Image - Cacao Pod Vessel - K6706 © Justin Kerr FAMSI © 2001:
David Bolles
 

Combined Dictionary-Concordance of the Yucatecan Mayan Language

ARTICULO DEZIMO QUINTO.

Nombres de algunas cosas manuales de una casa.

Alazena, despensa. Balab, tacunbaal.

Agua. Haa.

La fria. Ziz haa.

La caliente. Chocou haa.

La lluvia. Chulub haa.

Ayre, viento. Ik, ikal.

Anillo, sortija. Dzipit kab.

Alcahuete. Ah cho.

Aceite. Tzatz kaabil.

Atavio, adorno. Cenanil, tapbail.

Avanico, aventador. Ual, picit, picitil.

Andas para llevar Santos. Peet, pet te.

Arriba. Canal, canlil.

Abajo. Cabal, cablil.

Almirez. Kutubte, muxubte.

Almohadilla de labor. Kam chuy.

Azote, disciplina. Hadzeb.

Azadon. Xukub luk, bat luk.

Alberca, estanque. Pek chhen tun, paa.

Albarrada. Cot.

Arco iris. Chheel.

Arco. Pum.

Alforja, talega, bolsa,

costal, zurron. Mucuc, chim.

Almohada. Kam hool.

Apaste. Caat.

Atole. Zaa.

Anteojos. Zaaz ich, tan ich.

Aposento, celda. Uay kazal.

Arracada, sarcillo. Tupp.

Altar, poyo, pretil. Tem.

Azucar. Mom cab, mom.

Algibe. Xuch, chulub chhen, bitun kom.

Barrer. Miz.

Escoba. Mizib.

Bracero. Mohob, moh, kab kak.

Batea, o arteza. Pox che, pek cat che, chem che.

Braza. Chuc.

Fuego. Kak.

Bayle, o danza. Okot.

Banco, o escaño. Xacam che, payom che.

Baño. Ichcil.

Botija. Kat chu.

Baratijas, y trastes. Choocom.

Barreta. Xul mazcab, panabte.

Batidor de chocolate. Bokob xuthen.

Bastimento, matalotage para

camino. Nech.

Besar, y beso. Nah chiil, dzudz.

Beber, y bebida. Ukul.

Beber las Aves. Tholancil.

Bexuco. Ak.

Bordon. Xolte.

Bostezo, bostezar. Hayab.

Bragas, o calzones. Ex.

Brindar. Chun luch.

Brindiz. Chun luchil.

Buscar siguiendo. Tzacal.

Buscar con diligencia. Xache.

Cal. Taan.

Ceniza. Dzi taan.

Centella. Ppiliz kak.

Calabazo. Chu.

Corona, diadema. Nac, pronunciando breve.

Comida, carne. Hanal.

Convidar por convite. Payalte.

Convite. Payalteil.

Convidar a comer. Ulilbezah.

Comer pan. Uiil, uii.

Cortina, pavellon. Yub.

Caxa, cofre, escritorio. Maben.

Carbon. Cimen chuc.

Casa, sin denotar cuya. Na.

Casa, denotando cuya. Otoch.

Casa de piedra. Nocac.

Cesto. Xac.

Cantaro. Ppul.

Cama. Uay, chac, chac che.

Tender la cama. Taz uay.

Circulo, redondez. Peet, peetil.

Cabo de chamal. Xotem.

Cerca, muralla, castillo,

o trinchera. Tulum, paa.

Coroza. Chhopat.

Carrillo, polea. Balakte.

Chocolate. Chucua.

Comal. Xamach.

Caliente. Chocou.

Cubo. Chhoy.

Copa de vino. Yedzeb.

Cera. Cib.

Cocina. Koben.

Candela, o vela. Yibak.

Candela de cera. Yibak cib, can cib.

Candela de cebo. Yibak tzatz, yibak pom.

Cantar, y canto. Kay.

Colcha. Piilbil nok.

Coser y labor. Chuy.

Camisa. Lec tan.

Chamarrilla. Xicul.

Caldero, paila. Mazcab cum.

Clavo. Xolob, e mazcab.

Clavo de palo, o sovina. E che.

Corral de pared. Zoy pak.

De piedra. Zoy tun.

De palos. Zoy che, &c.

Cerradura, aldaba, candado. Kaleb.

