative verbs: saj oh'o ha wi' you are a white-haired old
man (saj white, Pos ohan stooped with age, ha wi' your head", lit.
your head is white in a stooped-with-age manner).
-oj (705) bound-adverbializer is used with Pos and with
already-derived BndAdv in -la (701). The Pos stem formative -an
(103) collapses to -n before -oj: ayah hilnoj lie downl (lit. go down
lying; Pos hilan lying). For another example, see under 701, above.
2.5 Clitics
There are two major classes of clitics: verb clitics and sentence
clitics. In the following description each clitic is given a three-place
number for reference.
Verb clitics occur only in verb phrases. They fall into two
classes: proclitics and enclitics. Proclitics occur in all types of verb
phrases. Enclitics occur in all types of verb phrases except verbal
stative phrases (noun or adverb phrase acting as verb phrase (3.3.1)).
Some combinations of proclitics also occur independently as
part-sentences, for instance as answers to questions.
When both proclitics and enclitics occur in a verb phrase,
proclitics always precede enclitics, but not necessarily immediately

Authenticated
precede them. Enclitics are always the last elements of the verb to
which they are attached. Proclitics may occur before or after the
verb, or mixed in with the tense-person prefix of the verb as shown
in 2.3.2.1. Their positioning is discussed in 2.5.2.
2.5.1. Enclitics
There are six sequential positions which may be filled by
enclitics. The last two positions are filled by a special subclass of
enclitics, the directional clitics. These are usually glossed as direc-
tions such as up, down, here, and there. However, their meanings are
often extended to subtle adverbial concepts outside the range of
direction and motion. Their use is quite similar to English particles
like up in climb up, tie up, and call up. Many verbs whose action
necessarily involves directionality (e.g., push, pull, throw) almost
never occur without a directional clitic.
Most enclitics are related to intransitive verb roots.
Positions 1 and 2. One enclitic may occur in each of these
positions, in the order listed. Each is preceded by an unwritten open
juncture.
wej (801) plural, exhortative
na (802) suddenly, immediately
wej is used with first and second person imperatives with the
gloss plural, and with indicative verbs in the nonpast tense with first
or second person plural subjects with the glosses exhortative or plural
(more than two).
wayaiiwej you-all sleep!
cf. way an sleep!
mak'wej you-all hit s.th.!
wayojoiiwej let's all sleep!
cf. wayojoii let's sleep!
choh wayojwej we should sleep!
cf. choh wayoj we will sleep
chex wayojwej you-all should sleep!
cf. chex wayoj you-all will sleep
ocanwejna pet wayoj you-all go to sleep immediately!
(ocan enter! pet immediately,
wayoj sleeping)

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Morphology 53
Positions 3 and 4. One enclitic may occur in each of these
positions, in the order listed. Each is preceded by open juncture,
which is not written. When these clitics occur before a contour, they
must be followed by the suffix -oj. -oj sometimes occurs in other
environments as well, and is sometimes optional.
pax (803) again, also, back (related to IV paxi
return)
can (804) once and for all, before doing any-
thing else, be left (in a certain state)
(related to IV cani remain, be left)
cach waypaxoj you slept again
wayanpax(oj)fhach ti' go to sleep too, you!
wayaiicanoj go to sleep before doing anything
else!
tulan-0-canoj te' te' the tree is left stripped (of its
leaves) (Pos tulan stripped)
wayanwejpaxcanoj you-all go back to sleep once and
for all!
Position 5. One of the first set of directional clitics occurs here.
The suffix -oj often occurs after them, as for clitics in positions 3 and
4.
(Related to IV:)
-ic ~ -c (805) in, against oqui go in, against
-ic' ~ -c' (806) to the side eq'ui go by
-Ü ~ -1 ~ -hi] (807) out, away from eli go out, away from
-a ~ -h ~ -ha (808) up ahi go up
-ay ~ -y ~ -hay (809) down ayi go down
Open juncture occurs before a clitic in this position if the result
is phonologically permitted-e.g., to yield V+CV but not *VC+V.
Morphophonemics are: (1) after vowels, the -C allomorphs occur; (2)
between two consonants, the -VC and -V allomorphs occur; (3) after
consonants and before vowels, the -VC and -V allomorphs are more
common, but -c in and -c' to the side can also occur here, and -1 out
and -y down may occur if the preceding consonant is '; (4) the -hVC
and -hV allomorphs occur in free variation in all of the foregoing
environments, but tend to occur only in longer forms. The first five
examples below show the position 5 directional clitics with atoj put
s.th. there, and the next five with tirtoj throw s.th. there, toj there is
a position 6 clitic.

Authenticated
xwactoj I put s.th. in there

xwac'toj I put s.th. to the side there
xwaltoj I put s.th. out there
xwahtoj I put s.th. up there
xwaytoj I put s.th. down there
xin tirictoj I threw s.th. in there
xin tiric'toj I threw s.th. to the side there
xin tiriltoj I threw s.th. out there
xin tiratoj I threw s.th. up there
xin tiraytoj I threw s.th. down there
xin tiricoj, xin tircoj I threw s.th. against something
titx'anic'oj, titx'anc'oj it's bent to the side
chin tira'loj, chin tira'hiloj IH throw s.th. out
lañan wilnihiloj, lañan wilniloj I'm looking out at s.th.
chin tira'hahoj I'll throw s.th. up
Position 6. This position may be filled by either of the
following directional clitics. They are preceded by unwritten open
juncture.
-toj (810) there, completely
-tij (811) here
These clitics are related to the IV toyi go and tita come, and to the
demonstratives tu' that and ti' this. In the last example below, -toj >
-tuj as per 1.6.7.
xin tirtoj I threw s.th. there
xa tirtij you threw s.th. here
ocañwejpaxcantij you-all come in here again once and
for all!
tircanaytoj throw s.th. down there once and
for all!
xin ñustuj I burned s.th. up (i.e., completely)
Position 5/6. If none of the other directional clitics occur in
positions 5 and 6, then the directional clitic -can (812) up, suddenly
can occur, -can is probably related to the second constituent of the
compound nouns sat can sky and yich can horizon. Unwritten open
juncture precedes it.
xin tircañ I threw s.th. up
xin tirpaxcañ I threw s.th. up again
xquin waycañ I went to sleep suddenly

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Morphology 55
2.5.2. Proclitics
Proclitics are a set of morphemes which may occur singly or in
combinations. Their meanings in combinations are often not predict-
able from the meanings of the single morphemes. When in combi-
nation they occur in the order listed below, except that to still may
follow itself, yielding toto. A usually unwritten open juncture
precedes a single proclitic, except -m, or a combination of them. The
examples show proclitics with a numeral acting as stative verb
complement.
to (901) still oxeb'to still three
xa (902) already, yet oxeb'xa al-
ready three
ne (903) only oxeb'ne only three
tic'a (904) always, habitually, contin-
uously oxeb'tic'a always
three
c'a (905) too much, more than
expected (antonym of ne)
oxeb'c'a three, and too
much
mi ~ -m (906) perhaps oxeb'mi perhaps
three
mi occurs only between consonants, and before contour, -m
occurs in all other environments.
chinmi wayoj perhaps 1 will sleep
toxam chach wayoj perhaps you will sleep soon
toxami perhaps soon (response to above)
Proclitics occur in one of four distinct positions with respect to
the verb or verb phrase, the selection of which depends on the
particular combination of clitics and on the structure of the word or
phrase modified by them.
(1) All single proclitics, and combinations of proclitics with the
structure shown below, occur (A) within the tense-person prefix of
affirmative non-imperative IV and TV, as described in detail in
2.3.2.1, above, (B) postposed to the negative particles mach and mat
not when they occur in the verb phrase, (C) postposed to affirmative
imperative IV and TV and to stative verbs, and (D) postposed to the

Authenticated
first stative stem o f a verbal stative phrase. When b o t h proclitics and

enclitics are p o s t p o s e d t o a verb, proclitics precede enclitics,
to
xa tic'a
ne m(i)
toc'a
chach[to] wayi, x[to] hach wayi you're [still] sleeping
chach[xam] wayi [perhaps] you're [already] sleeping
chach[totic'am] wayi [perhaps] you were [always still]
sleeping
wayaii [to] sleep [still]!
ay[netic'a] anma there are [always many] people
yatut [tic'a] ha mam^cach wayi it was [always] at your father's
house that you slept
( 2 ) All o t h e r proclitic combinations, t h o s e w i t h the structure
s h o w n b e l o w , o c c u r preposed t o any verb phrase or verbal stative
phrase they m o d i f y . T h e y can also be used i n d e p e n d e n t l y as
abbreviated sentences.
to xa ne
[at least two]
tic'a
m(i)
toto totoc'a
tone chach wayi you [just] sleep, [without motive]

xaiie chach c'uyc'uni you're trembling [a lot]
totoc'a chach wayi [not until now] are you sleeping!
toxaiietic'am chach wayi [perhaps] you're [always doing
nothing but] sleeping?
toiietic'a ay anma there are [always] people
toiietic'a yatut ha mam^chach wayi it's [always] at your father's house
that you sleep
2 . 5 . 3 . S e n t e n c e clitics
There are t w o s e n t e n c e s clitics. B o t h occur o n l y b e f o r e c o n t o u r ,
e x c e p t that t h e particle x i n then ( 3 . 1 2 ) can occur b e t w e e n sentence

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Morphology 57
clitics and a contour. When both clitics occur, they are in the order
listed below.
-an (1001) first person exclusive
-la (1002) see!, imagine that!
-an has a rare allomorph han, preceded by open juncture, which
is used in very careful speech and, more often, in writing.
-an can occur postposed to any sentence which contains any
first person singular or plural person marker, and occurs only with
such sentences. If -an accompanies a sentence with a first person
plural PM, its gloss is exclusive; its absence always implies inclusive.
jatutan our (exc.) house
cf. jatut our (inc.) house
choii wayojan we (exc.) will sleep
If -an accompanies a sentence with a first person singular PM, its
gloss is something like emphasis on first singular. However, -an seems
to be obligatory at the end of any sentence that contains both first
person singular and any second person markers. In actual usage, most
sentences containing a first singular PM have -an.
chach to watutan you went to my house
chin wayoj(an) I will sleep
xwil ha watutan I saw your house
xwil ha wuxtajfyatut ha I saw your brotherfat your father's
mamfewian housefyesterday
-la often occurs at the end of a sentence which contains the

particle tu' that, and is then glossed by Jacaltecs as see! (Spanish ve).
The pointing gesture which usually accompanies it would be a more
accurate gloss. In other uses, -la is usually glossed imagine that\
(Spanish fi'jate). The last example below has both sentence clitics,
hune'naj tu'la that man, see!
laiian toc'ala only now, imagine that!
xwil hune' ha cheh tu'anla I saw that horse of yours, see!
2.6. Numeral formation
2.6.1. Cardinal numerals

The indigenous Jacaltec numeral system can be used for
numbers from one to ninety-nine. Spanish numerals with minimum

Authenticated
phonetic modifications are used for one hundred and beyond, and
usually f o r smaller numbers as well, beginning somewhere above
t w e n t y . However, whole hundreds and thousands are counted with
indigenous numerals: syénto 100, cab' syénto 200 ( f r o m Spanish
ciento). F o r numeral inflection, see 2.3.3., above.
Numeral roots. Jacaltec numerals are based on a vigesimal
system embracing a decimal system. Distinct numeral roots exist for
t h e following numbers:
hay several, how many? huj seven
hun one waxaj eight
ca two b'alun nine
ox three lahuii ~ -laii ten
caii four -c'al twenty
ho five -winaj twenty
waj six
-c'al 20 may be related to the numeral classifier c'alan bundle of
long things, -winaj 20 is also the word f o r man.
Numerals above ten. Numerals between eleven and nineteen are
formed by preposing roots for one through nine to the -lan
allomorph of 10. (All f u r t h e r examples are given with -eb' things,
404, when such inflection is permitted.) In the word for 12 the root
for 2 has the variant cab'.
hunlaiieb' 11 wajlaiieb 16
cab'laiieb 12 hujlaiieb' 17
oxlaiieb' 13 waxajlaiieb' 18
caftlaiieb' 14 b'alunlaiieb' 19
Twenty and its multiples are formed by preposing the multiply-
ing root to one of -c'al or -winaj 20. Odd multiples of 20 are formed
with -c'al. (The word f o r 100 shown is used only to f o r m numerals
81-99, as described below.)
huiic'al ( < hun-c'al) 20
oxc'al 60
hoc'al 100
Even multiples of 20 are formed with -winaj.
cawinaj 40
caiiwinaj 80
Numerals between multiples of 20 are formed by preposing the
stems for 1-19, inflected by -eb' (404) or -e' (403), to the next higher
multiple of 20 prefixed by the PMA s- ~ y-.

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Morphology 59
hune' scawinaj 21 b'aluiieb' yox'cal 49

cab' scawinaj 22 lahuiieb' yoxc'al 50
oxeb' scawinaj 23 hunlaiieb' yoxc'al 51
lahuiieb' scawinaj 30 b'aluiilaheb' yoxc'al 59
hunlaiieb' scawinaj 31 hune' soc'al 81
cab'laiieb' scawinaj 32 b'aluiieb' soc'al 89
hune' yoxc'al 41 b'aluiilaheb' soc'al 99
2.6.2. Ordinal numerals

Ordinals are formed with the PMA s-, followed by an
uninflected numeral. Initial h of the numeral is usually lost. Note
that some numerals take root alternates. The word for first has an
optional suppletive variant sb'ab'el, related to the IV b'ab'i precede.
sun 1st suj 7 th
scab' 2nd swaxaj 8th
syox 3rd sb'aluii 9th
scan 4th slahuii 10th
so' 5 th sunlahun 11th
swaj 6th suiic'al 20th
Ordinal numerals are used in the numeral position of the noun
phrase (3.2.1.6) and as adverbs (3.4.1), sometimes with the addition
of the adverbializing suffix -al ~ -il (617).
no' scab' cheh the second horse
xul naj scan he arrived fourth
xwil no' cheh sb'ab'elal I saw the horse first
2.7. Numeral classifiers

Numeral classifiers (NumCl) are words which occur in noun
phrases, typically after numerals and before nouns. Numerals before
most NumCl are either uninflected or optionally inflected with the
suffixes 403-406. The syntax of NumCl is described in 3.2.1.7.
All NumCl are recruited from, rather than derived from, other
word classes. There are sometimes semantic differences between a
stem as NumCl and as word of the class from which NumCl is
taken, as in some of the examples below. Three classes are
distinguished, depending on the stem class from which they are
recruited. This corresponds to syntactic and semantic differences as
well.

Authenticated
2.7.1. Object numeral classifiers

Object N u m C l are positional stems with the stem formative -an
(103) or, rarely, unsuffixed roots. Of the few unsuffixed positional
roots which have been noted, most are in free variation with the
suffixed stems. N u m C l occur with numerals to count substantial
objects and quantities.
Only those positionals occur as object N u m C l which describe
something a b o u t an object or a quantity of something as a whole,
not just some part of it. For instance, the positional for spherical is
also a N u m C l , but the positional for with a rounded tip is not.
N u m C l are o f t e n specific for a set of nouns which may follow t h e m ,
m u c h like English flock (of certain animals) and deck (of cards).
hun putxan si' one armload-sized bundle of fire-
wood (putxan short, thick, and
solid)
ca c'olan k'oye two balls of dough (c'olan spheri-
cal)
ox lisan caj three stripes of red (lisan in form of
stripe)
ho txol(an) awal five rows of (planted) corn (txolan
in form of row)
ca molan heb"ix ix two pairs of women (molan paired,
of people or animals)
ox c'otan ixim three grains of corn (c'otan in form
of solitary grains or gravel)
ho b'utan pojoj five pinches of dust (b'utan in form
of large pinch of powdery sub-
stance, falling or fallen)
caii cupan nal four picked ears of corn (cupan
lying down hands and feet tied, of
person or animal)
2.7.2. Quantity numeral classifiers

Quantity NumC 1 are n o u n s which denote containers or units of
measure. They occur with numerals to count quantities or measures
of something. Other n o u n s used as N u m C l are productively derived
by -al ~ -il -fulls (608).
ca pulato chib'e two plates of meat
ox c'uchub' k'ape three handspans of cloth

Authenticated
Morphology 61
ho chehal ixim five horseloads of corn

cab' libra panéla two pounds of raw sugar
2.7.3. Action numeral classifiers

Action NumCl are verb roots (never derived stems). They
denote, with the preceding numeral, the number of times an action is
performed. Unlike the other classes of NumCl, action NumCl are
never accompanied by any other element of the noun phrase. Two
action NumCl are intransitive verb roots (first two examples below).
Others are transitive verb roots. Only TV which denote punctual,
discrete actions are used as NumCl.
ca way two sleeps (IV wayi sleep)
ox xew three rests (IV xewi rest)
hun pil one push (to roll s.th. cylindrical)
(pila roll s.th. spherical or
cylindrical)
ox b'ik' three actions of swallowing (b'ik'a
swallow s. th.)
2.8. Some irregular verbs and statives

Jacaltec has a small number of roots and stems which are
irregular because they do not follow the patterns of word formation
described in the previous sections of this chapter. Irregularities
already mentioned are not given here.
1. The IV toyi go and tita come are irregular, tita is one of the
two IV which do not take the IV stem formative -i — y i (101) (for
the other, see 5, below). It takes -a (104) instead. Other irregularities
are shown in the following examples:
chach to-oj > chach toj you will go (with -oj future, 307)
chach tit-oj > chach tij you will come (as above)
to-aii > asi' go! (suppletive command)
tit-aii > cata come! (as above)
to-oii>ton let's go! (with lp PMB to form
imperative)
Further, the second person command forms lose their final V
and VC except before contour, as, for example, in the plural
commands with wej (801).
aswej you-allgo!
catwej you-all come!

