Proto-Mayan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Proto-Mayan is the hypothetical common ancestor of the 30 living Mayan languages, as well as the extinct Classic Maya language documented in the Maya Hieroglyphical inscriptions.

1 Phonology
- 1.1 Sound rules
- 1.2 Developments
2 Grammar
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Phonology

The Proto-Mayan language is reconstructed (Campbell and Kaufman 1985) as having the following sounds:

Five vowels: a, e, i, o and u. Each of these occurring as short and long: aa, ee, ii, oo and uu,

	Bilabial		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain
Stops	p [p]	b' [ɓ]	t [t]	t' [t']	ty [tʲ]	ty' [tʲ']	k [k]	k' [k']	q [q]	q' [q']	' [ʔ]
Affricate			ts [ʦʰ]	ts' [ʦ’]	ch [ʧʰ]	ch' [ʧ’]
Fricative			s [s]		x [ʃ]				j [X]		h [h]
Nasal	m [m]		n [n]				nh [ŋ]
Liquids			l [l] r [r]
Glide					y [j]		w [w]

[edit] Sound rules

The following set of sound changes from proto-Mayan to the modern languages are used as the basis of the classification of the mayan languages. The colored fields show that a sound change has happened in this branch - when two or more branches have the same change it suggests that this soundchange is a shared innovation and that those branches have shared a common development.

Overview of soundrules from Proto-Mayan to modern Mayan language groups
Soundrule	Cholan-Tzeltalan		Q'anjob'alan-Chujean		K'ichean-Mamean
	Ch'olan	Tzeltalan	Q'anjob'alan	Chujean	K'ichean		Mamean
					Core K'iche'	Kaqchikel- Tz'utujil	Mam	Ixil
*w > b
*h > w/_o,u
*ŋ > h
q > k, q' > k'
*ŋ > n
e: > i, o: > u
*a: > ɨ
*-t > -tʃ
*ŋ > x
CVʔVC > CVʔC
*r > t
*r > j
*t > tʃ
*tʃ > tʂ
*-h > -j
*-ɓ > -ʔ/VCV_#

[edit] Developments

The palatalized plosives [tʲ'] and [tʲ] are not carried down into any of the modern families. Instead they are reflected differently in different branches allowing a reconstruction of these phonemes as palatalized plosives. In the eastern branch (Chujean-Q'anjob'alan and Cholan) they are reflected as [t] and [t']. In Mamean they are reflected as [ts] and [ts'] and in Yukatek and K'ichean as [ʧʰ] and [ʧ’].^[1]

reflexes of Proto-Mayan [tʲ'] and [tʲ] ^[2]
Proto-Mayan	Q'anjob'al	Mam	K'iche'	English
*tʲeːʔ	teʔ	tseʔ	ʧeːʔ	tree
*tʲaʔŋ	tan	tsaʔX	ʧaːX	ashes

The Proto-Mayan liquid [r] is reflected as [j] in the eastern languages (Chujean- Q'anjob'alan and Cholan), Huastecan and Yukatek but as [ʧʰ] in Mamean and [r] in K'ichean and Poqom. ^[3]

reflexes of Proto-Mayan [r] ^[4]
Proto-Mayan	Yukatek	Ixil	K'iche'	English
*raʔʃ	jaʔʃ	tʃaʔʃ	raʃ	green
*kar	kaj	tʃaj	kar	fish

Proto-Mayan velar nasal *[ŋ] is reflected as [x] in the western branches (K'ichean Mamean), as [n] in Q'anjob'alan, Cholan and Yukatekan, and only conserved as [ŋ] in Chuj and Poptí. ^[5] In Huastecan *[ŋ] is reflected as [h].

reflexes of Proto-Mayan [ŋ] ^[6]
Proto-Mayan	Q'anjob'al	Ixil	Poptí	English
*ŋeːh	ne	xeh	ŋeh	tail

The changes of Proto-Mayan glottal fricative [h] are many and it has different reflexes according to position. In some positions it has added length to the preceding vowel in languages that preserve a length distinction. In other languages it has the reflexes [w], [j], [ʔ], [x] or a zero-reflex. ^[7]

Only K'ichean-Mamean and some Q'anjob'alan languages have retained proto-Mayan uvular stops [q] and [q'] whereas all other branches have changed these into [k] and [k'] respectively.

In Mamean a chain shift took place changing *[r] into [t], *[t] into [tʃ], *[tʃ] into [ʈʂ] and *[ʃ] into [ʂ]. These retroflex affricates and fricatives later diffused into Q'anjob'alan. ^[8]

In polysyllabic words Kaqchikel and Tz'utujil have changed a final proto-Mayan *[w] and *[ɓ] into [j] and *[ʔ] respectively.^[9]

Huastecan is the only branch to have changed Proto-Mayan *[w] into [b]. Wastek also is the only mayan laguage to have a phonemic labialized velar phoneme [k^w], but this is known to be a postcolonial development. Comparing colonial documents in Wastek to modern Wastek it can be seen that they were originally clusters of k and a rounded vowel followed by a glide. For example the word for "vulture" which in modern Wastek is pronounced [k^wi:ʃ]was written <cuyx> in colonial Wastek and pronounced [kuwi:ʃ].

The Yucatecan languages have all shifted proto-Mayan *[t] into [tʃ] in wordfinal position.

Several languages particularly Cholan and Yucatecan have changed short [a] into [ɨ].

All Cholan languages have changed long proto-Mayan vowels [eː] and [oː] into [i] and [u] respectively.

Vowel length distinction has been lost in Q'anjob'alan-Chujean (except for Mocho' and Akateko), Kaqchikel and Cholan. Some languages have reduced the vowel length distinction into a tense lax distinction that was later lost for most vowels, Kaqchikel however retains a a centralized lax schwa-like vowel as a reflex of proto-Mayan [a]^[10]. Two languages, Yukatek and Uspantek and one dialect of Tzotzil have introduced a tone distinction in vowels between high and low tones as reflexes of former vowel length and [h] and [ʔ].

[edit] Grammar

Please help improve this article by expanding this section.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. Please remove this message once the section has been expanded.
This article has been tagged since February 2007.

[edit] References

England, Nora C., 1994, Autonomia de los Idiomas Mayas: Historia e identidad. (Ukuta'mil Ramaq'iil Utzijob'aal ri Maya' Amaaq'.) Cholsamaj. Guatemala.

Handbook of Middle American Indians, 1967, 1969, R. Wauchope (series ed.). Vol 7 (ethnographic sketches of Mayan groups), Volume 5 (linguistic sketches and other useful materials). F 1434, H 3, LAC (ref).