Canal, caño. Beel haa, yach haa.

Cimiento. Dzec, dzecil.

Carrosa, carro. Hebel xec, zutul xec, zutbil xec.

Carreta. Zutul che.

Candelero. Lathab cib.

Capa. Zuyem.

Calor. Kilcab.

Cascabel. Kitz moc, breve la o.

Carne. Bak.

Clueca. Ziz oc.

Castigo, y castigar. Tzeec.

Caxa de anteojos. U hup macil zaz.

Claridad, luz. Zaz, zazil, zazilil.

Cola, engrado. Takab, takeb.

Columna de piedra. Ocom tun.

Comprar. Man.

Cuerno. Xulub.

Coxin. Kan it, breve la i.

Criado. Palil, palilbil.

Crudo. Cheche.

Cedazo. Chachab.

Cuchara. Lucheb, luchub, hopob.

Cuchillo. Xoteb.

Sahumerio. Ppulut.

Ceñidor. Kax nak.

Zapato. Xanab.

Cadena. Hoken hok.

Cielo. Caan.

Cena. Okinal uiil, oknal uiil.

Cielo de la cama. Yuub.

Chimenea. U bel budz, u hol budz.

Chupar. Dzudz.

Coraza. Cuyub.

Caliz. Cul.

Caliz sagrado. Cilich cul.

Colmo de la medida. Culub.

Cota maya, peto. Cuyub mazcab.

Dentro. Ich na, ichil.

Dia. Kin.

Dedal. Thuchhub kab, dzomdzom.

Deposita. Kubulte.

Dinero. Takin.

Derecho. Toh, hun tadz.

Desayuno. Kam chiil.

Ayuno. Zukin.

Diamante. Kabliz tok.

Dieta en comer, beber, &c. Tumut, tumutil. V.g.: tumut hanal,

dieta en comer.

Dios. Ku.

Dote, arras. Muhul.

Dominguejo. Uenac, uinac.

Doncella, virgen. Zuhuy.

Duende, o Drasgo. Akab max, yutu max, y manab.

Duro. Chich.

Dulce. Chhahuc, chhuhuc.

Enxalma. Kam cuch.

Espuela. Xoklich.

Eslabon. Thahab kak.

Escalera. Eb.

De piedra. Eb tun.

De palos. Eb che.

Esquina, o canton. Tuuk.

Esquina cornijal. Titz, anamay.

Escudilla. Chhut.

Elote. Nal.

Estandarte, o vandera. Pan, lacam.

Embudo. Buthub, thohob.

Empanada de solo pan. Toobil uah.

De solo carne. Toobil bak.

Empedrado. Taz tunichil.

Encantador, hechicero, mago. Ah ez, ah cunyah, ah cunal.

Encantado. Cunul, ezan.

Encostalar, o embenequenar

frijoles, o sal, o &c. Tooytah.

Escarpin. Xanab nok.

Entremes, comedia, coloquio. Baldzam, y baldzamil.

Y la representacion, o

farza. Taah, taahil.

Era de huerta. Am tun, im tun.

Escribano. Ah uooh, ah dzib.

Espada. Hadzab.

Espejo. Nen.

Estornudar. Hetzim.

Espina. Kiix.

Espuma. Om.

Estaca. Xol che, dzop che.

Estadal, medida de doze brazas

en quadro para milpas, &c. Kaan, mac, dzac.

Estaño. Zac tau.

Estrella. Ek.

Estera, petate, tapete. Poop.

Y si estuvieren pintados. Zel poop.

Estrado. Cuuch, dzam.

Estrivo de cabalgar. Hedzeb oc.

Fuera. Tancab.

Fuente perene. Zuyaa.

Fuente manantial. Zayab.

Fuelle para soplar fuego. Hopob kak.

Y si es de herrero. Yum kak.

Frezca cosa. Ziz.

Frio por el que haze. Ceel.

Farol, o lanterna. Balab yibak.

Frasco. Zaz chu.

Freno. Thin mazcab.

Fabula. Iktili, iktili can.

Familia. Balnail, cuchteel.

Feria, mercado, plaza. Kiuic.

Fantasma. Manab, ah uaua pachh, y

ox kokol tzek.

Fea cosa. Kaz.

Flaca cosa. Tzem.

Fea, y fiera cosa. Ppetayen.

Fiel executor. Yahauzah.