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62 The J a calte c Language
2. tzet what?, something with the proclitic -mi perhaps (906)

forms tzimi what perhaps?, perhaps something, tzimi also has the
gloss who knows?
3. mat not followed by aya there is forms macha there is not.
The final -a of aya and macha is a stem formative, 104: aya, and
hence macha, has several semantic functions.
ay anma there are people
mach ( < mat ay) anma there are no people
ayincoj I am at home
machincoj I am not at home
ay hin cheh I have a horse
mach hin cheh I don't have a horse
4. A few adjectives for states which are more or less end-points
in a processual continuum sometimes occur fused with the proclitics
xa already and to still. The adjective-clitic combination forms an
adjective stem which can be used, e.g., derived, in the same way as
other adjectives.
tzehto still young
ac'to still new
xilxa already worn out
yac'toal its still-newness (with -al — -il
inseparable possession, 606)
5. The quotative IV xi say takes no stem formative, and occurs
only with the past tense prefixes x- (302) and c- (303). However, its
tense is interpreted as either past or nonpast, depending on context.
ho'^xi ( < x-0-xi) naj "yes," he said
wacax^cori xi "wacax" we say (response to "how
do say 'cow' in Jacaltec?")
6. Two nouns, hah house and wah tortilla, have suppletive
variants when possessed. The examples have the PMA prefix w- first
person singular: watut my house, woch my tortilla.

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3
SYNTAX
The intention of this chapter is (1) to describe simple sentences

(sentences which are not formally complex or compound) and their
major constituents, viz. noun, verb, and adverb phrases (3.1-3.4); (2)
to show how dependent clauses, statal (nominal and adverbial)
clauses, and subordinate clauses are formed from imbedded sentences
(3.5, 3.6); (3) to describe complex and compound sentences (3.7,
3.8); and finally (4) to describe the miscellaneous set of sentence
constituents not already covered. As in the previous two chapters,
the description is mostly in terms of surface structure. However, at
some points I have outlined how disparate types of surface structure
constituents are derived transformationally from identical types of
underlying structures.
The writing conventions used in this chapter differ from those
used before as follows: (1) All inflectional affixes are set off by
hyphens. This includes morphemes treated as affixes in Chapter 2
but which are written by Jacaltecs as separate words. For example,
hin cheh my horse will be written hin-cheh and wuxtaj my brother as
w-uxtaj. Word divisions within prefixes, including the tense-person
prefix, are not written: he yuxtaj you-all's brothers is written
hey-uxtaj. (2) Clitics are set off by equals signs: oxeb'iie only three is
written ox-eb'=ne. (3) Inflectional affixes are written in their base
forms, morphophonemic change or loss not being shown, except that
(A) the distinction between the two forms of PMA (read "class A
person marker"-2.3.1) is kept, (B) initial h of PM is written only
when it actually occurs (i.e., when it is word-initial), and (C) some
morphemes which have no single base forms are written as they
actually occur, e.g., 306 future, 606, and 612. (4) The PMB 0 third
63

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person singular/plural is written wherever it is presumed to occur. (5)

Stem initial H (1.6.8) is written even where it is morphophonemi-
caliy lost. Word initial ' is not written, as before, except where it
follows a hyphen and is not morphophonemically lost. Hence xal naj
he said it is written x-0-y-Hal naj, quin ha wilan you saw me is
written qu-in-haw-il=an, and chach apnoj you will arrive is written
ch-ach-'apn-oj. As in Chapter 2, brackets are sometimes used to
indicate constituents being exampled.
3.1. Simple sentence
The fullest basic form of a simple sentence is VP NP NP

AdvP . . . AdvP. VP (verb phrase) is a constituent of all sentences,
and may be the only constituent. The two NP (noun phrase) are for
subject and object, in that order; neither, either, or both may occur.
One or more AdvP (adverb phrase) are optional to give time, place,
manner, motive, etc.
qu-in-toyi I went (VP)
qu-in-to ewi I went yesterday (VP AdvP)
x-0-to naj he went (VP NP)
x-y-il naj he saw s.th. (VP NP)
x-0-w-il naj I saw him (VP NP)
x-0-y-il naj ix he saw her (VP NP NP)
x-0-y-il naj ix b'eti' ewi he saw her here yesterday (VP NP
NP AdvP AdvP)
3.2. Noun Phrase

Three kinds of constituents can occur in the NP positions of a
sentence: third person noun phrase (abbreviated NP3), conjoined NP,
and reflexive NP. Discussion of one type of NP3, nominal clauses, is
deferred until 3.6.1.
3.2.1. Third person noun phrase

NP3 serve as verb subject, transitive verb object, and noun
possessor. These three functions are also marked by verb and noun
inflectional affixes, the person markers y- ~ s- and 0 (2.3.1). In
general, whenever a PM3 (third singular/plural person marker) is
affixed to a verb or noun, a matching NP3 follows the verb or noun

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Syntax 65
(see the examples in the previous section). Possessor NP3 are

constituents of the NP3 which includes the possessed noun: s-cheh
naj his horse (naj is the possessor NP3).
In a nonreflexive sentence with two PM3 which are identical in
reference, only the NP3 which matches the first PM3 occurs. (This is
not always true if the second PM3 is in an imbedded or conjoined
sentence.) Compare the following two examples, which differ
because a possessor NP3 is lacking in the first to match the possessor
PM3 s-.
x-0-y-il naj s-cheh he saw his horse (his own)
x-0-y-il naj s-cheh naj he saw his horse (someone else's)
NP3 constitutents are described in the following sections.
Figure 3 (p. 66) shows the elements which occur in NP3, their
ordering, and their immediate constituent structure. Coocurrence
restrictions are not shown.
3.2.1.1. Noun (position 10)

Any noun stem or compound noun (3.13) can occur in position
10. Noun inflection and derivation are described in 2.3.3 and 2.4.4.
A noun may be, but rarely is, the only constituent of NP3: ch-0-co-lo
wah we eat tortillas. I suspect that this example, and the few others
like it available, are cases of incorporation of the object into the verb
phrase. In the great majority of cases, at least one other NP3 element
precedes the noun. (Numbers after examples indicate positions filled
in NP3.)
ch-0-co-lo ixim wah we eat tortillas (8-10)
x-0-cam hin-cheh my horse died (9-10)
x-0-cam no' cheh the horse died (8-10)
x-0-cam ox-c'on cheh three horses died (4-10)
x-0-cam hun k'ahan cheh some horses died (1-10)
3.2.1.2. Possessor prefix (positions 3 and 9)

PMA (2.3.1) occur in position 9 as noun possessor. First and
second person PMA can also occur in position 3 if position 4 has a
numeral other than hun-e' one or the indefinite numeral hay several,
and if an optionally possessed noun is in position 10. Unless a noun
classifier occurs in position 2, this difference in position corresponds
to a difference in meaning, as shown in the examples below. Only the

Authenticated
Indefinite
article 1
Noun
classifier 2
PMA
possessor 3
Numeral 4
Numeral
classifier
xa other
Plural
particle 7
Noun
classifier 8
PMA
possessor
Noun
Possessor
NP3 11
Relative
clause 12
Demonstrative 13
Fig. 3. Third person noun phrase

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Syntax 67
PMA allomorphs which ordinarily occur before consonants other

than ' and H (i.e., the set 2 allomorphs) occur in position 3,
irrespective of the first consonant of the following numeral.
x-0-to hin ox-c'oii cheh my three horses went (3-4-10)
x-0-to ox-c'oii hin-cheh three of my horses went (4-9-10)
x-0-to no' hin ox-c'oii cheh (or)
x-0-to no' ox-c'oii hin-cheh the three horses of mine went
(2-3-4-10, 2^-9-10)
3.2.1.3. Possessor third person noun phrase (position 11)

If PMA3 (read: third singular/plural class A person marker) and
a noun occur in positions 9 and 10, a NP3 usually occurs in position
11, as discussed under 3.2.1, above. PMA3 and possessor NP3 form a
single discontinuous constituent. A possessor NP3 may itself contain
a possessor NP3, so that an indefinite number of nested NP3 can
occur.
s-cheh hin-mam my father's horse (9-10-11;
11=9-10)
no' s-cheh y-amigo hin-mam the horse of the friend of my father
(8-9-10-11; 11=9-10-11; 11=9-10)
3.2.1.4. Noun classifier (positions 2 and 8)

In position 8, or, if a numeral is present, in position 2 or 8 can
occur one of a set of twenty-five noun classifier particles (NCI). NCI
categorize the nouns with which they are used into nonoverlapping
classes of persons, animals, plants, objects, and substances. NCI for
persons classify them according to sex, age, kinship, respect, and
supernatural respect (dietyhood). 1 The NCI used with words for
nonpersons categorize things and substances as to what they are or as
to what they are made of, e.g., no' animal, consisting of animal
material (horse, meat, sandle), ch'en stone, metal, glass, ice, things
consisting thereof (rock, sand, machete, bottle). NCI are listed in
Appendix 2.
Personal names in NP3 are always preceded by a person
classifier: x-0-to naj Pel (nonrespected nonkin adult male class) Pedro
went.
1. A semantic-syntactic analysis of NCI for persons is given in my "The semantics of
social categories in a transformational grammar of Jacaltec," Monro S. Edmonson (ed.),
Meaning in Mayan Languages (The Hague: Mouton and Co., in press).

Authenticated
Many nouns do not fall into the categories imposed by the

classifiers. These include many words with nonmaterial referents:
star, sky, redness, surface, profession. ("Human contingencies,"
however, take the NCI naj: death, dream, marriage, wealth, measles).
Some objects of recent introduction, especially of plastic, take no
NCI: nayle plastic rain-cape. The word for person, people, anma,
does not take a classifier. When informants translate sentences with
these words into Spanish, they often do so as if they were preceded
by NCI: tx'umel star (not a complete NP3) or the star (a complete
NP3). Cf. cheh horse (not a NP3) and no' cheh the horse (NP3).
Nonclassified nouns, then, are used as if they could be preceded by a
"null" NCI, as other nouns can be preceded by a (nonnull) NCI.
NCI for persons can occur with the plural particle heb' (~ he' ~
he in fast speech) preposed without juncture, heb' is obligatory if the
referent is plural. (See 3.2.1.5, below, for the plural particle hej.)
naj winaj the man
heb'-naj winaj the men
ox-waii heb'-naj winaj three men
NC1 function as pronouns when NP3 does not contain a noun,
naj he (him, his)
heb'-naj them (men)
ox-waii heb'-naj three of them (men)
The "null" NCI also has the pronoun function. For instance, if one
saw a horse, one can say x-0-w-il no' cheh I saw the horse or x-0-w-il
no' I saw it (animal-classone cannot say x-0-w-ila, without a NP3.
(x-w-ila means I saw s.th.; *x-0-w-il cheh is ungrammatical.) In
contrast, if one saw a star one can say x-0-w-il tx'umel I saw the star
or x-0-w-ila I saw it ( "null"-class).
NCI are sometimes optional in NP3, but usually do occur. The
conditions for occurrence or nonoccurrence, and their semantics, are
not understood. Note the ungrammatically of the last two examples
below.
x-0-cam no' cheh the horse died (8-10)
x-0-cam hin-cheh my horse died (9-10)
x-0-cam no' hin-cheh (same gloss-?)(8-9-10)
x-0-cam hun no' cheh a horse died (1 -8-10)
x-0-to no' hin-cheh my horse went (8-9-10)
*x-0-to hin-cheh (9-10)
*x-0-cam hun cheh (1-10)

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Syntax 69
The choice between positions 2 and 8 for NCI reflects a

difference in meaning, but I am not sure that the glosses below
accurately reflect the difference.
x-0-cam no' ox-c'on cheh the three horses died (2-4-10)
x-0-cam ox-c'oii no' cheh three of the horses died, three
horses died (4-8-10)
3.2.1.5. Plural particle (position 5)

The particle hej plural can occur in this position, hej can occur
with any noun except those which take NCI for persons. In addition,
hej can occur with words for kin, even though these take the person
classifiers. Words for kin may be pluralized by hej, by heb'-NCl, or
(rarely) by both.
If context has established a plural meaning for a NP3, hej is
optional; hej never occurs in a NP3 whose plurality is shown by a
numeral. (In contrast, heb' must be preposed to NCI—if the latter
occurs—for plural denotata.)
hej w-uxtaj my brothers (7-9-10)
(hej) heb'-ho'uxtaje the brothers (7-8-10)
hej no' cheh the horses (7-8-10)
3.2.1.6. Numeral (position 4)

Position 4 can be filled by a numeral, including the indefinite/
interrogative numeral hay, or by tx'ihal many. Numeral inflection
was discussed in 2.3.3. and numeral formation in 2.6. Cardinal
numerals up to twenty must be inflected unless followed by a
numeral classifier (3.2.1.7, below).
ox-c'on no' cheh three horses (4-8-10)
hay-c'oii no' cheh several horses, how many horses?
(4-8-10)
tx'ihal no' cheh many horses (4-8-10)
hun-e' scan no' cheh a fourth horse (1-4-8-10)
ox-wan heb'-naj three men (4-8)
A few nouns denoting inanimates take the same classifiers as
persons or animals. Nevertheless, numerals used with these nouns and
classifiers take the inflectional suffix -eb' things.
ox-eb' naj witz three (-things) of the ("man-class")
hills (4-8-10)

Authenticated
cf. ox-wan heb'-naj witz three (-persons) of the (man-class)

hill-spirits
ox-eb' no' caj ch'elep three (-things) of the ("animal-
class") rainbows (4-8-10)
3.2.1.7. Numeral classifier (position 5)

NumCl and their subclasses (object, quantity, and action
N u m C l ) were discussed in 2.7. Numeral with following N u m C l
forms a single constituent of the NP3.
Action N u m C l . These occur only preceded by uninflected
numerals, and never occur with any other element of NP3: x-0-w-a'
[ox tzoc'] y-ih s-c'ul te' te' I gave [three chops] on the trunk of the
tree.
Object NumC 1. These may occur either with or, rarely,
without a preceding numeral, and with or without a following noun
or pronoun. When no noun or classifier-pronoun follows, one is
always understood from context.
hun putxan si' one armload-sized bundle of fire-
wood (4-5-10)
hun putxan one armload-sized bundle (of s.th.)
(4-5)
te' putxan siYx-0-in-lok'=an the armload-sized bundle of fire-
wood which I bought (2-5-10-12)
When a noun or pronoun follows, the number before many
object NumCl is optionally inflected by -eb' things (404). With other
object N u m C l , the numeral is never inflected.
ox(-eb') putxan si' three armload-sized bundles of fire-
wood (4-5-10)
(but only) ox tenan anma three crowds of people (4-5-10)
Quantity N u m C l . These can occur with or without a following
noun or pronoun. When no noun or pronoun follows, one is always
understood. When a noun or pronoun follows, the numeral before
most quantity NumCl is optionally inflected. The inflectional suffix
used is that appropriate to the noun from which the NumCl is taken.
ox(-eb') motx ixim three basketfulls of corn (4-5-10)
ox motx three basketfulls (of s.th.) (4-5)
ox(-c'ori) chehal ixim three horseloads of corn (4-5-10)

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Syntax 71
Other quantity NumCl—Spanish loans denoting measures and

monetary units-occur only with inflected numerals.
cari-eb' libra ixim four pounds of corn (4-5-10)
ox-eb' sentabo panela three cents of raw sugar (4-5-10)
Numeral classifier quantifiers. Object and quantity NumCl can
be immediately preceded by a word with one of the roots nim- big or
ni(')- little. A preceding numeral, except hun one, must be inflected,
nim- and ni(')- must have suffixes showing singular or plural, as
shown in the following examples.
hun niman c'alan si' one big bundle of firewood
hin niman c'alan si' my big bundle of firewood
hun ni'an c'alan si' one little bundle of firewood
ox-eb' nimejtaj c'alan si' three big bundles of firewood
ox-eb' nixtej c'alan si' three little bundles of firewood
3.2.1.8. Indefinite article (position 1)

The following may occur as indefinite articles in position 1.
Each NP3 exampled can be preceded by x-0-cam died.
hun(-e') cheh a horse (1-10)
hunuj no' cheh some horse (1-8-10)
hunun no' cheh each/every horse
hun k'aan no' cheh some horses
sunil no' cheh all of the horses
hun and hune' a are respectively the numeral root and inflected
numeral for one. If hun(-e') occurs in either position 1 or 4, it cannot
occur in the other position. Note that, if positions 2 and 3 are
empty, hune' is ambiguous and may be glossed as either a or one (in
positions 1 or 4 respectively): x-0-cam hun-e' no' cheh a horse died
(1-8-10), or one horse died (4-8-10). But hun in position 1 is
unambiguous: x-0-cam hun no' cheh a horse died.
3.2.1.9. -xa "other, more"

-xa occurs only if positions 1, 4, or 4 and 5 are filled, and is
suffixed to the right-most filler of one of these positions, forming a
single constituent with it. However, if an inflected numeral in
position 4 precedes NumCl in position 5, -xa follows the numeral,
not the NumC 1.