Fiera cosa por brava. Ta achil.

Fiel de la balanza. Yol ppiz, u chhuyul ppiz.

Filo de cuchillo. E.

Ponesele una y, que supone

possession, diciendo: Ye xoteb, esto es, filo de

cuchillo.

Flor. Nic, nicte.

Frijol. Buul.

Floxedad, pereza. Mak olal.

Frezada. Teppliz tzotz.

Fusil. Lemba.

Fulano. H makanil.

Fulana. X makanil. Usanse dichos dos

vocablos quando se ignora, o no

se quiere decir algun nombre.

Fustan. Pic.

Fustan chorreado, o

listado. Tanamil pic, zel pic, pic bon.

Fustan sin labor, ni color. Lotz pic.

Forestero. Nachil uinic, dzul, dzul cab.

Y si es forestero

Estrangero. Omom.

Gana, antojo, deseo. Dzib olal, ul olal.

Ganado, o ave domestica. Alak, alakbil.

Garabato, garfijo. Lichib, zauin.

Gargajo, flema. U naa zeen.

Gargantilla. U.

Gente. Uinic.

Gesto con visages. Edz.

Gargarismo. Hakbah.

Gesto, o boca fruncida. Huyub.

Gloton, goloso. H bal nak, hak, holok ta.

Gordo, contrario de flaco. Poloc.

Gruesa, y grande cosa. Pococh, y lacam. V.g.: pococh che,

palo grueso; lacam tun, piedra

grande.

Gordo, y lucio estar. Ayacnac.

Grasa de comida. Yek, yekil.

Grossor de cosas llanas. Pim.

Gota de licor. Thunul, thah, chheh, chhah.

Gotera. Ocoy haa, oc haa.

Grada de escala. Dzac, dzacal.

Grande. Nohoch, ma pal, nuc.

Grande por encarecimiento. Ui. V.g.: u uiech Maya than, Latin than, eres gran idiomista de Maya y gran latino.

Graniso. Bat.

Grito. Auat.

Grupera. Hup ne, thil ne.

Guante. Hup kab.

Gemido. Acaan.

Guerra. Katun, bateel, ppizba.

Hamaca. Yaab kaan.

Huerta. Pakal.

Huesped. Ula.

Hacha. Baat.

Halludo pan. Pem chuc.

Hambre. Uiih.

Hazaleja, o paño de manos. Choo kab.

Hazienda. Baalba.

Hembra. Chhuplal.

Hacimiento de gracias. Nib pixanil.

Hediondez. Tuuil, tuu bocil.

Hermoso varon. Cich celem.

Herrar ganado, caballos, &c. Chicbezah, chuh, hootz.

Herreñal, lo que siembran

tras sus casas los Indios. Tan cabal.

Hervir. Omancal.

Hierro. Mazcab.

Hebilla. Kalab, thilib.

Hibadear, o carlear. Zezba, tuz ik.

Hienda, estiercol, o

escremento. Taa, o kaxil.

Hilo. Kuch.

Hoja de arbol. Lee.

Hoya, o valle. Kom, kom luum.

Hoya grande. Okop, kopoob.

Hojuela de maza tendida. Yalayal.

Hollejo. Zol.

El de nistamal. Madz.

Hollin de cozina. Yabac na.

Hombre. Uinic.

Honda para tirar. Yuum tun.

Honda cosa. Tam.

Su plural. Tamtac.

Hondo por muy profundo. Tam culul.

Hongo de arbol. Xicin che.

Horca para ahorcar. Cuy che, zak che.

Horquilla de palo. Hokob che, xay che.

Horcon. Ocom.

Huso. Pechech.

Horma de zapato. Bau che.

Horno de pan. Tzuk, tzuk tun.

Horno de hollero. Citim, citim cab,

Huelgo. Muz ik.

Humo. Budz.

Huella, rastro de viviente. Bilim.

Huracan. Molay ik, xauay ik.

Jardin. Pakal nicteil.

Jarro. Buleb, zuleb.

Jarro pintado. Bulub zel.

Jarro de pico. Thoh buleb.

Jaula de Paxaros. Cocol che, muchh xac.

Joya de pecho. Kan thixal, chhochhlam takin.

Jubon. Hepp tzem.

Yerva. Xiu.

Juego. Bul.

Polla de juego. Yoch bul.

Embidar la polla. Dza, dza yoch bul.

Embite. Dzabil, dzabil och.

Rebidar. Chaybezah, chaybezah och.

Rebite. Chaybezahil, chaybezah ochil.

Juego de dados. Haxbil bul, bacil bul.

Juego de naypes. Zel huun bul.

Juego de alxedrez. Ticil bul.

Juego de pelota. Pokyah, ekel ek.

Barajar el naype. Zou, zouyah.

Yesca. U taz kak.

Yesso. Ix tun.

Iglesia. Ku na.

Ilicita, viciosa, y vedada

cosa. Ilil.

Imagen, figura, retrato. Vinba.

Izquierda. Dzic.

Derecha. Noh.

Yncensario. Ppulub.

Ysopo. Tzitzib, tzitzab.

Lagaña. Chhem.

Leche. U kab im.

Lagrima. Kab ich, yalil ich.

Lampara. Chhuy zaz, chhuy ek.

Letrina. Hulem.

Leña. Zii.

Lavar bateas, platos, &c. Chalaa.

Luto. Okom nok, eek nok.

Lava manos, aguamanos. Pocol kab.

Lavatorio de boca. Chalaa chii, ppuc ha.

Lebrillo. Caat.

El pintado. Zel caat.

Lego, padre. H ma itzat kin, h ma pet zuz.

Letania. Thiz okotba.

Llanto. Okol.

Letra. Uooh.

La vocal Hun uooh.

Letrado. Ah idzaat, ah miatz.

Libra. Chhuyub ppiz.

Lloron. H dzelem.

Libro. Pic huun.

De molde. Dzalbil huun.

Licencia. Zipit olal.

Limosna dada. Dza yatzil, ziil, tzotz.

Limosna recibida. Matan.

Llama de fuego. Ledz kak, yak kak.

Litera. Pepem che.

Llave. He kalab, he kalabil.

Llovizno. Toz haa.

Madero. Chee.

Maiz. Yxim.

Madura cosa. Takan.

Mancha. Xihul.

Masa. Zacan.

Manojo de qaulquier cosa. Kax, kaxal.

Manteca, grassa. Tzatz.

Margagita, arenilla. Nen uz, zuuz.

Mascara. Kohob.

Miel. Cab.

Matraca. Kokol che, kok che.

Medico. Ah dzac yah.

Molde. Dzalab.

Medroso. Zahlem.

Mecate. Kaan.

Mendigo. H kat matan, h kat mat.

Mendrugo de pan. Xel uah, xelomal.

Mercader. Ah ppolom.

Manto de muger. Bucliz nok, ek bochh.

Menospreciar a otro. Mab. V.g.: mab naa u cah,

menospreciando esta a su Madre.

Mecha de algodon. Xux bii.

Mequetrefe, que todo lo sabe,

y lo ignora todo. Ah tacba.

Medias, botas, polainas. Hupub oc.

Mesa. Mayac.

De tabla. Mayac che.

De piedra. Mayac tun.

Para comer. Mayac uil, uileb che.

Mesa pequeña. Chukub che.

Moneda falsa. Ezbil takin.

Marcar esclavos, animales,

&c. Hootz.

Mulato de Español, Negra, o

al contrario. Zidz ek uinic.

Mestizo. Zidz cax uinic, zidz cax.

Mitra. Yopat.

Martyr. Ah kuil numya.

Mies. Hoch. V.g.: bacac ix ma dzedz hochile ma pana yah tanlahilobi, messis quidem multa, operarij autem pauci.

Mohina, desabrimiento. Idz olal.

Muñeca de niñas. Al che, al nok.

Nacimiento. Zihnal, zihunbil, zihul.

Nacimiento, dia, en que uno

nace. Ziian. V.g.: el dia del nacimiento

de Pedro, u ziian kinil Pedro.

Nadar. Tahal, tahal haa, bab.

Nada. Ma bal.

Nadie. Ma mac.

Nata de licor. Odzel.

Nido. Kuu.

Neblina, rocio. Yeeb.

Nombre. Kaba.

Negra cosa. Eek.

Nube. Muyal.

Negro, hombre, o animal. Ek, box.

Niño, que mama. H chhoo, h chuchul.

Niño de edad. Paal baac.

No. Ma, matan.

Si. La.

Noche. Akab, akbil.