Authenticated
ox-c'oii-xa no' cheh three more/other horses (4-6-8-10)

ox tenan-xa no' cheh three more/other crowds of horses
(4-5-6-8-10)
ox-eb'-xa motx ixim three more/other basketfulls of
corn (4-6-5-10)
hun-xa no' cheh another/one more horse (1-6-8-10)
3.2.1.10. Demonstrative (position 13)

The demonstrative particles tu' that and ti' this can occur in
position 13. They form a constituent paired with the rest of the NP3.
x-0-wa' naj tu' that man ate (8-13)
x-0-wa' naj ti' this man ate
x-0-to heb'-naj ox-waii tu' those three men went (2-4-13)
x-0-'ayc'ay hun ti' this one fell (1-13)
A possessor NP3 in position 11 or a PM3 which is part of a
relative clause in position 12—i.e., any NP3 which occurs within
another NP3—never includes a demonstrative. On the other hand,
when a NP3 which includes another NP3 has a demonstrative in
position 13, the demonstrative is ambiguous as to its reference. It
may modify either the including NP3 or an included NP3.
no' s-cheh w-uxtaj t u ' that horse of my brother (or) the
horse of that brother of mine
(8-9-10-11-13)
x=xa-0-wa' naj^x-0-'ilni hin-mam tu' That man who saw my father al-
ready ate (or) the man who saw
that father of mine already ate
(8-12-13)
3.2.1.11. Relative clause (position 12)

Relative clauses are one type of dependent clause, as described
later in 3.5. They are preceded by the juncture f .
najfx-0-aw-ila he whom you saw (8-12)
najfc-ach-'ilni he who saw you (8-12)
naj^yax-0 s-camix he whose shirt is yellow (8-12)
no' cheh^how-0 the horse which is mean (8-10-12)
3.2.2. Conjoined noun phrase

Noun phrases may be coordinately conjoined by the particle
b'oj and, together with, b'oj is often preceded by the juncture f .

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Syntax 73
ch-0-to naj^b'oj ix he and she go

ch-in-to b'oj naj I go together with him
x-a-lo b'oj naj you ate s.th. together with him
ch-ach-to b'oj hayin you go together with me
To describe noun phrase conjunction more adequately, includ-
ing examples like the preceding four, some differences between the
surface and underlying structures of sentences and noun phrases
must be described.
All person markers, which occur as affixes in the surface
structure, are noun phrases (NP—not the same as third person noun
phrase, NP3), or parts of noun phrases, in the underlying structure of
the sentence. First and second person markers (PM1,2) constitute
complete noun phrases, giving verb subject and object, and noun
possessor. PM3 usually occur paired with NP3 to form NP. This
assertion helps account for the fact that, in the surface structure, NP
positions in the sentence are never filled by first or second person
subject, object, or possessor. In the underlying structure, NP of any
person can occur.
In the underlying structure, all NP occur in the position where,
in the surface structure, NP3 occur—after the verb phrase for subject
and object NP, and after the noun for possessor NP. When two NP
occur, the one with PMA precedes the one with PMB. Note that this
makes PM3 and NP3 a continuous constituent in the underlying
structure.
A transformation moves PM of all persons from the NP position
of the sentence to prefix or suffix positions of the verb or noun,
whichever is appropriate. (Placement of PM is described in 2.3.2.1.)
NP3 are not moved.
mam [hin] ->• [hin-] mam [my] father
mam [s naj] -»• [s-] mam [naj] [his] father
ch-to [hin] -> ch-[in-]toyi [I] go
ch-to [0 naj] ch-[0-]to [naj] [he] goes
ch-il [w] i [hach] 2 = a n c h - [ a c h - ] 2[w-] jil=an [I] i see [you] 2
ch-il [y naj] i [hach] 2 ch- [ach-] 2[y-] l il [naj] i [he] i sees [you] 2
ch-il [w] i [0 ix] 2 ch-[0-] 2[w-] jil [ix] 2 [I] \ see [her] 2
ch-il [y naj] i [0 ix] 2 ch-[0-] 2[y-] 1 il [naj] 1 [ix] 2 [he] \ sees [her] 2

Authenticated
The NP positions in the underlying structure may be filled by

two or more noun phrases of any person conjoined by b'oj and. The
first PM only becomes an affix. If the remaining PM are PM3, they
are deleted, leaving only b'oj NP3 in the surface structure. The first
three examples at the beginning of this section are derived as shown
below.
ch-to [0 naj] i b'oj [0 ix] 2 ch-[0-] ] t o [naj] 1 b'oj [ix] 2
[he] 1 and [she] 2 go
ch-to [hin] 1 b'oj [0 naj] 2 ch-[in-] i t o b'oj [naj] 2
[he] 2 and [I] 2 go
x-lo [ha] 1 b'oj [y naj] 2 x-[a-] jlo b'oj [naj] 2
[you] land [he] 2 ate s.th.
In the examples just above, the second of the two conjoined NP
in the underlying structure is PM3 NP3. One more transformation is
necessary to account for cases where the second NP is PM1 or PM2.
(This is the case in the last of the examples at the beginning of the
section.) Note that in these cases PM1,2 cannot be moved to a verb
or noun affix position because that position is already filled by the
PM of the preceding NP, as per the preceding paragraph. The
transformation necessary is: whenever a first or second person PMA
or PMB is not affixed to a verb or noun, it is converted to ha' -PMB,
where ha' is an indefinite demonstrative particle (discussed further in
3.10). ha' has the allomorphs hay- with PMB1 and h- with PMB2,
singular or plural. ha'-PMB are termed independent pronouns, and
are discussed further in 3.3.1. The fourth example at the beginning
of the section is derived as follows: ch-to hach b'oj hin -> ch-ach-to
b'oj hin -> ch-ach-to b'oj ha'-in ( > chach to b'oj hayin) you and I
go.
3.2.3. Reflexive noun phrase

Transitive and stative verbs can be reflexive. A verb is reflexive
whenever, in the underlying structure, two NP (always NP with PMA
followed by NP with PMB) occurring after the verb are identical in
person and reference. In the corresponding surface structure, only
PMA is affixed to the verb, and a reflexive noun phrase replaces PMB
in the NP position of the sentence. Reflexive noun phrases have the
form PMA-b'a (NP3), where PMA acts as possessor, -b'a is a noun
-self, and NP3 matches PMA3 possessor when that occurs.

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For reflexive transitive verbs, the two NP are subject and object,
ch-il-a' j hoii ch-j-il-a' co-b'a we will see each other
ch-il-a' y heb'-naj 0 heb'-naj -> ch-y-il-a' s-b'a heb'-naj
they will see each other
cf. ch-0-y-il-a' heb'-naj heb'-naj they will see them
Stative verbs are reflexive when the stative verb complement
(3.3.3.2) is a possessed noun, and its possessor is identical with the
subject of the stative verb.
amigo j hoii ->• j-amigo co-b'a we are each other's friends
amigo y heb'-naj 0 heb'-naj ->• y-amigo s-b'a heb'-naj
they are each other's friends
cf. 0-y-amigo heb'-naj heb'-naj they are their friends
3.3. Verb phrase

A verb phrase (VP) is obligatory in any sentence and may be the
only element present. VP is always the first constituent in simple
declarative sentences. Any VP may be accompanied by proclitics
(2.5.2) and may be preceded by verb phrase particles (3.3.3, below).
There arfe two main subtypes of verb phrase: verbal stative
phrase (VStP, StP being the collective label for noun phrase and
adverb phrase) and verb phrase headed by a verb. They are
distinguished from one another in that (1) verbs may be inflected for
tense and/or person, while VStP take no verb inflection, and (2) all
verbs, but never VStP, may be accompanied in the verb phrase by
enclitics (2.5.1) and bound adverbials (3.3.2.3).
3.3.1. Verbal stative phrase

Some VStP consist of third person noun phrase (NP3—3.2.1) or
adverb phrase (AdvP—3.4) occurring in the VP position of the
sentence. These form complete sentences with glosses like "it is —"
or "there is —". In the simple declarative sentence, VStP cannot be
accompanied by any other sentence constituent. (VStP also have an
important role in the formation of complex sentences, described
later in 3.7.2.)
All NP3 occurring as VStP in simple declarative sentences must
fit the description of NP3 given above in 3.2.1, but not all NP3 can
occur as VStP. One restriction is that a lone noun classifier
(functioning as pronoun) cannot occur as VStP. Other restrictions

Authenticated
are not well understood and seem to involve lexical subclasses of NP3
elements.
no' cheh it's the horse
hin-cheh=an it's my horse
no' hin-cheh it's the horse of mine
hun k'aan heb'-naj it's some men
hun k'aan no' hin ox-c'oii chehf ch-0-low tu'
it's those three horses of mine,
which are eating
VStP are sometimes introduced by the indefinite demonstrative
ha'. Some NP3 which cannot otherwise occur as VStP can so occur
with ha', e.g., a lone noun classifier. With some other NP3 ha' is
optional, and with others it cannot occur,
(ha') no' hin-cheh tu' it's that horse of mine
ha' no' it's it (animal class)
ha' naj it's him
ha' hun tu' it's that one
The foregoing examples of VStP are all verbal noun phrases.
Verbal adverb phrases also occur, and are always introduced by ha'
or by some other indefinite demonstrative (as listed in 3.10), e.g.,
hac thus. The examples below show ha' AdvP and an AdvP consisting
of hac with a demonstrative.
ha' b'eti' it is here (in the sense of, e.g., it is
here that it happened; not in the
sense of, e.g., the horse is here)
hac tu' it's like that (sense as above)
ha'-PMBl,2, the independent pronouns, may occur as VStP
with glosses it is I, etc. ha' takes special allomorphs when followed
by PMB, as shown in the following paradigm,
ha' -in > hayin it is I
ha'-ach > hach it is you
ha' -oh > hayon it is we
ha' -ex > hex it is you-all
Independent pronouns in VStP may be followed by a relative
clause and/or a demonstrative,
hayin ti' it is I here
hach^x-qu-in-ha-mak' ti'=an, ch-ach-cam-oj
it is you here who hit me, you will
die (VStP ends at the comma)

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Proclitics (2.5.2) may occur with verbal NP. Longer combi-

nations of proclitics are preposed to the verbal NP: toiietic'a hayin it
is always I. Single proclitics and some shorter combinations of
proclitics are postposed to the first word of the verbal NP or to the
indefinite demonstrative ha'. In the latter case, ha' often seems to
occur only as a peg on which to hang the clitic—just as it occurs as a
peg on which to hang some noun phrases, as described in the
previous paragraphs, ha' usually loses the final' before proclitics.
ox-eb'[=ne] mixa there are [only] three masses
hayin=mi perhaps it is I
ha'=m ( > ham) hayin ti' perhaps it is I here
3.3.2. Verb phrase with verb

All VP headed by a verb (stative, intransitive, or transitive) may
occur with proclitics and enclitics (2.5), and bound adverbials
(3.3.2.3).
Verbs are of two types: stative verbs (SV) and processive verbs
(IV and TV). Processive verbs may occur in the indicative mood with
a tense or aspect marker (2.3.2.1) or in the imperative mood
(2.3.2.3). SV have no such mood distinction and do not take tense or
aspect markers.
3.3.2.1. Stative verb

Stative verbs are of two types, which differ somewhat in their
internal structure but not in their occurrence with other elements in
the verb phrase or sentence. The two types are as follows. (1) Some
SV have as their complement any stative word (2.1.3) except adverb,
or certain short NP3 (see below for these NP3). PMB affixed to the
complement shows the subject of the verb; placement of PMB is
described in 2.3.1. (2) Other SV consist of the same type of
complement, with the addition of adverb, followed by the inflected
copula PMA-eyi. PMA gives the subject, -e is the root of the copula,
and -yi is the stem formative suffix 101, which is lost under the usual
conditions. Verb phrases with -eyi have the form: complement
(proclitics) (BndAdv) PMA-eyi (enclitics).
SV without copula have glosses like "I am —," where equation
or equative description is implied. SV with the copula have glosses of

Authenticated
the same form, but description of a state, condition, or overall form

seems to be implied.
The SV complement may consist of any stative word (except
adverb for the first type of SV) with stative inflectional affixes as
appropriate. It may also consist of a short NP3 with some selection
of constituents as shown in the following diagram.
( PMA- )
] [ N (NP3) Dem
f Num NumC 1 )
where Num is numeral, NumCl is numeral classifier, N is noun, Dem

is demonstrative, and NP3 occurs only with PMA3 possessor. Dem
occurs only in SV with the copula.
When the SV subject and the possessor of a noun in the SV
complement are identical in reference, the SV is reflexive, as
described and exampled in 3.2.3.
winaj-in I am a man (N)
ox-wan-oii we are three (Num)
hun tenan-oii we are a crowd ( N u m - N u m C l )
al-ach you are heavy (Adj)
tz'oiian-ach you are seated (Pos)
ox-wan winaj-oii we are three men (Num-N)
hex-w-uxtaj=an you-all are my brothers (PMA-N)
hoii-y-uxtaj naj X u w a n we are Juan's brothers (PMA-
N-NP3)
0-s-mam ix naj he is her father (PMA-N-NP3)
tzet haw-eyi what's the matter with you? (in-
definite pronoun)
c'ul w-eyi I'm well (Adj)
hin-péna y-eyi I have troubles (PMA-N)
ox tenan y-e ixim it (corn class) is in three piles
(Num-NumCl)
ca-eb' y-e ha' ha' the water is (divided) in two (Num)
nan=xa y-e naj he's already different (Adj with
proclitic)
pihan y-e=toj ha' ha' the water is spread-out there (Pos
with enclitic)
hac t u ' y-e naj he's that way (Adv with Dem)
x'ahawil y-e ix she's a servant (lit. she's [paid] by
the month—Adv)

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An important kind of SV is formed with the SV complement

ay- be, be located, exist with PMB subject suffixes, ay- takes the stem
formative suffix -a (104) before contour. When ay- occurs with the
negative particle mat, mat ay- is replaced by mach- there is not.
ay-0 w-atut b'etu' my house is there
ay-0 hun-e' naj yuliia there's a man indoors
ay-in I am alive
ay-ach=c-oj you are home
ay-0 hin-cheh I have a horse
mat ay-0 ( > mach) hir.-cneh I don't have a horse
3.3.2.2. Processive verb

Processive verbs are intransitive and transitive verbs. Their
inflection is described in 2.3.2 and their derivation in 2.4.1-2.4.3.
When the subject and object of TV are identical in reference, the
verb takes a reflexive noun phrase (see 3.2.3).
3.3.2.3. Bound adverbial

Bound adverbials (BndAdv) are a set of words, one or more of
which can follow the verb in VP headed by verbs. Several types of
BndAdv may be distinguished, primarily on the basis of their
occurrence with different verb types.
The diminutive BndAdv. with the root ni(')-, can occur with
any verb, ni'an occurs with SV and with non-future IV and TV; ninoj
occurs with future IV and TV. The diminutive BndAdv, and no
other, can follow another BndAdv, as in the last example below,
k'a' chew-0=xa ni'an tx'otx' it (the country) is a little colder still
x-0-to ni'an naj paxyal he went a little for a walk
ch-0-to-oj ninoj naj paxyal he will go a little for a walk
ch-y-a' mandar ni'an naj he commands s.th. a little
One set of BndAdv occur only with SV. These are BndAdv
derived from positional roots by -Red(Ci)-o (517-704)
saj-0 [oh'o] ha-wi' you are a white-haired old man (lit.
your head is white [in a stooped-
with-age manner])
caw-0-iie [pitzpo] te' sat te' the fruit is [unripely] hard

Authenticated
Most BndAdv occur only with TV and IV. They are produc-
tively derived from positional and onomatopoeic roots by the
suffixes listed in 2.4.7; examples are given in that section.
Two types of BndAdv occur only with the TV a'a (the main
gloss of a'a is put, give, but it o f t e n has other uses, as here). These
are (1) Spanish loan verbs in their infinitive forms and (2) TV and IV
stems statalized by the future suffix (307—for statalization of verbs,
see 3.6, below).
ch-y-a' [mandar] naj he [commands] s.th. (e.g., an
army)
x-y-a' [tzab'-a'] s-b'a no' it let itself [be caught]
j-0-a'-a' [b'ina-oj] ninoj co-conob' let's make our town [be famous] a
little
3.3.3. Verb phrase particles

A small set of particles can precede the verb or verbal stative
phrase in VP. The use of some of these is not well understood (those
beginning in ta- and wa-).
mat ~ mach not. mat occurs only with VStP, with SV, and with
IV and TV with aspect markers (304-306). mach occurs only before
IV and TV with tense markers (301-303). The word following mat is
usually inflected by -oj potential (401). As noted earlier, 2.3.2.1, mat
ay- there is not > mach-. mat ha'-0-oj it's not (with the indefinite
demonstrative, PMB3, and the potential suffix) > mataj.
mat wacax-oj it's not a cow (verbal NP)
mat ha' -in-oj ( > mat hayinoj) it's not I (verbal NP)
mat ha' -0-oj naj ( > mataj naj) it's not he (verbal NP)
mat winaj-oj-in I'm not a man (SV)
mat ay-ach=c-oj ( > machachcoj) you're not home (SV)
mat laiian-oj hin-wa'i I'm not eating (IV with aspect
marker)
mach caw ch-y-il naj he doesn't see very well (TV with
tense marker—for caw very see
below)
When mat occurs before adverb phrases acting as VStP,
generally in a complex sentence (3.7), mat itself often takes the
potential suffix: . . . yaj mat-oj hunun tz'ayic . . . but it's not every
day.

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For m o r p h o p h o n e m i c rules which o f t e n apply t o the negative

particle, and examples, see 1.6.2.
caw intensifier (very, very much, etc.).
caw tx'ial there are very many (VStP)
caw xiquiltaj y-e naj he is very respected (SV)
caw winaj-0 naj he is a real man (SV)
caw ch-ach-wayi you really sleep (soundly) (IV)
etza almost.
etza sunil anmafx-0-cam=can -oj it was almost all of the people who
died (VStP in complex sentence)
etza mat ay-0 ( > mach) y-opisyo anma
the people have almost no trades (SV)
k'a' comparative (more, -erj.
k'a' xiquiltaj y-e naj he is more respected
coiiob' t u ' f k ' a ' nimejal-0 s-sataj Saantonyo
that town, it's bigger than (the town
of) San Antonio
The use o f the group o f particles which are the first words o f
the following examples is not understood,
ta'anca ha'-0 naj well!, it's he
ta'an ch-ach-to hecal well!, you're going tomorrow
wac'amca ha'-ach [what if] it's you?
taxca ch-0-Hul-oj naj tiiian [can it be that] hell come today?
taj(ca) ch-in-'ayc'ayi [may it not happen that] I fall!
Verb phrase particles can occur in combinations,
mach caw ch-y-il naj he doesn't see very well
caw mach ch-y-il naj he doesn't see at all
k'a' caw xiquiltaj y-e naj he is much more respected
etza mat ay-0 y-opisyo anma the people have almost no trades
3.4. Adverb phrase

Following the noun phrase positions of the simple sentence
occur several optional adverb phrase (AdvP) positions, for adverbs of
time, place, manner, motive, etc.
Four classes of AdvP are distinguished: (1) AdvP consisting of
an adverb (a stem class); ( 2 ) AdvP consisting of a subtype o f NP3; ( 3 )
AdvP introduced by b'et to, at and yet during-, and (4) AdvP
consisting of a statal clause. The fourth type is described later in 3.6.