Nublado. Nocoy can.

Noria. Zutul chhen, zutbil chhen.

Novena. Bolon kintzilil.

Nube en el ojo. Buy, thah.

Orinas. Akzah, ix.

Oficio. Be, beel.

Obedecer. Tzic, xoc, chhaa than.

Obispo. Ahau caan, ah xuch ueuet, y

yumilan peten.

Oy. Hele, helelae.

Cosa de hoy. Heleben.

Olla. Cum.

Ola de agua. Cucul, yaam.

Ola, que viene encapillada. Buc chan.

Ora del dia. Lathab kin, kintzil.

Onza de libra. Xel chhuy ppiz, xel ppiz.

Ormamento, atavio. Cen, cenanil, tap.

Oro bajo, oropel, azofar

laton. Ix naaba tun.

Oro. Kan takin.

Pan. Uah.

Hazer tortilla. Pakach.

Paga, jornal, flete. Bool, boolil.

Palacio. Ahau na.

Papirote. Ppiliz.

Palomino, o polla de aves. Tzotzom.

Paño. Choob nok.

De manos. Choob kab.

De cara. Choob ich.

De nariz. Pitib nii.

Panisuelo. Tan hay.

Manteles. Uiilib nok.

Papo de qualquier ave. Chim.

Papada de Toro. Lacam.

De gallina de la tierra. Ko.

Papel. Huun.

Patena. Cumal takin.

Pared. Pak.

Parayso terrestre. Caan lumil.

Pero segun tradicion de los Indios, se llama: hunanhil, porque

llaman assi el lugar donde fue criado Adan.

Patio. Tancabal.

Pechuga. U tan x- cax.

Peyne. Xelche.

Pelo. Tzotz.

Pelisco. Xepp, xoth.

Pelota. Pok.

Piedra. Tunich.

Perla. Yaxil tun.

Pila. Peek chhen tun, pek bitun.

Pila pequeña. Hol ca.

Pita. Mau.

Pison. Cohob.

Pilar. Ocom tun.

Piscina. Actun chhen, pek chhen tun.

Plato. Chhob.

Poeta. H- iktan.

Plomo. Tau.

Pozo. Chheen.

Pluma. Kukum.

Pluma tajada. Cheb.

Cañon de pluma. Zaham.

Prenda personal, o rehen. Coyol, coyolte.

Preñada. Yoom, yaom.

Principe de Demonios,

Lucifer. Cum ahau.

Puerta. Hol.

Hoja de puerta. U pix hol.

Pulseras, manillas. Kap.

Quitasol. Bal kin, balab kin, booy.

Rayo del Cielo. U hadz chac.

Ratonera. Pedzil chho.

Redrojo. Zohol.

Risa. Cheeh.

Reja. Tzatzal.

De palo. Tzatzal che.

Rodaja, o rodete. Met.

Roncha. Zipp.

Pendiente, o colgadero. Chhuyub.

Rollo, o picota. Cuy che, uaon che.

Romana para pesar. Lath ppizib.

Ronquido. Nook.

Ropa. Nok.

Ropa limpia. Xma xihul nok.

Ropa sucia. Cicidz nok.

Ruido. Hum.

Ruin para poco. Netz.

Riña. Keyah.

Redoma de vidrio. Zaz.

Razimo. Chhuy, chhuyul, bab.

Relampago. Lemba, lembail.

Religion. U molay ah kuyenob.

Religioso, o Monje. Ah hun oc ol ku, y

ah ppan zeeb chii.

Remachar clavo. Uadz.

Reuma piedra amarilla. Zulimat.

Rezar. Payal chi.

Rezadero. Hal che, tax che.

Rico. Ayikal, ah tzoy.

Rincon. Uadz, xuk.

Ritual, Ceremonial. Tzolante.

Rolliso. Lub che.

Rosca de pan. Kop uah.

Rueda. Cocodz.

Solicito, diligente, agudo. Zakach, zak ol.

Sabana. Bukliz nok, teppliz nok.

Sabrosa cosa. Cii.

Salud. Toh olal.

Saya, nagua con labores

y colores. Paytem, bon.

Sal. Taab.

Sebo. Tzatz, pom, pomil.

Sed. Ukah, ukbil.

Sello. Dzalab.

Soldado de a Caballo. Tziminil hol can.

Señor. Yum.