Authenticated
The ordering of two or more AdvP of the first three types is

free in elicited utterances.
3.4.1. Adverb
Adverb (Adv) is a root and stem class. Adverb stems are derived
from other stems as described in 2.4.6. Ordinal numerals (2.6.2)
occur as Adv with no modification. Some Adv may be preceded by
the particle caw very.
x-0-to naj [paxyal] he went [for a walk]
x-0-y-il naj ix [ak'b'alil] he saw her [at night]
qu-in-wa' [scan] I ate [fourth]
ch-0-munla ix [x'ahawil] she works as a servant (lit. [by the
month])
ch-0-munla naj [caw c'ul] he works [very well]
3.4.2. Adverbial noun phrase

Adverbial noun phrase is a subtype of third person noun phrase
(3.2.1) in which only some NP3 elements can occur, with glosses of
the form "to, from, at —." A noun, usually denoting a location, is
the minimal and mandatory element of adverbial noun phrase. Other
possible elements are: hej PMA N (NP3) Dem, in positions 7, 9, 10,
11, and 13 of NP3 (see the chart in 3.2.1). NP3 occurs only with
PMA3 possessor, and occurs only if the referent of the PMA3 has not
already been given a NP3 earlier in the sentence.
x-0-to naj [conob] he went [to town]
x-0-pax=tij naj [coiiob'] he returned here [from town]
x-0-to naj [Xek'a'] he went [to Guatemala City]
x-0-to naj [y-atut ix] he went [to her house]
x-0-to naj [y-atut] he went [to his (own) house]
x-0-w-il naj [w-atut] I saw him [at my house]
x-0-to naj [txoiib'al tu'] he went [to that market]
ay-0 no' hakVal [hej y-atut anma] there are candles [in the houses of
the people]
A set of always-possessed stems, treated here as nouns, denoting
locations and other "prepositional" concepts often occur in adverbial
noun phrases. Although most of these stems are found much more
frequently in AdvP than in NP, they do not differ formally—nor
semantically, often—from many other always-possessed nouns. In the

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Syntax 83
following examples, literal glosses are given in parentheses for some

AdvP with these nouns.
ay-0=c-oj tz'otz'ew [y-in ha-sat] there's mud [on your face] (the
surface of your face)
ch-0-to-oj naj [w-in] hell go [with me]
x-0-mak'-ot naj [haw-Hu] he was hit [by you]
x-0-to naj [y-ul te' nah] he went [in the house] (the interior
of the house)
ay-0 naj [s-wi' witz] he's [on top of the hill] (the head
of the hill)
x-y-a' naj [j-et] he gave s.th. [to us]
k'a' nimejal-0 coiiob' tu' [s-sataj Saantonyo]
that town is bigger [than San
Antonio]
Most adverbial NP, when the first element is a second person
possessor PM (ha ~ haw- 2s or h e — hey- 2p), are preceded by the
prefix t-, after which initial h of the PM is lost. For one
"prepositional" noun only, -et to, for, t- also occurs before the PM3
prefix y-. The resulting cluster t-y-et is reduced to tet.
x-0-to naj [t-aw-atut] he went [to your house]
x-y-a' naj [t-ey-et] he gave s.th. [to you-all]
x-y-a' naj [t-y-et ( > tet) ix] he gave s.th. [to her]
ch-in-to-oj [t-aw-iii] IH go [with you]
3.4.3. b'et to, at and yet during

AdvP may consist of one of the particles b'et or yet, followed
by a stative phrase.
b'et may be followed by any NP3 or by a lone demonstrative
particle, tu' or ti', yielding the adverbs b'etu' there and b'eti' here.
Further, any adverbial noun phrase, as just described, may follow
b'et—but the prefix t- never occurs.
x-0-to naj [b'et haw-atut] he went [to your house]
x-0-b'ey heb'-naj [b'et ox-eb' te' hah] they went [to the three houses]
x-0-w-il naj [b'eti'] I saw him [here]
x-0-to naj [b'etu'] he went [there]
yet during must be followed by an adverb of time. In many
cases, yet before such an adverb is optional, but in some others it
must occur, (yet, with the gloss when, is also a subordinating
conjunction; see 3.6.2.)

Authenticated
x-0-to naj [(yet) ewi] he went [yesterday]

x-0-mohyi naj y-iii ix [yet hunb'i] he got married with her [last year]
3.4.4. Adverb phrase conjunction

AdvP can be conjoined by b'oj and or maca or.
eh-aii co-c'atan [tinaii b'oj hecal] =an stay with us [today and tomorrow]
ch-0-Hul-oj naj [tinaii maca hecal] he'll come [today or tomorrow]
3.5. Dependent clause

Dependent clauses are constituents, derived transformationally
from imbedded sentences, which function as relative clause in the
noun phrase (see below) and as dependent clause in the complex
sentence (3.7). They are usually preceded by the juncture f without
contour.
Dependent clauses are of three types. The first type (described
in the following paragraph) can occur as either relative clause or
dependent clause in a complex sentence. The second and third types
occur only as relative clauses and in complex sentences, respectively.
Dependent clauses of the first and second types are derived from
underlying sentences whose verb phrase contains a verb (transitive,
intransitive, or stative). Dependent clauses of the third type are
derived only from sentences whose verb phrase is a verbal stative
phrase.
In the first type of dependent clause, the underlying imbedded
sentence contains one stative phrase (NP3 or AdvP) which is
identical in form and reference to a stative phrase in the matrix
sentence. To form the dependent clause, the identical stative phrase
is often deleted. Further, if the deleted phrase is the third person
subject NP3 of a transitive verb, then the PMA3 subject prefix of the
verb is also deleted, and the verb takes the pseudointransitive suffix
-n (501). (Examples are given later in the section.)
Relative clauses are dependent clauses which occur in position
12 of the NP3 (3.2.1). The first type of dependent clause, described
in the preceding paragraph, may occur as relative clause. In this case
a NP3 of the sentence underlying the dependent clause must be
identical to the NP3 in which the relative clause occurs, and that NP3
is deleted from the relative clause. The identical NP3 in the sentence

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underlying the relative clause may be its subject or object, or a

possessor NP3.
For the special treatment of demonstratives in relative clauses,
see 3.2.1.10.
The sentences corresponding to the relative clauses in the
following examples are given in parentheses.
x-0-to naj^ [x-0-'ilni ix] he [who saw her] went (x-0-y-il naj
ix he saw her)
x-0-to najf [x-0-y-il ix] he [whom she saw] went (x-0-y-il
ix naj she saw him)
x-0-to najf [c-ach-'ilni] he [who saw you] went (c-ach-y-il
naj he saw you)
x-0-to no chehf1 [how-0] the horse [which is mean] went
(how-0 no' cheh the horse is mean)
x-0-to naj^[yax-0 s-camix] he [whose shirt is green] went
(yax-0 s-camix naj his shirt is green)
ch-0-'ayc'ay-oj te' ak'in^[pitxan-0=c-oj]
the board [which is (leaning)
against s.th. insecurely] will fall
(pitxan-0=c-oj te' ak'in the board is
against s. th. insecurely)
The second type of dependent clause mentioned at the
beginning of this section occurs only as relative clause. This consists
of relative clauses introduced by the indefinite pronoun b'ay where.
They are derived from underlying sentences which contain an AdvP
of the form b'et NP3 to, from, at - (3.4.3), where NP3 is identical to
the NP3 which contains the relative clause, b'et NP3 is replaced in
the surface structure by b'ay, which occurs at the front of the
relative clause, b'ay and b'et usually have locational glosses, but in
one example (given below) they refer to time. No other indefinite
pronouns (3.10) function in dependent clauses in this way.
x-qu-in-to b'et te' iiah^fb'ay ch-in-wa'i]
I'm going to the house [where I
eat] (ch-in-wa' b'et te' hah I eat at
the house)
ch-0-'apni hun-e' tz'ayical^[b'ay ch-in-mohyi] tu'
that day [when I marry] is coming
(ch-in-mohyi b'et hun-e' tz'ayical
tu' ,/ywill) marry on that day)

Authenticated
The third type of dependent clause, which occurs only in
complex sentences and which consists of a verbal stative phrase, is
described in 3.7.
3.6. Statal clause

Statal clauses are constituents, consisting of or containing an
imbedded sentence, which occur as noun or adverb phrase-
collectively, stative phrase. Statal clauses may contain all the major
constituents of the sentence types from which they are derived (i.e.,
VP, NP, and AdvP). Only sentences with verbs (not those with verbal
stative phrases) can occur in statal clauses. There are two types,
described separately below: statalized sentences and subordinate
clauses.
3.6.1. Statalized sentence

Statalized sentences are statal clauses which occur as NP and
AdvP in the appropriate positions of the simple sentence. They
always lack tense markers, and may differ from their underlying
source sentences by other deletions and modifications as well. The
chart below shows the forms and functions of statalized sentences
which have been noted. Further data would undoubtedly expand the
roster of types and make possible a more structured presentation,
showing semantic and transformational relationships among the
different types. Inspection of the examples will show that such
relationships exist.
The suffixes shown in the chart are: -o' — ' ~ -1 (604, 2.4.4)
statalizer, - ~ -V' ~ -b' ~ -oj (307, 2.3.2.2) future, -oj (401, 2.3.3)
potential, and -n (501, 2.4.1) pseudointransitive. Prefixed PMA
shows verb subject; PMB shows transitive verb object.
Form of Verb Used as
1. IV-1 NP, AdvP
2. TV{o)' N NP, AdvP
3. PMA IV NP
4. PMA IV -future NP
5. (PMB) PMA TV-n NP, AdvP
6. (PMB) PMA TV-n-future NP, AdvP
7. (PMB) PMA TV -future NP, AdvP
8. IV -future NP, AdvP
9. SV -potential AdvP

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Syntax 87
The examples below are numbered according to the chart to

show the verb form of the statalized sentence they illustrate. The
function of the clause is shown in parentheses.
1. caw ay-0=c-oj [mak'wal] y=in naj there is much [hitting] with him (he
goes around hitting) (NP)
x-0-b'ey heb'-naj [awal=can-oj] they went [to leave s.th.] (AdvP)
2. ay-0=c-oj [mak'o' anma] y-in naj there is [hitting people] with him (he
goes around hitting people) (NP)
x-0 -'oc naj [ilo' sajach] he began [watching the game] (AdvP)
3. x-0-w-il [ha-wa'i] I saw [you eat] (NP)
y-orail [co-wa' y-iii chuman] the hour of [our eating at noon] (i.e.,
lunch-time) (NP)
ya'-0 [s-wa' naj] [for him to eat] is painful (NP)
4. ya'-0 [s-wa'-oj naj] [for him to eat will] be painful (NP)
5. x-0-y-il naj [hin-pohni=toj ch'en pulato]
he saw [me break the plate] (NP)
tonetic'a=listo y-e naj [s-colni] he's always ready [to help s.o.]
(AdvP)
6. x-0-s-lok' naj esh'en cuchara y-Hu [ha-lon-oj]
he brought the spoon for [you to eat
s.th.] with (NP)
x-0-to naj [y-Haln-oj t-y-et ix] he went [to say s.th. to her] (AdvP)
7. ch-0-s-k'an hin-c'ul [hin-lo-b'] my heart asks [me to eat s.th.] (I want
to eat s.th.) (NP)
x-0-to naj [0-y-il-a' y-awal] he went [to see his cornfield] (AdvP)
8. ch-0-s-je hin-c'ul [wa'-oj] my heart wants [eating] (I want to
eat) (NP)
ch-in-to [wa'-oj] I'm going [(in order) to eat] (AdvP)
x-0-'oc naj [wa'-oj] he began [eating] (AdvP)
9. ch-in-'oc-oj [winaj-oj] I will be (lit. begin to be) [a man]
(AdvP)
3.6.2. Subordinate clause

Statai clauses may be formed with a subordinating conjunction
followed by a sentence. Clauses thus formed have the function of NP
or AdvP in the sentence, but in the surface structure occur conjoined
to and following the sentence to which they belong. They are usually
preceded by the juncture ^ with contour, written as comma.
When a subordinate clause sentence contains a NP3 identical to
a NP3 in the main sentence, the NP3 in the clause is sometimes

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deleted, or optionally deleted, under conditions not well understood.

(See the examples with b'ay where, below). TV in sentences
introduced by yet when take the pseudointransitive suffix -n (501).
Otherwise, sentences after subordinating conjunctions are
unmodified.
b'ay ay- where there is is replaced by b'a a y — b'ay-. chub'il
that can sometimes be omitted (first example below).
The functions in the sentence of the subordinate clauses in the
examples are given in parentheses.
ch-0-y-il naj, [(chub'il)] caw tx'ial anmafx-0-cam=can-oj
he saw [that] there were many
people who died (NP)
x-0-y-Hal ix, [chub'il (tato)] ch-ach-'apn-oj
she said [that] you will arrive (NP)
x-0-w-Hal t-y-et naj ewi, [tato] ch-in-Huli
I said to him yesterday [that] I will
come (NP)
x-0-y-Hal naj w-et, [tato] ch-in-poh=toj
he told me [to] break s.th. (NP)
ch-0-w-axiie-' naj=an, [ta(to)] ay-0 no' xapun
I'll bathe him [if] there's soap
(AdvP)
x-0-w-ilftb'ay] x-y-a=y-oj naj I saw [where] he put down s.th.
(NP)
x-0-'ayc'ay naj, [b'ay] x-0-y-il (naj) no' cheh
he fell [where] he saw the horse
(second naj he optional—AdvP)
x-0-'ayc'ay naj, [b'ay] x-y-ila he fell [where] he saw s.th. (second
naj he deleted—AdvP)
x-0-'ayc'ay naj, [b'a] ay(~b'ay)-0 s-cheh
he fell [where] his horse is (AdvP)
x-0-'ayc'ay naj, [yet] x-0-y-ilni naj ix he fell [when] he saw her (AdvP)
x-0-to naj, [masanto] x-0-'apni naj b'et K'anil
he went [until] he came to Canil
(mountain) (AdvP)
x-y-eb'a=toj s-b'a naj, [yub'altajiie] mach ch-0-w-il naj=an
he hid himself [so that] I wouldn't
see him (AdvP)
ch-in-toyi, [waxamcami] x=xa=0-'ali I'm going [although] it's already
late

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Syntax 89
ch-0-co-say no'=an, [como] xin pay=xafrnach=xatic'a x-0-j-il no'=an

we're looking for it (animal-class)
[since] it's already a long time that
we haven't seen it (AdvP)
x-0-'ayc'ay naj, [yaxcami] x-0-y-il naj ix
he fell [because] he saw her (AdvP)
3.7. Complex sentence

Previous sections of this chapter have described the constituents
of simple sentences. In the surface structure, many complex
sentences differ from simple sentences only in that a NP3 or AdvP is
preposed to VP, followed by the juncture f , rather than postposed to
VP as in simple sentences. The preposed element is given emphasis by
its position.
hun-e' naj tu'^x-0-toyi it's that man who went
cf. x-(}-to hun-e' naj tu' that man went
ewifqu-in-toyi it was yesterday that I went
cf. qu-in-to ewi I went yesterday
A complex sentence, however, it not just a reordered simple
sentence. This is indicated by the glosses for the foregoing examples
and by examples such as the following, where an independent
pronoun and a NP3 with a proclitic (mi perhaps) occur first in the
sentence. Neither can occur in this form after VP in a simple
sentence.
ha'-in^ch-in-toyi it is I who am going
cf. ch-in-toyi I am going
ox-eb'=mi no' cheh^x-0-toyi perhaps it was three horses that
went
cf. x-0-to ox-eb' no' cheh three horses went
The preposed elements in these examples have all the character-
istics of verbal stative phrases (VStP) as described above in 3.3.1. The
postposed element in complex sentences is a dependent clause, as
shown by the fact that TV in them lack a subject PMA3 and have the
pseudointransitive suffix -n under the conditions described in 3.5 for
the first type of dependent clause: naj Xuwan tu'^x-0-'ilni ix it is
that Juan who saw her (cf. x-0-y-il naj Xuwan t u ' ix that Juan saw
her).
The preposed constituent of the complex sentence may consist
of any verbal noun phrase which can stand alone as a sentence.