Señora. Colel.

Silla Apostolica. Kul xec.

Silla para sentarse. Xec.

Silla de cabalgar. Hekeb xec.

Soga, lia. Zum.

Sombra. Booy.

Cincha de Caballo. Yak nak, hepp nak.

Sombrero. Ppoc.

Sueño. Uenel.

Sucia cosa. Cicidzci, ululci.

Substituto de otro, como lo

es el Virrey del Rey, el

Teniente del Gobernador,

el Papa de Christo, &c. Cucutilan, koh, kohban.

Sustento. Ooch.

Sala de casa. U moy na.

Suelo. Bitun.

Saludar, salutacion. Peul, peultah.

Suela de zapato, y alpargata

de por si. Hotem, y puede significar la

sandalia.

Tabla. Chuen che, taz che, puzbil che.

Taza, o vaso pequeño. Cul.

Tabaco. Kutz.

Sigarro. Chamal.

Marron. Tul kutz.

Tenaza. Nathab.

Tema de sermon. Chiich tzeec.

Texto, no glossa. U dza thanil.

Tempestad. Chac ikal.

Tarde, esto es, a la tarde. Ziz kin.

Tesoro. Tzoy.

Tierra. Luum.

Taburete. X cul xec.

Tizon. Nax che.

Tinaja. Calam cat.

Tortilla. Pec uah.

Tintero. Acat, breve la ultima a.

Tinta negra. Zabac, ek bon.

Tixera. Kupeb, kupub.

Troje. Chhil.

Tablado, o andamio. Chhac che, pepem che.

Trono. Nac, dzam.

Trapo. Tzucel.

Trueno. Hum chac, pec chac.

Turnio. Kele ich.

Trompeta. Hom.

Turron como de azucar. Uol.

Temprano. Ma tu kin.

Vando. Almah auat.

Vando por parcialidad. Hun tzucil.

Vidrio. Zaz.

Vaina. Pix, hupeb.

Vino. Ci.

Vandera. Pan, lacam.

Villa, o aldea. Cacab.

Vara de medir. Betan, hil ppiz.

Vaso qualquiera, o taza. Hooch.

Vazo pequeño. Cul.

Vela por desvelo. Ppix ich.

Veleta de viento. Papal ik.

Vicario, o Provisor: lo mismo

que substituto.

Vinagre. Zudz ci, pah ci.

Ventana. Cizneb na.

Ventosa, o bacija de boca

angosta, o vaso assi. Chhut, nupp luch.

Valladar, corralejo, o

gallinero. Zooy.

Y si es de palos. Zooy che.

Si es de pared. Zooy pak.

Si es de piedras. Zooy tun.

Vision, fantasma. Manab.

Si en sueño son, se dira. Nay.

Victoria. Dzoyzahil.

Viscocho. Opp.

Vacia de metal. Pek cat mazcab.

Vulgo, Ó plebe. Ich cah.

Voto, o promessa. Ppaa chii, zeeb chii.

Vmeda cosa. Akacnac, dzudzucci.

Voz. Than.

Grito. Auat.

Xeringa. Thoheb dzac, halab choch.

Xicara. Luch.

Xicara pintada. Luch zel.

Xornada. Xot luub, xot muk, uay be.

Zizaña, chisme. Tac than, hub than.

Cisterna seca. Xux cab.

320. Y concluyo, advirtiendo, que los vocablos, que he puesto en este Arte, son de papeles antiguos, y tambien modernos, de donde los he sacado; salvo tal qual, que por no haverlo encontrado, lo he criado, ajustandome a su verdadero significado. Suplico, se vayan poco a poco practicando: assi paraque el Idioma deje de ser misto, como para que se deje de hablar por rodeos; pues esto lo causa la falta de los vocablos proprios. Pareceme, que no ay razon alguna, paraque se diga lo que se suele decir, y es: que no estan en uso estos vocablos; porque para que un vocablo no este en uso, es necessario, se sustituya otro en su lugar, que sea del misma Idioma: pero poner un vocablo Castellano, como candelero, estribo y otros, para significar estas cosas en Lengua Maya; esto no es no estar en uso los vocablos proprios, sino no usarlos por no tener noticia de ellos, o no saberlos, o por no averlos usado.

 

DIA.

Dia de fiesta Tacunbil kin, u kin ku.