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However, other VStP of the same general type can occur in complex
sentences which cannot occur alone as sentences. These are verbal
adverb phrases and some phrases introduced by, or consisting of, an
indefinite demonstrative. (Indefinite demonstratives are described
later in 3.10.) These share the characteristics of verbal noun phrases
of occurrence with proclitics and verb phrase particles.
In general, the underlying structure of the complex sentence
consists of VStP followed by a sentence, where the postposed
sentence must fulfill certain conditions, including that of containing
a constituent or set of constituents identical to the VStP, excluding
whatever proclitics, verb phrase particles, and indefinite demon-
stratives are contained in VStP. Under some conditions, given below,
the identical elements are deleted from the postposed sentence to
derive the dependent clause of the surface structure.
The postposed sentence may be one whose verb phrase contains
a verb, or one which is a verbal noun phrase. These cases are
discussed separately below.
3.7.1. Complex sentence with verb

If, in the underlying structure of the complex sentence, the
postposed sentence is one whose VP contains a verb, the constituent
identical to the preposed VStP must be either a stative phrase (NP3
or AdvP) or a first or second person PM. (Note that all are stative
phrases in the underlying structure, since PM1,2 and PM3 NP3 are
noun phrases; see 3.2.2.)
The surface structure dependent clause is derived from the
postposed sentence as follows. (1) If the identical constituent is NP3
or AdvP, it is deleted. (2) If the constituent so deleted is a NP3
functioning as third person subject of a TV, then the corresponding
PMA3 is also deleted, and the TV takes the suffix -n (501). (3) If the
identical element is PM1 or PM2 (and the VStP hence contains
ha'-PMBl or ha'-PMB2), nothing is deleted to form the dependent
clause.
The following examples have dependent clauses derived from:
x-0-y-il naj ix w-atut he saw her at my house.
ha'-0 najfx-0-'ilni ix w-atut it was he who saw her at my house

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Syntax 91
ha'-0=m ( > ham) najfx-0-'ilni ix w-atut

perhaps it was he who saw her at
my house
ha'-0 ix^x-0-y-il naj w-atut it was she whom he saw at my
house
w-atutfx-0-y-il naj ix it was at my house that he saw her
The following examples have the dependent clause sentence:
x-0-w-il naj tu'=an I saw that man.
ha'-0 naj tu'^x-0-w-il=an it was that man whom I saw
mat ha'-oj-0 ( > mataj) naj tuYx-0-w-il=an
it was not that man whom I saw
ha'-in^x-0-w-il naj tu'=an it was I who saw that man
mat ha'-in-ojfx-0-w-il naj t u - a n It was not I who saw that man
The following examples have the dependent clause sentence:
x-0-y-il s-mam naj no' hin-cheh=an his father saw my horse.
s-mam naj^x-0-'ilni no' hin-cheh=an it was his father who saw my horse
no' hin-chehfx^-y-il s-mam naj=an it was my horse which his father
saw
ha'-0 najfx-0-y-il s-mam no' hin-cheh=an
it was he whose father saw my
horse
ha'-in^x-0-y-il s-mam naj no' hin-cheh=an
it was I whose horse his father saw
3.7.2. Complex sentence with verbal noun phrase

In the underlying structure, both the preposed and postposed
constituents of the complex sentence may consist of verbal noun
phrases (but not verbal adverb phrases, the other kind of VStP). In
this case, the two verbal NP must have the following characteristics.
(1) The postposed verbal NP cannot contain the indefinite demon-
strative ha'-. (2) If the preposed verbal NP has ha' -PM1,2, then there
are no identity requirements between the two constituents, and no
changes are made to derive the surface structure dependent clause.
(3) If, on the other hand, the preposed element contains a NP3, then
the following conditions must be met. The postposed verbal NP must
contain a duplicate of every NP3 element which occurs in the
preposed verbal NP, and must contain at least two more as well. One
of these additional elements must be a NP3 element filling a position
lower in number (referring to the chart in 3.2.1) than the first

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element of the preposed verbal NP. To derive the surface structure

dependent clause, the identical elements are deleted. Noun phrase
positions filled in the dependent clauses of the following examples
are shown in parentheses.
ha'-orifheb'-naj ox-wanfx=xa-0-wa'i it's we who are the three who
already ate (3-4-12)
ha'-0 najfhun tu' it's he who is that one (i.e., that's
him) (\-13)
hin ox-c'oii chehfhun k'aan tu' it's my three horses that are those
(1-13)
no' cheh tu'fhunfch-0-lowi it's that horse that's the one which
is eating (1-12)
3.8. Conjoined sentences

Jacaltec sentences may be conjoined in several ways. Contour
separates conjoined sentences.
Conjunction with b'oj " a n d " and yaj(a') " b u t " , b'oj, or yaj or
yaja' may introduce the second of two conjoined sentences. They are
also often used to introduce non-conjoined sentences, given an
appropriate context,
x-in-y-il naj, yaja' mach x-0-y-Hal naj he saw me, but he didn't say it
x-0-b'ey ix coiiob', yaj ilo' k'iii=ne she went to town, but it was only
to see the fiesta
Conjunction with sequentive aspects. The aspect words cat
postsequentive and lahwi presequentive (305 and 306 in 2.3.2.1)
occur only in conjoined sentences, cat occurs only with the second
of a pair of conjoined sentences, and lahwi occurs only with the first.
Both may occur.
x-0-Hul naj, cat 0-y-ilni naj ix he came, then he saw her
lahwi s-ta'wen ix xin, cat xin s-tzab'ni=c-oj heb'-naj s-tzoteli
after she answers, then, they begin
to talk
lahwi y-ilwen s-b'a heb'-naj, x-0-to heb'-naj
after they tested themselves, they
went
Conjunction with contour. Sentences may be conjoined simply
by juxtaposition, with an intervening contour. Congruence of some
sort between the pitch patterns of the sentences seems also to be

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necessary. If the second sentence contains a TV, the TV is suffixed

by -n pseudointransitive (501).
x-0-Hul naj Pel, x-in-y-ilni naj Pedro came, and he saw me
x-0-Hul naj, x-0-wa' naj he came, and he ate
Quotative conjunction. A quoted sentence (or part sentence, or
word) followed by a sentence with the IV xi say forms a conjoined
sentence. (For irregularities in the use of xi,- see 2.8.) Some other
sentence, for instance one with Hala say s.th., may precede the
quote, but the sentence with xi is still necessary.
to-ah y-iii howal, x-0-xi naj t-y-et naj "let's go to the war," he said to him
caw c'ulch'an-ach,x-0-xi naj t-y-et ix "you're very pretty," he said to her
x-0-y-Hal naj t-y-et ix, caw c'ulch'an-ach, x-0-xi naj
he said to her, "you're very
pretty," he said
3.9. Indefinite pronoun

Indefinite pronouns are a small class of words which function as
indefinitely glossed nouns, adverbs, and numerals, and which may be
used as question words.
tzet what, something, maca who, someone, b'ay where, some-
where, and b'ak'iii when, sometime can occur as indefinitely glossed
nouns in position 10 of the NP3 (3.2.1). (maca consists of a root mac
and a stem formative -a, 104, which occurs only before contour;
maca and, rarely, tzet can be pluralized by -taj, 402). hay how many,
several is a numeral and may occur in the numeral position of NP3,
with numeral inflection as appropriate.
x-0-w-il hun-e' [maca] I saw (a) [someone]
sunil hin-[tzetet] all of my [things]
x-0-Hul [hay] -wan heb'-naj [several] men arrived
caw ay-0 [tzet] 0-w-ohtaj=an I know many [things] (lit. very
much there is [something] which is
my knowledge)
x-0-Hul hun-e' [mac] ch-ach-tucni [someone] came to visit you (lit. a
[someone] who visits you came)
ay-0 [b'ay] ch-0-to-oj naj he'll go [somewhere] (lit. there is
[somewhere] where he'll go)
ay-0=tic'a [b'ak'iii] ch-0-Hul-oj naj he'll always come [sometime]
All indefinite pronouns can occur in constructions which are
formally like complex sentences (3.7), as head of a verbal stative

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phrase (often the lone member) followed by a dependent clause. The

juncture f usually does not occur between the indefinite pronoun
and the following dependent clause. They are then glossed as
question words.
[tzet] ch-0-s-k'an ha-c'ul what do you want? (lit. [what is it]
that your heart asks?)
[mac] x-0-'ilni naj [who] saw him?
[hay-wañ] hun k'aan heb'-naj tu' [how many] of those men are
there?
[b'ay tu'] ch-ach-toyi [where (there)] are you going?
[b'ak'in] ch-0-Hul-oj naj [when] will he come?
[hanic'] c-ach-sahc'ayi [how] did you awaken? (Spanish
qué tal amaneciste)
tzet and maca have also been noted as lone members of verbal
noun phrases, forming complete question sentences, tzet and hanic'
can occur as complements of stative verbs with the copula -eyi, with
question glosses.
tzet what is it?, what do you want?
maca who is it?
mac-taj who (plural) is it?
hanic' haw-eyi how are you?
tzet haw-eyi what's the matter with you?
3.10. Indefinite demonstrative

Indefinite demonstratives are particles which introduce con-
structions functioning as statives or stative phrases. They have,
generally speaking, demonstrative meanings. (There is no contrast of
the "this-that" type, hence the label "indefinite.") The indefinite
demonstratives are ha' it is, that's what, it's then, etc., wal on the
other hand, hac thus, haca' ~ hacana like, and hat there.
Constructions introduced by indefinite demonstratives have in
common that: (1) all function as stative constructions (N, Adv, NP3,
AdvP); (2) all but haca' like typically occur as disjunct stative phrase
(3.14.1, below) or as verbal stative phrase (VStP—3.3.1); and (3) all
but hat there can occur with a PMB subject suffix. The use of ha' in
verbal stative phrases and ha'-PMB after the conjunction b'oj and
have been described in 3.3.1 and 3.2.2.
The functions of indefinite demonstratives are so poorly
understood that the remainder of this section is limited to examples.

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In them, the constituent introduced by the indefinite demonstrative

is bracketed and the function of the constituent, when known, is
shown in parentheses.
[ha'=xa hun-xa domiiiku] xrn, x-0-y-Hal naj w-et=an
[then when it was already the other
S u n d a y ] , then, he told it to me
(VStP in complex sentence)
[ha' ch-0-'apni no'] x i n , mach ch-y-a' tzab'-a' s-b'a no'
[then when it (animal-class)
c o m e s ] , then, it doesn't let itself be
caught (VStP in complex sentence)
[ha'=to yet ch-0-'apni heb'-naj y-atut naj t u ' ] , [ha'=to t u ' ] , ch-0-wa'
heb'-naj
[only then when they come to his
h o u s e ] , [only t h e n ] , they eat (two
VStP in complex sentence)
[ha' ch-0-y-ute heb' -naj y-Halni], naj pale, x-0-xi heb'-naj
[that's what they say (lit. perform
the act of saying)]; "the (non-
respected male-class) priest," they
say (disjunct StP)
asi'! [wal ha'-in ( ~ wal-in) t i ' ] , mach ch-in-toyi
go! [on the other hand m e ] , I'm
not going (disjunct StP)
caw q'uej-0 naj, (yaj) [wal-0 s-mi' naj] f c a w saj-0
he's very dark, (but) [on the other
hand it's his mother] who is very
light (VStP in complex sentence)
yaj [wal tinaii], 0-y-ohtaj sunil anma but [on the other hand n o w ] , all
the people know it (disjunct StP)
[haqu-in ti'=an] [thus am I] (VStP)
[hac=pax tu'] f ch-s-lakle s-b'a s-mam s-mi' ix
[it's also thus] that her parents
embrace each other (VStP)
caw tx'ial heb'-naj^ch-0-'uten [hac tu'] tinaii
there are many people who do
[thus] now (AdvP)
[hac tu'] y-e no' cheh t u ' that horse is [that way] (SV com-
plement)
[haca'-0 naj] -in I'm [like him] (SV complement)

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x-0-'ah jepna hun-e' [haca'-0 ( ~ hacana-0) c'uh]
a (thing) [like a thunderbolt]
flashed (N in NP3)
ch-ach-sajchi [haca' ha' -in haca'-in) ti'=an]
you play [like me] (AdvP)
[hacana yet x-0-'ay tan], x-0-s-col naj coiiob'
[like when the ashes fell], he saved
the town
0-w-ohtaj hej wayarib'al, [haca' Chehb'al]
I know the hamlets, [like Chejbal]
[hat] fx-0-'oc=toj naj he went in [there] (lit. [it's there]
that he went in) (VStP)
hat^ay-0 naj w-atut he is [there] at my house (VStP)
3.11. Modifier verb

Modifier verbs are transitive verb forms, lacking tense or aspect,
with the form PMA-TV-n(-i), where PMA gives the subject, -n is the
pseudointransitive suffix (501), and -i is the IV stem formative suffix
(101). Only a small set of TV have been noted as modifier verbs:
Hala say s.th., ila see s.th., and ab'e hear, feel s.th. Modifier verbs
follow the constituents they modify. They have been noted as
modifiers of statives, stative phrases, and complete sentences.
x-0-y-il naj ix^[j-Halni] he saw her, [let's say]
x-qu-in-'axn-oj^ [w-Halni] [I wanted] to bathe
ha'-0=m w-uxtaj [w-Halni], ta'an ha'-ach
[I thought] perhaps it was my
brother, but what do you know, it's
you!
no' cheh^q'uej-0 [j-ilni] the horse which is black [to our
sight]
ch-on-tz'a'=can=toj y-Hu k'a' [j-ab'eni]
we are left burned by the heat (of
the sun) [we feel]
3.12. xin "then"

The use of the particle xin is somewhat similar to that of
Spanish pues, French done, German doch, and English then. It is
here glossed as then, set off by comma(s).

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In general, xin occurs after (1) sentences, (2) major sentence

constituents (e.g., verb phrase, verbal stative phrase in a complex
sentence), and (3) words that serve to introduce a major sentence
constituent (e.g., subordinating conjunctions such as cómo since,
aspect words such as lañan continuative, and b'oj and). When xin
occurs after a sentence with sentence clitics, it follows the sentence
clitics (second example below). (See also the first two examples in
3.10.)
ilwe ha-b'a xin test yourself, then!
x-qu-in-'apni=an xin I arrived, then
. . . x-0-y-Halni ix xin, chub'il c-ach-'apni
. . . and she said, then, that you
arrived
b'ak'iñ xin^x-0-'ah y-atut naj when, then, did his house go up
(was his house built)?
ch-0-y-il xin s-mam ix naj tu' her father sees, then, that man
lañan xínj-axnib'etu'=an we were, then, bathing there
. . . como xin k'aynaj-0 no' loo' atz'am . . . since, then, it (animal-class) is
accustomed to eating salt
hunfch-0-'ec' no' b'oj xin no' hey-et tu'
it's together that it (animal-class)
and, then, that one of yours go
around
3.13. Compound noun

Compound nouns are stems which occur in the same syntactic
positions as simple nouns. They are made up of two stems, the
second of which is always itself a noun. The first stem can be any
stative or verb.
A useful way to describe compound nouns is given for English
by Robert B. Lees.2 The approach consists in describing how
compound nouns are derived transformationally from underlying
sentences or sentence constituents. These compounds can then be
classified according to (1) the type of construction underlying them,
and (2) the transformations necessary to derive them. Other
2. Robert B. Lees, The Grammar of English Nominalizations, International Journal

of American Linguistics, 26: 3(part 2) (1960).

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compounds can be related to constituents in the same way, but differ

semantically, not just formally, from their underlying "sources."
Several of the classes of compound nouns resulting from this
analysis are paired in a striking way. Some productive classes, in
which the first element of the compound has specifiable affixes and
may have clitics, are matched by apparently nonproductive classes
with the same form, but from which the affixes and clitics are
absent. While glosses of compounds in the productive classes are
usually transparent, the nonproductive classes usually show semantic
specialization.
Some compound noun types are as follows. Hyphen before a
noun shows mandatory possession.
Class 1A. This type of compound is productive, and has the
form PM3-N N.
s-chib'eal txitam pork (-chib'eal flesh, txitam pig)
s-xe' te' tree root (xe' root, te' tree)
y-ul na indoors (lit. house-interior; -ul
interior, inside, iiah house', iiah
loses its final h in compounds)
These forms are compound noun stems—not noun phrases—in
spite of the fact that their form is nearly that of a third person noun
phrase. Note that they may take prefixed possessor PMA: hin-
schib'eal txitam my pork. They are derived from underlying third
person noun phrases of the form PMA3-N NP3, where PMA3 is
possessor, N is head of the third person noun phrase, and NP3
matches the PM. To derive the compound, all of the possessor NP3
but its noun head is deleted. Thus, the compounds given above are
derived from the same underlying forms as NP3 like the following,
s-chib'eal no' txitam the pig's flesh
s-xe' te' te' the tree's root
y-ul te' iiah inside the house (the interior of the
house)
Class IB. This class is the nonproductive counterpart of class
1 A. It has the form N. N.
tzak'a' ( < tza' k'a') charcoal, coals (tza' excrement, k'a'
fire)
alcal txah "prayer-mayor" (former town
religious official) (alcal mayor, txah
prayer)

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These compounds are derived from the same sources and in the
same manner as class 1A compounds, but with the further deletion
of the initial possessor PMA3. The examples above are derived from
the same underlying sources as NP3 like the following,
s-tza' k'a' k'a' the fire's excrement
y-alcal txah the mayor of prayer
Class 2A. This productive class has the form St (=enclitics) N,
where St(ative) must be N or Adj, or adjectival forms derived by -naj
and -b'il (from IV and TV respectively—612), -la (from Adj—614),
and -taj (from several stem classes—613).
winaj ch'oc male crow (winaj male, ch'oc crow)
howla tx'i' mean dog (how mean, tx'i' dog)
sajla witz white hill (saj white, witz hill)
camnaj cheh dead horse (camnaj dead from cami
die, cheh horse)
puk'b'il b'itx type of tamale made with thor-
o u g h l y - m i x e d dough (puk'b'il
mixed from puk'u mix s.th., b'itx
tamale)
b'alb'il=ay=toj ch'en rolled-down stone (b'alb'il=ay=toj
rolled down from b'al=ay=toj roll
s. th. down, ch'en stone)
tx'iiitaj nuk' sickly person or animal (lit. skinny-
neck) (tx'iiitaj skinny all over from
tx'iiian skinny, -nuk' neck)
These compounds are derived from underlying sentences with
stative verbs, with the form St-0 (=proclitics) NP3. To derive the
compounds, all verb affixes and proclitics (not enclitics) are deleted,
and all but the noun head is deleted from NP3. Further, if St is an
adjective root, the suffix -la (614) is attached to it. The above
compounds are derived from the same sources as sentences like the
following:
winaj-0 no' ch'oc the crow is a male
how-0 metx tx'i' the dog is mean
saj-0 naj witz the hill is white
camnaj-0 no' cheh the horse is dead
puk'b'il-0 ixim b'itx the tamale is mixed
b'alb'il-0=ay=toj ch'en ch'en the stone is rolled down
tx'intaj-0=iie hin-nuk' my neck is skinny all over

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100 The J acal tec Language
Class 2B. This nonproductive class of compound nouns consists

of frozen versions of the previous class. Their form is St N, IV N, or
TV N.
how tx'i' rabid dog (how mean, tx'i' dog)
saj witz White-hill (place name) (saj white,
witz hill)
b'al ch'en large stone which has rolled down
from its natural place, e.g., because
of landslide (b'ala roll s.th., ch'en
stone)
tx'ih nuk' (breed of chickens with featherless
necks) (tx'iiian skinny, -nuk' neck)
ch'uj wi' (kind of crested bird) (ch'ujan form
of s. th. sticking up, -wi' head)
These compounds are derived from the same source as class 2A
compounds, and are derived in the same manner except that any
suffix or clitic on the first element of the compound is deleted. The
class 2A compounds and source sentences for all but the last of the
above examples have already been given under 2A, above. No class
2A compounds corresponding to the last example have been noted.
Its source sentence is of the type: ch'ujan-0 s-wi' no' ch'ic the bird's
head is of a sticking-up form.
Class 3A. This productive class has as the second element a
noun, and as the first element a noun derived from TV by one of the
suffixes -om agentive (601), -b'al instrumentive (602), or -o' ~ -'
gerund (604). As noted in the description of these suffixes (2.4.4),
many TV roots with the suffixes must be followed by an object
noun, forming a compound of the present type. The nominalized TV
may be accompanied by enclitics, as in the first example below.
tenom=toj anma people-pusher (ten=toj push s.th.,
anma people)
potx'om txitam pig-killer (potx'o kill s.th., txitam
Pig)
potx'b'al txitam pig-killing instrument, place, time
potx'o' txitam pig-killing
These compounds are derived from the same source as any
simple sentence with the appropriate TV and enclitics in the verb
phrase (e.g., ten=toj for the first example above), and with an object
NP3 headed by the appropriate noun (e.g., anma in the first

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Syntax 101
example). To derive the compound noun, all but the TV stem,
enclitics, and the noun head of the object NP3 are deleted, and one
of the appropriate nominalizing suffixes is attached to the TV. Thus,
the examples above are derived from the same sources as sentences
like the following.
ch-0-in-ten=toj anma I push people
x-0-s-potx' naj no' txitam he killed the pig
Class 3B. This nonproductive class has the form TV N.
-b'oc' wi' hat, head covering (b'oc'o wrap
s.th. sloppily, -wi' head)
c'ay tza' someone who keeps losing things
(c'ay=toj lose s.th., -tza' excrement)
tz'it te' bow and arrow (tz'ita throw s.th.
spear-wise, te' stick)
These compounds are derived from the same sources as those of
class 3A, and in the same manner except that enclitics and the
nominalizing suffixes are also deleted. The class 3A compounds and
sentences corresponding to the above examples are as follows,
b'oc'b'al wi'e instrument, cloth for sloppily wrap-
ping heads
ch-0-in-b'oc' hin-wi' I wrap my head sloppily
c'ayom=toj tza'e excrement-loser
ch-0-s-c'ay=toj naj s-tza' he loses his excrement
tz'itb'al=toj te' instrument for throwing sticks
spearwise
ch-0-s-tz'it=toj naj te' te' he throws the stick spearwise
Class 4. This class of compounds seems to be productive, and
does not have a nonproductive counterpart. They have the form N N.
ac te' two-toned log drum (local Spanish
tun, Yucatec tunkul, Nahuatl
teponaztli) (ac turtle, te' tree, stick,
log)
pale nam (kind of black butterfly) (pale
priest, nam butterfly)
cacaw te' (kind of tree resembling cacao tree)
(cacaw cacao-tree, te' tree)
These are derived from sentences with stative verbs, of the form
haca' N-0 NP3 NP3 is like a N. (See 3.10 for the use of haca' with
nouns.) To derive the compounds, all of the SV but N is deleted, and

Authenticated
all of NP3 but its noun head is deleted. The examples above are
derived from the same sources as the following sentences,
haca' ac-0 te' te' the log is like a turtle
haca' pale-0 no' nam the butterfly is like a priest
haca' cacaw-0 te' te' the tree is like the cacao-tree
Class 5. This type of compound involves only two noun roots:
-mam father and -mi' mother. Each root must be inflected for
possessor or take the suffix -e inherent possession (605).
hin-mam hin-mi' my parents
s-mam s-mi' naj his parents
mame mi'e parents
These seem to be derived from NP3 with b'oj and like the
following.
hin-mam b'oj hin-mi' my father and my mother
s-mam naj b'oj s-mi' his father and mother
mame b'oj mi'e father and mother
Personal names. Jacaltecs are known to most of their towns-
men by a combination of a given name and a "nickname." (They also
have patrilineally inherited Spanish surnames, but these are usually
known only by family, friends, and neighbors.) Names form
compounds whose analysis is uncertain. Some seem to be examples
of apposition; these and some others are probably derived from
underlying sentences with stative verbs, with glosses of the form X is
Y. Names have the form N N, where the first N is a given name.
Xuwan q'uem Juan the dwarf (Xuwan Juan,
q'uem dwarf)
Manel Sánta Catal Manuel from Santa Catarina (Manel
Manuel, Sánta Catal Santa Catarina
or person from Santa Catarina)
Xuwan Xanxap Juan who lives near the chapel of
San Sebastián (Xanxap chapel of
San Sebastian)
Tono Nel Antonio son of Manuela (Tono
Antonio or Tono, Nel Manuela)
Other types. Other classes of compound nouns are poorly
represented in the data. A sample is given below, with the sentence
or NP3 from which the informant states that each compound is
derived.

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Syntax 103
tz'um oii (kind of thin-skinned avocado—

aguacatillo) (tz'um skin, oii
avocado; tx'um-0 s-tz'umal te' oii
the husk of the avocado is skin)
ix cab' beeswax (ix woman, female, cab'
honey, lxfy-et no' cab' the female
of the honey)
tajiii ti'al thirst (tajiii dry, -ti' mouth; s-tajiiial
hin-ti' the dryness of my mouth)
el ha'il flood (eli go out, leave, ha' water-,
ch-oii-'el t-y-et ha' ha' we flee from
the water)
s-chewal tx'otx' cold country (tierra fria) (-chewal
coldness, tx'otx' land-, chew-0
tx'otx' tx'otx' the land is cold)
A further, and quite numerous, groups of compounds are not
analyzable because one or both constituents occur only in compound
nouns, never independently.
canal ay in praying mantis (canal dance, ?)
cheh can (kind of snake) (cheh horse, ?)
pacham can elephant (?, ?)
sat can sky (-sat surface, ?)
tz'in te' yucca (?, te' tree)
3 . 1 4 . Peripheral sentence constituents

This section describes constituents which precede or follow the
simple or complex sentence as described in previous sections.
3.14.1. Disjunct stative phrase

Disjunct stative phrases are noun or adverb phrases which
precede or (rarely) follow the remainder of the sentence and stand in
apposition to it. They are set off by contour. They are common in
texts and conversation.
Some disjunct stative phrases are introduced by an indefinite
demonstrative. These are discussed and exampled in 3.10.
[yet pay=xa], ay-0 ca-waii heb'-naj [long ago] there were two men
[hun-e' naj], Xuwan-0 s-b'ih naj [one man], his name was Juan

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3.14.2. Sentence adverbial

Sentence adverbials can occur as the first element of any
sentence. Some are ho' yes, heh or he yes, all right (showing
agreement), and machoj no. machoj is composed of mat not, ay there
is, and -oj potential (401); as per 2.8, mat ay > mach. Sentence
adverbials are followed by contour.
ho', ch'in-toyi yes, I'm going
heh, x-0-to naj that's right, he went
machoj, mach-0=c-oj naj no, he's not at home
3.14.3. Vocative phrase

A vocative phrase (VocP) can occur either at the beginning of a
sentence, after a sentence adverbial if one occurs, or at the end of a
sentence. It is set off from the remainder of the sentence by contour.
VocP must contain a vocative particle. All vocative particles
except tz'ul ~ tz'ula child may be followed by a personal name, and
personal names are rarely used vocatively without such a particle.
One or another vocative particle is used by one person to address
another according to criteria of sex, kinship, and age-respect status.
They are listed in Appendix 2.
cho' hey, man!
ho', cho' yes, man!
xi', b'ay ch-ach-toyi man, where are you going?
ch-in-to coiiob', ix I'm going to town, woman
ho', tz'ul, ch-in-toyi yes, child, I'm going
ix Xuwin, ay-0=c-oj ha-mam Juana, is your father home?
3.14.4. Sentence introducer

There are two sentence introducers, both glossed it is said that:
tolob' and ab'. They are separated from the remainder of the
sentence by the juncture f .
tolob'fx-0-way naj it is said that he slept
abYay-0 s-cheh naj it is said that he has a horse

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APPENDIX 1
Text
This text is presented to illustrate some of the phonological and

grammatical features described in Chapters 1-3. For the source of the
text, see page 6.
Segments of the text of approximately the size of simple
sentences are given numbers for reference. Each such segment
consists of a complete sentence, a sentence conjoined to another, or
more than one sentence. Only the first, the title of the story, is a
part-sentence.
For sentences 1 through 9 the following are shown: the surface
immediate constituent structure, including identification of each
constituent by abbreviation (p. 2) or morpheme number (2.2-2.5);
morphemic segmentation, written as described in the introduction to
Chapter 3; phonemics, including stress; word gloss; and sentence
gloss. Fewer of these are shown for sentences after 9.
In the immediate constituent analysis of 1-9, noun phrases (NP)
and the corresponding third person markers (PM3: 0 or y- ~ s-) are
keyed to each other by parenthesized numerals. (See 3.2.1 for the
relation between noun phrases and third person affixes.)
Phonemes, constituents, and their glosses identified by the
informant as mistakes (sometimes corrected) or non-words in the
tape recording are enclosed in parentheses. The hesitation markers if
and af are given the word-gloss er.
105

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NP
VP ^P(l)
NCI Pos 103 PMB PMA N

naj tz'aj -an -0 s- c'ul
Natf tz'àjan sc'ul.
he is-complete his-heart
(1) He whose heart was complete. (The wiseman.)

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Appendix 1 107
Yet payxa, ay cawafi heb'naj, caw yamigocanoj sb'a.

during long-ago there-is two they very are-friends each-other's
(2) Long ago, there were two men who were very good friends of each other.

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108 The Jacal tec Language
S
ConS SubC
NP(2)
NCI N N N 301 PMB TV NCI

naj Xuwan Xan Xap ch-0- Hal naj
náj, Xuwan Xánxap^ xhállax náj,
he Juan San-Sebastián is-said him
it's Juan San Sebastián that he is called,

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Appendix 1
(S)
\ SubC
yaxcami s- cawil -al Xan Xap ay -0 y- atut

yáxcami scáwilal Xánxap^ áy yátut
because vicinity San-Sebastián is house
(4) because it's near [the chapel of] San Sebastián that his house

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DisStP
AdvP AdvP
Adv 301 PMB IV Part NCI Adv

hunec ch- 0 'ec' heb' naj paxyal
Hunéc, ch'éc' henâ pâxyâl.
once go they for-a-walk
(5) Once, they went for a walk.

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Appendix 1 111
QingS Qeds QingS
x- y- Hal -n -i naj tz'aj -an -0 s- c'ul

if Xalni naj# tz'aj an sc'ulf
er and-said he is-complete his-heart
(6) And he whose heart was complete said

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The Jacaltec Language
AdvP
NP(4)
NP(6)
NP(5)
Part Pos 103 401 PMA N

mat tz'aj - an -oj s- c'ul
mat tz'àj anoj sc'ul,
not is-complete his-heart
to him whose heart was not complete

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Appendix 1 113
PMB TV IV 705 BndAdv PMA N

0 a' b'ina -oj ninoj co- coiiob'
Xà'a' b'inaoj ninoj cu cóiiób',
let's-make be-mentioned a-little our-town
(7) "Let's make our town famous a little!"

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QingS
VP NP(1) AdvP
NCI (see 6)
naj
nàj, tét naj^ mat tz'àjano sc'ul
he
he said to him whose heart was not complete

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Appendix 1 115
QedS (QedS) (QingS)
yaj tzet ch- 0 Hu j- a' -n -i b'ina -oj

Yaj tzet chu ja'ni# b'inaoj?
but what is-possible we-make be-mentioned
(8) "But how can we make it famous?"

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tzet ch-0-(Hu) j-ote j-a'-n-i b'ina-oj x-0-xi naj mat

Tzet ch(u^) jote ja'ni b'inaoj, x i f naj mat
what (is-possible) we-do we-make be-mentioned said he not
(9) "What (can) do we do to make it famous?" said he whose
tz'aj-an-oj-0 s-c'ul t-y-et naj tz'aj-an-0 s-c'ul to-an

tz'ajanoj sc'ulf tet naj tz'ajan sc'ul. a^ Ton
is-complete his-heart t o him is-complete his-heart er let's-go
heart was not complete to him whose heart was complete. (10) " L e t ' s go
y-iii howal x-0-xi naj c'ul=tic'a x-0-xi=pax naj naj mat

ym howal, x i naj. af c'ultic'a, xipax naj, naj^ mat
with war said he er just-fine said-back he he not
to the w a r ! " he said. (11) " G o o d ! " he r e p l i e d - h e whose
tz'aj-an-oj-0 s-c'ul yaj wal ha'-in ti'=an caw mat ay-0 tzet
tz'ajanoj sc'ul. Yaj wal hayin ti'an, caw matzet
is-complete his-heart but on-the-other-hand I this very not there-is-s.th.
heart was not complete. (12) "But on the other hand, me here, I k n o w
0-w-ohtaj=an x-0-xi naj ta to caw mat ay-0 tzet ya'-0

wohtajan xi naj. Tato caw matzet ya'f
is-my-knowledge said he if very not there-is-s.th. is-painful
nothing at all," he said. (13) "If there is nothing at all that it
s-can haw-Hu ta to mat ya'-oj-0 s-can haw-ixal b'oj

scan ha wu, tato m a t f ya'ojf scan^ ha wixal^ b'oj
remains by-you if not is-painful remain your-wife and
hurts you to leave, (14) if it does not hurt you to leave your wife and
haw-unin-al haw-Hu ch-0-w-a' ninoj tzet 0-w-ohtaj ti'

hawuninal h a w u , xwa' ninoj t z e t # wohtaj tif
your-children by-you I-give a-little s.th. is-my-knowledge this
your children, (15) I'll give a little of what I know here
t-haw-et=an x-0-xi naj (see previous phrase and 6)

ta wetan, x i naj, x i najf tz'ajan sc'ul^ tet najf mat tz'ajanoj
to-you said he
to y o u , " he said—said he whose heart was complete to him whose heart

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Appendix 1 117
c'ul=tic'a x-0-xi naj. ha'=xa yet x-0-to heb' naj a'-om howal
sc'ul. C'ultic'à xi nàj. Àxa y é t # xtó heb'naj^ à'omhówal#
just-fine said he already when went the war-makers
was not complete. (16) "Good!" he said. (17) When the warriors went
b'et Xek'a' xin x-0-'a'-lax=c-oj heb' naj ca-wan tu' ij-o' maléta
b'et Xék'a' xin, x'àlaxcoj heb'naj càwan tu'^ ijo' maléta.
to G. City then were-put they two those baggage-carrying
to Guatemala City, (18) those two were assigned to carry baggage.
x-0-to heb' naj tzuj-an-0 heb'naj y-in heb' naj a'-om howal (see 19)
Xto heb'naj; tzujan heb'najf yin heb'naj a'om howal; xto heb'naj.
went they are-behind they with the war-makers
(19) They went; (20) they followed the warriors; (21) they went.
ay-0=c-oj s-choc'an heb' naj y-iii ay-0=c-oj s-tzuh heb' naj

( i f ) Aycoj xchoc'an heb'naj^yin; aycoj stzuh heb'naj;
(er) there-are-on capixays their on-them there-are-on water gourds their
(22) They had their capixays on; (23) they had their water gourds on;
xim-b'il-0 (s-) y-ictaj s-choc'an heb' naj i'-b'il-0 s-pop heb' naj
ximb'il ( x f ) yictaj xchoc'an heb'naj; ibil spop he'naj^
are-tied belts capixays their are-carried straw-mats their
(24) the belts of their capixays were tied; (25) they carried their straw
y-Hu (see 19) yet laiian=xa y-apn-oj heb' naj b'et hune'
yu; xto heb'naj. Yet lananxa yapnoj heb'naj b'et honeV
by-them when were-already will-arrive they at a
mats; (26) they went. (27) When they were about to come to a
chak'aii xin (see 6)

chak'aii xin, xalni najf tz'ajan sc'ul^ tet najf mat tz'ajano sc'ul,
plain then
plain, (28) he whose heart was complete said to him whose heart was not
ta to ch-0-'el heb' naj s-xol (heb' naj) heb' naj a'-om howal tu' x-0-'el
tato ch'el heb'naj xol (heb'naj^) heb'naj^ a'om howal tu'. X'el
that leave they among (the) the war-makers those left
complete that they should leave from among those warriors. (29) They