De Circumcision U kin Zuy kup.

De Reyes U kin ukul tah oxtul Ahauob.

De Purificacion U kin Hanilcunahil.

De Ceniza U kin chha taan, o u kin kam taan.

De Ramos U kin chha xaan, o u kin chha dzoc.

De Resurreccion U kin Caput cuxtal.

De Ascension U kin Nacal ti Caan.

De Espiritu Santo U kin yemel Espiritu Santo.

De Corpus Christi U kin u zut Cilich Sacramento.

De la Santissima Trinidad U kin Cilich Oxil.

De Transfiguracion U kin Hochbail.

De Assumpcion U kin u Nacal Cilich Colelbil.

De Natividad de Nra. Sra. U kin u zihil ca Cilich Colel.

De Encarnacion U kin Uinichi Dios Mehenbil.

Y si se dice de Annunciacion

sera U kin Peultah.

De Finados U kin Pix mucnal.

De Concepcion de Nra. Sra. U kin u Hichhnahil ca Cilich Colel.

De Natividad de N. Redemptor U kin u zihil ca ah Lohil.

Tiempo de Quaresma U kinil cakal tadz zukin.

 

Advierto, que aunque he titulado en este Arte al R. P. F. Gabriel de San Buenaventura, con la voz de Proto-Maestro del Idioma Yucateco, aviendo despues leido, que el primero, que hizo Arte Maya, fue el R. P. F. Luis de Villalpando, el primer Religioso, que puso el pie en Campeche: porque el R. P. Teztera, aunque vino antes, ni paso de Champoton, ni hizo Arte: y el segundo, que perfecciono el Arte del P. Villalpando, fue el R. P. Landa, que fue el primer Ministro Provincial de esta Provincia; y el segundo Obispo, que tomo possession de este Obispado: pero no imprimieron Arte. Solo el R. P. F. Juan Coronel dio el suyo a la prensa: y como ninguno de estos Artes parece, corriendo solo el de P. F. Gabriel, le di dicho titulo. Aora digo, que esse titulo pertenece al R. P. Villalpando: y en quanto a primer Impressor a el P. Coronel.

 

A GRAMMAR OF THE

YUCATECAN MAYAN LANGUAGE

by

David & Alejandra Bolles

 

revised edition

1996

Lee, New Hampshire

THE ALPHABET AND ITS PRONUNCIATION

1. Vowels

The Mayan language, unlike English, has a very definite sound for each written vowel. The following are the most commonly used vowel sounds with their corresponding sounds found in English words:

a pronounced as the a in father

e pronounced as the a in made

i pronounced as the ee in reed

o pronounced as the oa in boat

u pronounced as the oo in root

ay pronounced as the ie in die (Also written ai)

ey pronounced as the a in made

iy pronounced as the ee in reed

oy pronounced as the oy in boy

uy pronounced as the ewy in screwy

au pronounced as the ow in how

From the above it can be seen that the orthographic representations for the vowel system is based on the continental European system.

Of the above vowels, there is a slight variation in how the e is pronounced. For example, in the syllable ben the e can be pronounced as note above or it can be pronounced as the "e" in "end". Thus:

bencaah (how much): the e is pronounced as "a" in "made"

uchben (old, ancient): the e is pronounced as "e" in "end"

It may seem that the vowels ey and iy are superfluous, but there is a linguistic reason behind the need for these spelling conventions. For example there is the word bey (so, thus) which when not followed by another vowel sounds in its pronunciation like be (the common form for the word "road", "path", "way"). If however a vowel is attached to bey, such as the positional markers -a, -o, and -e, then the y in bey becomes audible and in fact becomes a consonant y in front of the added vowel.

bey beya (be-ya; like this)

bey beyo (be-yo; like that)

It is noted that ay and ai can be used interchangeably. However there is a tendency to use ay as the representation for the vowel sound known as "long i" in English and to reserve ai as the representation of a pair of distinctly pronounced vowels a - i.

hay flat, stretched out, extended

hai pertaining to water, from ha, water.

In the second case hai is pronounced ha-i.

The exception to this is the following, in which the most common spelling of the vowel sound "long i" is with ai, although ay is also to be found:

ain / ayn crocodile.