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heb' naj x-0-to heb' naj b'et hune' chak'aii yet x-0-'apn-i heb' naj b'et
heb'naj; Xto h e b ' n a j b'et hone' chak'aii. Yet x'apni heb'naj b'et
they went they to a plain when arrived they at
left; (30) they went to a plain. (31) When they arrived at
hune' chak'aii tu' xin (see 6)

hone' chak'aiif tu' xin, xalni naj=^ tz'ajan sc'ul^ tet naj^ mat tz'ajano
a plain that then
that plain, then, (32) he whose heart was complete said to him whose heart
ay-aii hil-an-oj b'et ti'=la x-0-xi naj heh

sc'ul, ayaii hilnoj b'e tila, xi naj. Heh,
go-down lying at here-see! said he all-right
was not complete, (33) "Lie down right here!" he said. (34) "All right"
x-0-xi nai x-0-'ay hil-an-oj naj yet x-0-'ay hil-an-oj naj tu' xin
x i naj; x'ay hilno naj. Yet x'ay hilno na tu xin
said he went-down lying he when went-down lying he that then
he said; (35) he lay down. (36) When he lay down, then,
x-0-'ec'-toj (see 6) ox-el y-ib'ari naj (see 6)

x'ec'toj naj^ tz'ajan sc'ul^ oxel yib'aii naj. Xalni najf 1 tz'ajan sc'ul
passed-there thrice over him
(37) the wise man passed over him three times. (38) And the wise man said
t-y-et naj ah-aii wa-an-oj xin cat haw-ilwe-n ha-b'a y-ifi hune' tz'isis
tet naj, ahaii wanoj xin, cat ha wilwen h a b ' a ^ y i i i h o n e ' tz'isis
to him go-up standing then and you-test yourself with a cypress
to him, (39) "stand up, then, and test yourself on that cypress,
tu'=la (see 10) x-0-'ah wa-an-oj naj x-0-'ah=na jepna hune' haca'
tula, x i naj. X'ah wanoj naj, x'ahna jepna hune haca
that-see! went-up standing he went-up-suddenly flashing a like
see!" he said. (40) He stood up; (41) something looking like a
c'uh j-il-n-i x-0-c'ay=na=ay-oj naj x-0-san-la=can xin tixil

c'uh, jfini. Xc'aynahayoj naj. Xsanlacarif xin; tixil
thunderbolt we-see vanished-suddenly he it-thundered then in-pieces
thunderbolt flashed. (42) He vanished suddenly. (43) It thundered; (44) to

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Appendix 1 119
x-0-'el=can=c-oj (hune' te' tz'isis y-Hu naj) y-ictaj te' tz'isis y-Hu naj
x'elcancoj# ( h o n e ' t e ' tz'isis^ yu naj.) yictajf t e ' t z ' i s i s yu naj.
went-apart ( a the cypress by him) half the cypress by him
pieces flew (the cypress because of him.) half of the cypress because of
ay-0=to mach x-c-ach-c'oj-i hac ti' y-ote-b'an-il=la

if Ay to matxcach c'oji. Hac tif yoteb'anilla,
er there-is-still not you-were-sufficient thus this its-method-see!
him. (45) "There was still s.th. you lacked. (46) This is how it's done,
(see 10) naj caw tz'aj-an-0 s-c'ul x-0-'ah=pax jepna hune' haca'
x i naj, naj^ caw tz'ajan sc'ul. x'ahpax jepna hune haca
he very is-complete his-heart went-up-again flashing a like
see!" (47) said he, the very wise man. (48) And s. th. like a thunderbolt
c'uh xin x-0-c'ay=pax=ay-oj naj tixil x-0-'el=can=c-oj te' tz'isis

c'uh^ xin; xc'aypaxayoj naj. Tixil^ x'elcanco te' tz'isis^
thunderbolt then vanished-too he in-pieces went-apart the cypress
flashed again; (49) he vanished too. (50) To pieces flew the cypress
y-Hu naj hunip tu' (x-y-Hal-n-i heb' naj) x-0-y-a'-n-i segir

yu naj. Hunip tu', (xalni h e b ' n a j ^ ) xa'ni segir
by him at-the-moment that (said they) and-did follow
because of him. (51) At that m o m e n t (they said) they went on
heb' naj s-b'eh ha'=xa yet ch-0 -'apn-i heb' naj b'etet b'ay ay-0
hebnajf sb'eh. i^ axa yet ch'apni heb'naj^ b'etet#b'ay
they their-path er already when arrived they at where is
their way. (52) Then when they arrived where the war
howal tu' xin b'et Xek'a' (caw tx'ial heb' naj) caw tx'ial=can-oj
howal tu xin, b'et Xek'a', if (caw^ tx'ial heb'naj,) caw tx'ialcanoj
war that then at G. City er (very many they) very many
was, at Guatemala City, (53) there were (very many of them) very many
anma x-0-cam-i (see 6 and 47)

anmaf xcami. Xalni najf caw tz'ajan sc'ul^ tet naj^ mat tz'ajano sc'ul,
people they-died
people w h o died. (54) And the very wise man said to him was was not wise,

Authenticated
caw ch-0-tz'a' hin-c'ul y-in a'nma ch-0-cam ti' ha' -in ti'=an
caw xtz'a' hin c'ul yin a'nmaf xcam ti'f hayin ti'an,
very burns my-heart with people they-die these 1 this
(55) "My heart burns very much for these people who are dying, mine here,"
(see 10) hac-in tu'=an x-0-xi=pax (see 6) nixjal xin

x i naj. H a c h i n tu'an, xipax najf mat tz'ajanoj sc'ul. Nixjal xin
thus-am-I that said-back afterwards then
he said. (56) "Mine t o o , " replied he who was not wise. (57) Afterwards,
x-0-Hal-n-i heb' naj (t-y-et) t-y-et (heb' naj y-ahaw) heb' naj ch-'a'-n-i
xalni heb'najf (tet n f ) tet (heb'naj y a h a w f ) heb'najf ch'a'ni
said they (to him) to (the its-owners) the they-do
then, they said (to) to (the owners of) those who
mandar tu' ta to ch-0-col-wa heb' naj y-ifi heb' naj x-Hal-n-i(see 57)
mandar tu', tato xcolwa heb'najf yin heb'naj. Xalni h e b ' n a j f
commanding those that help they with them and-said they
commanded (58) that they would help them. (59) And those who
xin chub'il ta to mat ay-0 tzet ch-y-Hal=il-oj heb'naj

ch'a'ni mandar tu' xin, chub'il tatof matzet chaliloj heb'naj
then that not there-is-s.th are-worth the
commanded said, then, that those two were worth
ca-waii tu' nixjal xin ew-an-taj x-0-'oc heb' naj s-xol heb' naj a'-om
cawan tu'. Nixjal x i n f ewantaj^ x ' o c h e b ' n a j ^ xol heb'naj^ a'om
two those afterwards then secretly went-in they among the war-
nothing. (60) Afterwards, then, secretly they went in among the warriors.
howal (see 6) ilwe

howal. if Xalni najf tz'ajan sc'ulf tet najf mat tz'ajano sc'ul, ilwe
makers er test
(61) And the wise man said to him who was not wise, "test
ha-b'a xin (x-0-xi) (x-0-xi naj mat) x-0-xi naj tz'aj-an-0 s-c'ul tu'
ha b'a x'in, ( x i f ) ( x i najf m a t f ) x i najf tz'ajan sc'ul tu'.
yourself then (said) (said he not) said he complete his-heart that
yourself, t h e n ! " (said) (said he who n o t ) said that wise man.

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Appendix 1 121
x-0-'ah=na jepna hune' haca' c'uh tisil x-0-'el=can=c-oj ( h e j )
X'ahna jepna hune haca' c'uh. Tisil x'elcancoj (hejf baro)
went-up-suddenly flashing a like thunderbolt in-pieces went-apart (pi.)
(63) S.th. like a thunderbolt flashed. (64) To pieces flew (. . .)
hej barco y-Hu (see 6) (see 45) x-0-xi=pax (see 6)

hej^ barcof yu naj# mat tz'ajanoj sc'ul. Ayto matxcach c'oji, xipax naj^
boats by said-again
the boats because of him who was not wise. (65) "There was still s.th. you
(see 48) s-hunil barco

tz'ajan sc'ul. X'ahpax jepna hone haca'^ c'uh. ef Sunil barco^
er all-of boats
lacked" said the wise man again. (66) A thing like a thunderbolt flashed again.
(67) All the boats
x-0-tixmo=can=toj y-Hu naj b'oj xin s-hunil anma x-0-cam=can-oj

xtixmocanto yunaj, b'o xin^ sunil anma xcamcanoj.
shattered-completely by him and then all-of people died-for-good
shattered because 6f him, (68) and all the people died.
chic'-taj-0=xa=ne j-il-n-i (ha') ha' mar y-Hu s-chic'-il anma

Chic'tajxane jflni (ha) ha' marf y u # schiq'uil anma.
bloody-a-lot we-see (the) the sea by blood people
(69) The sea looked all bloody because of the people's blood.
hun ch'an=xa=ne xin naj ch-0-'aw-0-i=ha=tij y-ul ha' mar tu' ch-y-Hal-n-i
Hunch'anxaiie xin naj# ch'awihatij yul haV mar tu'. Chalni
only-one then he called-up-towards in the sea that and-said
(70) Only one man called up to them from in that sea. (71) And he
naj mach hin-he-potx'=an yaxcami ta to ch-in-cam-oj=an mat ay-0-xa mac

naj, machin he potx'an, yaxcami^ tato chin camojan, matxa mac#
he not you-kill-me because if I-will-die not there-is-yet s.o.
said "don't kill me, (72) because if I die (73) there will no longer be
ch-watx'e-n-oj s-xil s-k'ap canal mato chan-e (see 15) heh x-0-xi h e b ' n a j
xwatx'enoj ef xfl sk'ap canal, mato cha'ne, xi naj. Heh, xi heb'naj
will-make er clothes dance or cortes all-right said the
anyone who will make dance clothes or cortes]" he said. (74) "All right"

Authenticated
ca-wan (x-0-can=can-oj heb') x-0-can=can-oj naj mach x-0-potx'-lax naj

cawaii. (Xcancanoj heb'^) Xcancanoj naj. Matxpotx'lax naj.
two (remained (pi.)) remained he not was-killed he
said the two. (75) (They remained) He remained. (76) He wasn't killed.
yet x-0-lahw-i howal tu' xin x-0-Hal-lax t-y-et heb' naj ca-wan ta to
Yet xlahwi howal tu' xin, xallax tet heb'naj cawaii, tato
when ended war that then was-said to the two that
(77) when the war ended, then, (78) the two were told (79) that
ch-0-can=can-oj heb' naj b'et Xek'a' tu' yaja' mach x-s-je s-c'ul
xcancanoj heb'na b'et Xek'a' tu'. Yaja' matzje sc'ul
remain they at G. City that but not wanted hearts
they should stay in Guatemala City. (80) But they didn't want
heb' naj mach x-0-can=can-oj heb' naj x-0-pax=tij heb' naj yet lanan
heb'naj; matxcaiicanoj heb'naj; xpaxtij heb'naj. Yet lanan
their not remained they returned-here they when are
to; (81) they didn't stay; (82) they came back here. (83) When they were
y-Hul heb' naj b'et hune' lugar Bentana-0 s-b'i xin (see 6)
yul heb'naj^ b ' e t # hone' lugar^ Bentana sb'i xin, if xalnif najf
coming they to a place La-Ventana-is its-name er
coming to a place called La Ventana, then, (84) the wise man
wal tinaii mach=xa ch-oh-to

tz'ajan sc'ulf tet naj^ mat tz'ajanoj sc'ul, wal tinaii, if matxa choii to
on-the-other-hand now er no-longer we-go
said to him who was not wise, (85) "Well, now! We won't go to our town
(co ) b'et co coiiob' nan=xa y-oc j-eyi x-'ec'=toj b'et

(co conof 1 ) b'et cu coiiob'. Nanxa yocjeyi. i^X'ec'toj b'e
(our) to our town different-yet form we-are er let's-pass-there at
any more. (86) We're a different kind now. (87) Let's walk this
ti'=la (see 15) (see 6) y-ec-toj heb'naj

tila, xi naj, tet naj^ mat tz'ajano sc'ul. Yec'toj heb'naj.
here-see! walked-there they
way, look!" he said—to him who was not wise. (88) They walked there.

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Appendix 1 123
(see 8 8 ) xin x-0-'ec' h e b ' naj b ' e t y-ich hune' witz Yaxo
Yec'toj heb'naj x i n . if X'ec' heb'naj^ b'et yich hone' witz# Yaxo
t h e n er passed they at bottom a hill Yaxo
( 8 9 ) T h e y walked t h e r e , t h e n . ( 9 0 ) T h e y w a l k e d at t h e f o o t of a hill
X'ahaw-0 s-b'i m a s a n t o x-0 -'apn-i h e b ' naj b ' e t K'anil tolob' hat
X'ahaw sb'i masanto x'apni heb'na b'et# K'anil. Tolob' hat
X'ahaw-is its-name until arrived they to K'anil it-is-said t h e r e
n a m e d Y a x o X ' a h a w ( 9 1 ) until t h e y came t o [the hill] K'anil. ( 9 2 ) T h e y say
x-0 -'oc=can=toj heb' naj y-ul h u n e ' witz tu' s-hunil b ' a y x-0-'ec'
x'occanto heb'najf yul hone' w i t z t u ' . ef Sunil^ b ' a y x ' e c '
went-in-there-for-good t h e y in a hill that er all-of w h e r e passed
t h a t there t h e y w e n t i n t o t h a t hill once and f o r all. ( 9 3 ) E v e r y w h e r e
h e b ' naj y e t x-0-to h e b ' naj b ' e t K'anil tu' tolob' mach=xa
h e b ' n a j ^ yet x t o heb'naj^ b'et K'anil tu', tolob' 1 / 1 matxa
they when went they to K'anil that it-is-said no-longer
they walked when t h e y w e n t t o K'anil, they say t h a t plants d i d n ' t grow
x-0 - c h ' i b ' telaj b'ay x-0-'ay y-oj h e b ' naj h e b ' naj ca-wari t u '
x c h ' i b ' telajf 1 b'ay x'ay yoj heb'naj. Heb'naj cawari t u ' ,
grew wild-plants where w e n t - d o w n feet their the two those
any m o r e ( 9 4 ) w h e r e their feet fell. ( 9 5 ) T h o s e two,
heb' naj ca-waii x - 0 - ' o c = c a n = t o j y-ul witz t u ' caw ch-0-'a'-lax respetar
heb'naj cawaii^ x ' o c c a n t o yul w i t z t u ' , caw c h ' a ' l a x respetar
the t w o went-in-there-for-good in hill that very is-done respecting
t h e t w o w h o w e n t i n t o t h a t hill, t h e y are very
heb' naj y a j a ' k ' a ' caw x i q u i l t a j y-e=pax ( n a j ) naj X u w a n K'anil

heb'naj. Y a j a ' f k ' a ' caw x i q u i l t a j y e p a x ( n a i f x f ) naj X u w a n K'anil,
they but m o r e very respected is-too ( t h e ) -the Juan K'anil
r e s p e c t e d . ( 9 6 ) But J u a n K'anil is m u c h m o r e respected
yaxcami t o l o b ' h a ' naj caw ch-0-col-n-i c o i i o b ' yet (ay-0) ay-0
yaxcami# t o l o b ' ^ h a ' n a j f caw xcolni coiiob', yet ( a y # ) ay
because it-is-said he very d e f e n d s t o w n w h e n (there-is) there-is
( 9 7 ) because they say t h a t it is he w h o d e f e n d s t h e t o w n ( 9 8 ) w h e n s.th.

Authenticated
tzet ay-0 y-iii coiiob' macato yet ay-0 howal hacana yet x-0-'ay taii
tzet#ay yin coiiob', macato yet ay howal. Hacana yet x'ay taii,
s.th. there-is on town or when there-is war like when went-down ashes
happens to the town, (99) or when there is war. (100) Like when the ashes
tolob' ha' naj x-0-mak'-n-i poh-oj ch'en ch'en laiian=xa y-ay-oj y-ib'aii
tolob'f ha' n a j # xmak'ni pooj ch'en ch'en, laiianxa yayoj yib'aii
it-is-said he hit to-pieces the stones are-already will-fall over
fell, they say that it was he who smashed the stones that were already
coiiob' yuxin taii=xa x-0 -Hu y-ay y-ib'aii coiiob'

coiiob', yuxin^ tarixaf xu y&yf yib'aii coiiob'.
town so-that ashes-already did go-down over town
falling on the town (101) so that it was ashes that fell on the town.

Authenticated
APPENDIX 2
Noun Classifiers, Kin Terms, and Vocative Particles1
Noun classifiers. The s y n t a x o f n o u n classifiers is discussed in

3 . 2 . 1 . 4 . ( S e e also f o o t n o t e 1, Chapter 3.) The roster o f classifiers is
as f o l l o w s ; s o m e glosses o f e x a m p l e s of n o u n s used with classifiers
are given w h e n n e e d e d for clarification.
comam male deity (God, sun, thunderbolt)

comi' female deity (the Virgin, moon)
ya' respected nondeity, male or female
unin infant
ho', xo' nonrespected noninfant kin: male, female
ho' ni'an, xo' ni'an noninfant child kin: male, female
naj ni'an, ix ni'an noninfant nonkin child: male, female
naj, ix nonrespected nonchild nonkin; Ladino; dead person; low
deity: male, female (thunderbolt)
naj hill, mountain; human contingency (life, marriage, sloth,
wealth, bone fracture)
metx dog
no' animal (except dog), consisting of animal material;
rubber, consisting of rubber; rainbow (horse, meat, wool
yarn, saddle, honey, slingshot)
ixim com, wheat, consisting thereof (ear of corn, cornfield,
tortilla, bread)
1. The data in this appendix were elicited from a single informant, Antonio F.
Mendez. Mr. Lawrence B. Breitborde has re-elicited all three classes of words from two other
informants. His elicitation and analysis were more sophisticated than mine, taking into
account various social settings where the terms can be used. His data for kin terms and
vocatives differ in some respects from those presented here. Mr. Breitborde is preparing his
material for publication.
125

Authenticated
tx'al thread; woven band (hair-ribbon)
tx'aii fiber rope, cord, consisting thereof (cargo net)
k'ap cloth (except wool), consisting thereof {shirt)
te' plant (except com and wheat), consisting of plant
material (except thread, cloth, rope, com and wheat
products) (tree, wood, house, leaf, liquor, paper)
ha' water, consisting of water (river, rain, pus)
ch'en stone, metal, glass, ice, consisting thereof; money (sand,
grinding stone, metal spoon, bottle, hail)
tx'otx' dirt, land (adobe, water jug)
k'a' fire
atz'am salt
Many noun classifiers are homophonous, or nearly so, with a

noun central to their class. These nouns are as follows: ni'an unin
infant (compound noun), winaj man, male, ix woman, female, nok'
animal, ixim corn, tx'al thread, tx'aii rope, cord, te' wood, tree,
bush, log, stick, ha' water, river, creek, ch'en stone, metal tx'otx'
dirt, land, k'a' fire, atz'am salt.
The classifiers metx and tx'otx' lose their final consonants in
the phrases me tx'i' the dog and tx'o tx'otx' the land, dirt.
Kin terms. Jacaltec terms for kin and "god-kin" are given
below. Except for some affinal terms, compadre, and comadre, they
must take a possessor prefix or the suffix -e inherently possessed.
(The -e of "compadre" and "comadre" is part of the stem.) The gloss
cousin means parent's sibling's child.
Male Ego (Both) Female Ego

mam ichame grandfather
mi' ixname grandmother
helele grandparent
mame father; parent's brother;
father-in-law (antiquated)
mi'e mother; parent's sister;
mother-in-law (antiquated)
uxtaje nohe b r o t h e r ; male cousin;
nephew
anab'e nohe sister; female cousin; niece

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Appendix 2 127
c'ahole unine son; grandson; son-in-law

(antiquated)
cutz'ine unine daughter; granddaughter
ih txiquine grandchild (antiquated)
swegro father-in-law
swegra mother-in-law
ixale ichamile spouse
b'ax spouse's sibling
alib'e daughter-in-law
xahan mame godfather
xahan mi'e godmother
cumpare cumpale compadre
cumare cumale comadre
xahan unine godchild
Vocative particles. Vocative particles are described in 3 . 1 4 . 3 .

Some are identical, or nearly so, to semantically related noun
classifiers or kin terms.
Male Ego (Both) Female Ego

mamin ~ mama' respected male
miyay ~ mimi' respected female
mam father; parent's brother
mi' mother; parent's sister
xahan mam godfather
xahan mi' godmother
cumpare cumpale compadre
cumare cumale comadre
wuxtaj non ~ noh n o n r e s p e c t e d collateral
male kin
wanab' non ~ noh n o n r e s p e c t e d collateral
female kin
cho' xi' nonrespected nonkin male;
husband
IX nonrespected nonkin fe-
male; wife
naj ni'an nonkin male child
ix ni'an nonkin female child
tz'ul ~ tz'ula child
xahan unin godchild

Authenticated
Authenticated
APPENDIX 3
Glossary
This glossary is very limited in scope and purpose. It is intended

to help the reader reconstruct word-for-word glosses of multiword
examples in Chapters 1-3, where this cannot be done using
information in the sections where the examples occur. Hence, only
words are listed whose glosses are not explicitly given in the sections
where the words are used. Stem class and a section number where the
word occurs are given.
Alphabetical order is as follows: ' a b b' c c' ch c h ' d e f g h i j J
k' 1 m n h o p qu q'u r s t t' tx tx' tz tz' u w x x y. Diagraphs are
treated as single letters. Preposed hyphen indicates that the word
must take a class A person prefix.
(TV; 2.4.7) give; put; do (an action); let, allow,

cause (to do s.th.)
ac' (Adj; 2.8) new
-ahaw (N; 2.3.1) owner of s.th.
ak'in (N; 3.5) board, plank
alb'i (IV; 2.2) become heavy
all (IV; 3.6.2) be, become late
amigoe (N; 3.2.1.3) friend
anma (N; 1.7.2.3) person, people
apni (IV; Intro, to Ch. 3) arrive there
as(i') (IV imperative; 2.4.7) go!
-atut (N; 2.5.2) s.o.'s house
atz'am (N; 3.12) salt
awal (N; 2.7.1) cornfield, planted corn
axni (IV; 3.11) bathe
axne (TV; 2.3.2.3) bathe s.o.
129

Authenticated
ay(a) (Part; 2.2) there is, are; be; have

aycoj (Part with Enclit; 3.3.2.4) be at home
ayc'ayi (IV; 2.4.1) fall
ayi (IV; 2.1.4) go down
-b'a (Part; 3.3.2.3) -self
b'ak'in (Pron; 3.12) when?, sometime
b'ay (Pron; 1.7.2.2) where?, someplace
b'eti' (Adv; 3.1) here
b'etu' (Adv; 3.3.2.1) there
b'eyi (IV; 3.4.3) go on foot
b'i, b'ih (N; 3.14.1) name
b'ik'a (TV; 2.2) swallow s.th.
ca, cab', cac'oii, cawaii (Num; 2.7.1) two
caj (Adj; 2.3.2.2) red; hot
caj ch'elep (N; 3.2.1.6) rainbow
cajiie (TV; 3.3.2.2) make s.th. red; heat s.th.
carni (IV; 1.7.2.3) die
camixe (N; 3.2.1.11) shirt
cani, cancanoj (IV; 1.6.6) remain, be left
caii, caiieb', caiic'oh, canwaii (Num; 2.7.1) four
cat (Presequentive aspect marker; 2.4.1)
caw (Adj; 3.3.2.3) hard
caw (Part; 3.6.1) very, very much, true
colo (TV; 3.6.1) help s.o.
còrno (Part; 3.12) since
coiiob' (N; 1.7.2.2) town
cuchàra (N; 3.6.1) spoon
-c'ataii (N; 3.4.4) with, by, accompanying s.o.
-c'ul (N; 3.2.1.7) (on the) body, middle of s.th.
c'ul (Adj, Adv; 3.3.2.1) good; well
c'ulch'an (Adj. 3.8) pretty
c'uh (N; 3.10) thunderbolt
c'uyc'uni (IV; 2.5.2) tremble
cha (TV; 1.6.9) find s.th.
chaloyi (IV; 2.2) be found
cheh (N; 1.6.2) horse
chew (Adj; 3.3.2.3) cold
chib'e (N; 2.7.2) meat
chuman (Adv; 3.6.1) (at) noon
ch'en (N; 3.6.1) stone; (NCI) it, the (stone, metal, glass,
ice, and things consisting thereof)

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Appendix 3 131
domiiiku (N, Adv; 3.10) Sunday
eb'a (TV; 3.6.2) hide s.th.
ehi (IV; 3.4.4) remain (in a place)
eli (IV; 2.4.7) leave, go out, separate
eq'ui (IV; 2.4.7) pass, go by
-et (N; 3.12) to, ofs.o.
-etb'i (N; 1.4.1) companion
ewi (Adv; 1.7.2.2) yesterday
-eyi (Part; 2.2) be
ha' (N; 2.2) water; (NCI) it, the (water, consisting of
water)
hac (Part; 3.3.2.1) like
hak'b'al (N; 3.4.2) candle
Hala (TV; Intro, to Ch. 3) say s.th.
hawoni (IV; 1.5) bark repeatedly
hayin (Part; 3.3.3) I, it is I
heb'- (pluralizer for NCI for persons; 2.3.3)
hecal (Adv; 3.3.3) tomorrow
hej (Plural particle; 3.4.2)
hitx'oni (IV; 1.6.3) make noise of wind blowing in the
trees
ho, howeb', hoc'oii, howan (Num; 2.7.1) five
ho' (Part; 2.8) yes
how (Adj; 3.2.1.11) mean
howal (N; 3.8) war
-Hu (N; 3.4.2) by, because of, for s.o.; with s.th. (as
instrument)
Hui (IV; 1.4.2) happen
Huli (IV; 1.6.7) arrive here
hun (Num, Part; 1.6.6) a, one
hun k'a(h)an (Part; 3.2.1.2) some
hune' (Num, Part; 1.6.1) a, one
-hunil (N; 3.2.1.8) all of s.th.
hunun (Part; 3.3.3) each, every
i'oni (IV; 1.6.4) stutter
-ich (N; 1.6.2) (at the) foot, bottom of s.th.
ila (TV; 1.6.5) see, look at, watch s.th.
ilwe (TV; 3.8) test s.o.
-in (N; 3.2.1.7) on, with s.th.
ita (N; 1.4.2) food, meal; herb

Authenticated
ix (N; 2.4.1) woman; (NCI) she, her, her, the

(nonrespected nonchild nonkin female)
ixale (N; 2.3.1) wife
ixim (N; 3.2.1.2) corn; (NCI) it, the (corn, wheat,
cornfield, products and parts thereof)
jalnì (Part; 2.4.1) let's say
jepna used in ah jepna (IV with BndAdv; 3.10) flash
(lightning)
k'a' (N; 3.11) fire; heat
k'a' (Part; 3.3.2.3) more
k'a(h)an (see hun k'a(h)an)
k'ana (TV; 1.6.6) want, ask for s.th.
k'ape (N; 2.7.2) cloth
k'ayi (IV; 3.12) be accustomed to
k'iñ (N; 3.8) fiesta
k'opo (N; 2.3.3) girl
k'oye (N; 2.7.1) dough
lahwi (Postsequentive aspect marker; 2.4.1)
lak'le (TV; 3.10) embrace s.o.
lañan (Continuative aspect marker; 2.3.2.1)
lek'a (TV; 2.2) lick s.th.
listo (Adj; 3.6.1) ready
lo (TV; 1.4.2) eat s.th.
lok'o (TV; 3.2.1.7) buy s.th.
lowi (IV; 3.3.1) eat
lugár (N; 1.7.2.3) place
mac(a) (Pron; 2.3.3) who?, someone
mach (Part; 1.6.2) not; there is not
mak'a (TV; 1.4.1) hit s.th.
marne (N; 1.7.2.1) father, uncle
mandar (BndAdv; 3.3.2.3) command
mat (Part; 1.7.2.3) not
may (Adv; 1.7.1) this morning
mi'e (N; 3.10) mother
mixa (N; 3.3.1) mass
mohyi (IV; 3.4.3) marry
munlayi (IV; 1.6.9) work
na (TV) promise s.th.
naj (NCI; 1.4.1) he, him, his, the (nonrespected
nonchild nonkin male)

Authenticated
Appendix 3 133
nan (Adj; 3.3.2.1) different

no' (NCI; 2.7.2.2) it, the (animal, animal product)
ñah (N; 2.3.3) house
nal (N; 2.7.1) ear of corn
ñusu (TV; 1.6.7) burn s.th.
octoj (IV; 1.7.2.1) enter there
-ohtaj (N; 3.9) s.o.'s knowledge (translated as know s.th.,
s.o.)
ok'b'i (2.4.1) become a waterhole
ok'i (IV; 1.6.2) cry
opisyo (N; 3.3.3) trade, profession
oqui (IV; 1.7.2.1) enter, go in; begin
ora (N; 3.6.1) hour, time
ox, oxeb', oxc'on, oxwañ (Num; 2.1.3) three
pale (N; 3.10) priest
panéla (N; 2.7.2) raw sugar
paxi (IV; 3.4.2) return
paxyal (Adv; 3.3.2.3) for a walk
payxa (Part; 3.6.2) long ago
Pel (N; 3.2.1.4) Pedro
pelota (N; 1.7.1) ball
péna (N; 3.3.2.1) trouble
pihan (Pos; 3.3.2.1) spread out
pilan (Pos; 2.1.5) cylindrical; (NumCl) cylindrical
object
pitxan (Pos; 3.5) insecurely placed
poho (TV; 3.6.1) break s.th.
potx'o (TV; 2.2) kill s.th.
pulato (N; 2.7.2) plate
q'uej (Adj; 3.10) black; dark complexioned
sahc'ayi (IV; 3.9) awaken
saj (Adj; 3.10) white; light complexioned
sajach (N; 3.6.1) game
sajchi (IV; 3.10) play
-sat (N; 2.5.1) (on the) surface of s.th.
sat te' (N; 3.3.2.3) fruit
-sataj (N; 3.3.3) than, as (as in bigger than, as big as)
sate (N; 1.6.2) face
saya (TV; 2.4.1) look for s.th.
sentábo (N; 3.2.1.7) cent

Authenticated
si' (N; 2.1.5) firewood

sintae (N; 1.6.9) hair-ribbon
sisoni (IV; 1.6.4) hiss
ta'an (Part; 3.11) what do you know!
taii (N; 3.10) ashes
ta'we (TV; 3.8) answer, accept s.th.
te' (N; 1.6.1) wood, tree, brush, log, stick; (NCI) it,
the (wood, plant, consisting thereof)
tenan (Pos; 3.2.1.9) piled; (NumCl) pile, crowd
ti' (Part; 3.2.1.10) this, these
ti'e (N; 1.4.1) mouth
tiiian (Adv; 3.3.3) now; today
tira (TV; 1.7.1) throw s.th
tita (IV; 2.2) come
titx'an (Pos; 2.5.1) bent
tolob' (Part; 1.3.1) it is said that
tomo (TV; 1.6.2) cut s.th.
tonetic'a (Prct; 3.6.1) always
toyi (IV; 1.4.1) go
tu' (Part; 1.7.2.2) that, those
tucu (TV) visit s.o.
t'eb'an (Pos; 1.3.1) naked above the waist
tzab'a (TV: 3.3.2.3) grasp, grab, catch s.th.
tzab'coj (TV; 3.8) begin s.th.
tzeh (N; 2.3.3) youth; (Adj; 2.8) young
tzet (Pron; 1.6.4) what ?, something
tzoc'o (TV; 3.2.1.7) chop s.th.
tzoteli (IV; 3.8) talk, chat
tzow (N; 1.6.2) amate tree
tz'a'i (IV; 3.11) burn
tz'ayic (N; 3.3.3) day; sun
tz'oiian (Pos; 2.2) seated
tz'oiii, tz'oiiyi (IV; 2.2) sit down
tz'otz'ew (N; 3.4.2) mud
tz'unu (TV) plant s.th.
tx'i' (N; 2.4.5) dog
tx'i(h)al (Num; 3.2.1.6) many
tx'ohb'al (N; 3.4.2) market place
tx'otx' (N; 1.6.2) dirt, land; (NCI) it, the (dirt, land,
consisting thereof)

Authenticated
Appendix 3 135
uch'uni (IV; 1.6.5) churn

-ul (N) in(to) s.th., interior of s.th.
ute (TV; 3.10) do s.th.
uxtaje (N; 1.7.2.1) brother, cousin, nephew (male
speaking)
wa'i (IV; 1.7.2.2) eat
wacax (N; 1.7.2.2) cow, bull
wah (N; 3.2.1.1) tortilla
wayaiib'al (N; 3.10) hamlet (Spanish aided)
-walil (N; 1.6.2) character (as a term of moral
approbation)
wayi (IV; 2.2) sleep
wi'e (N; 2.4.7) head
winaj (N; 1.6.1) man
witz (N; 3.2.1.6) hill, hill spirit
-witz (N) top, point of
x'ahawil (Adv; 3.3.2.1) by the month
-xa (Enct; 3.2.1.10) already
xapun (N; 3.6.2) soap
-xic' (see xiq'ue)
xil (Adj; 2.8) worn out
xin (Part; 3.10) then (Spanish pues)
xiquiltaj (Adj; 3.3.3) respected
xiq'ue (N; 1.6.2) wing
xub'iie (TV; 1.6.2) whistle at s.th.
xi (IV; 3.8) say
Xuwan (N; 3.7) Juan
ya' (Adj; 3.6.1) painful (also translated as hurt)
yaj(a') (Part; 3.3.3) but
yax (Adj; 3.2.1.11) yellow
yet (Part; 3.14) when
yuliia (Adv; 3.3.2.1) indoors

Authenticated
Authenticated

Christopher Day 1973 The Jacaltec Language PDF

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THE

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Adj Adjective PMA Class A person marker

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Location and Population

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speaking dwellers in the aldeas of Jacaltenango have close family ties

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The data f o r this grammar were obtained in Jacaltenango f r o m

12:3:191-95 (1960). Two glottochronological treatments are: Morris Swadesh, "Inter-

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sections are based on material gleaned from the transcribed tape

Church, Clarence and {Catherine. "Jacaltec Grammar." In Languages of

Church, Clarence and Katherine. "The Jacaltec Noun Phrase." In Mayan

Textual materials in the Concepción dialect of Jacaltec have been published

Shaw, Mary, ed. Según Nuestros Antepasados: Textos Folklóricos de

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1.1. Phonemes and orthography

Fig. 2. Jacaltec phonemes

The orthography used here is nearly the same as that used by

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1.2. Allophonics of segmental phonemes

1.2.1 Consonant allophonics

1.2.1.1. Position of articulation

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1.2.1.2. Manner of articulation

1.2.2. Vowel allophonics

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1.3. Allophonics of suprasegmental phonemes

1.3.1. Juncture allophonics

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1.3.2. Stress allophonics

1.3.3 Contour allophonics

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1.4. Distribution of segmental phonemes

1.4.1. Distribution of consonants

1.4.2. Distribution of vowels

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1.6.1. Loss of f i n a l ' and j

1.6.2. Sibilant and affricate clusters

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Sibilant and affricate reduction across juncture. Similarly to the

1.6.3. C-h cluster reduction

1.6.4. Geminate cluster reduction

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velar stop, i.e., it alternates with m and ñ. In some cases, under

1.6.7. o in suffixes and clitics