There are in fact various combinations of vowels which are to be pronounced as individual units. Some examples of these vowel combinations are:

ai as in hai (pertaining to water)

ae as in behlae (today)

ao as in le nao (that house)

oa as in le chhoa (this mouse)

In each case the vowels are to be pronounced distinctly according to the pronunciation guide given above.

2. Vowel Length and Tone

In Mayan the length of time which a vowel sound is held or the tonal inflection on a vowel can and usually does make the difference in the meaning of a word. There are five different ways of pronouncing a vowel sound:

clipped

regular

elongated

glided

glottal-stopped

The clipped vowel is generally found in one syllable words of either the vowel alone or of the type "CV" (consonant - vowel). It is produced by closing the glottis almost immediately after the vowel sound is pronounced. This vowel is often referred to as a glottal-stopped vowel, but confusion arises because there are two types of glottal-stopped vowels: the unreduplicated glottal-stopped vowel and the reduplicated glottal-stopped vowel. In order to avoid confusion we have chosen to call the unreduplicated glottal-stopped vowel a "clipped vowel".

The regular vowel is one held for a natural amount of time with no effort made to either cut it short or to elongate it.

The elongated vowel is a sustained vowel sound which is often accompanied by a tonal shift, either upwards or downwards.

The glided vowel is a slurred reduplicated glottal-stopped vowel in which, usually because of rapid speech, the vowel instead of being stopped by the glottis and then reduplicated is glided over with a tone or pitch change. This change of tone is usually from a high tone to a lower one. There is not necessarily a difference in pronunciation between an elongated vowel and a glided vowel. However when the word in which a glided vowel is found is carefully pronounced though the speaker will almost always pronounce the vowel as a reduplicated glottal-stopped vowel.

The reduplicated glottal-stopped vowel is pronounced by producing a clipped vowel and then attaching a regular or elongated vowel of the same value directly to the clipped vowel. Thus, for example, the word caan (sky) is pronounced ca-an, with a break between the syllables ca and an.

 

3. Orthographic Representations of Vowels

The orthographic representation of the clipped vowel used in this book is the vowel itself without any extra notation. This makes a clipped vowel visually indistinguishable from either a regular or an elongated vowel. However, should a vowel be followed by a consonant in a syllable then it cannot be a clipped vowel but must be either a regular vowel or an elongated vowel. This is because a vowel which is followed by a consonant cannot by its nature be clipped. Other orthographic conventions for the clipped vowel will be discussed below in the discussion on glottal-stopped vowels.

The orthographic representation of the regular vowel has always been just the vowel itself.

There are two conventions for the orthographic representation of an elongated vowel. The choice of which one of these conventions is to be used depends on whether the elongated vowel is the final sound value in a syllable or whether it is followed by a consonant. If the elongated vowel is the final value in the syllable then an -h is tacked onto the vowel to indicate that it is elongated. This may be based in a hieroglyphic convention which the early Mayan writers carried over into the Latin script orthography, because there are examples of the hieroglyph with the value ha being added to the hieroglyph with the value ca to form -cah, as in chucah (captured). If, however, the elongated vowel is followed by a consonant in a syllable, then only the vowel itself is given. In this latter case, the orthography for an elongated vowel is thus indistinguishable from the orthography for a regular vowel.

The reduplicated glottal-stop has always been recognized in orthography and is represented by doubling the vowel. This has led to some confusion though when the vowel is glottal-stopped but not reduplicated such as would be the case for one syllable words of the "CV" type or the "V" type where the vowel is a clipped vowel. In these cases in colonial times some writers would write the double vowel symbol even though such a symbol was not called for. For example the following words, which are pronounced with a non-reduplicated glottal-stopped vowel, which we have decided to call in this grammar "clipped" to avoid confusion with the reduplicated glottal-stopped vowels, were often written using the double vowel convention:

standard orthography colonial orthography

ha (water) haa

na (mother) naa

uo (bull frog) uoo

i (hawk) ii

In each case the vowel sound immediately after its enunciation is cut off by closing the glottis and the vowel is not reduplicated although the colonial orthographic convention would seem to indicate that the vowel is to be reduplicated. This convention of writing the double vowel as a representation of a clipped vowel may also be based on a hieroglyphic convention, at least according to how de Landa showed the hieroglyph for ha (water) in which "water" is written hieroglyphically a - ha. Hieroglyphic researchers have also found the same convention in hieroglyphic writing. It must be stressed that the colonial writers were uneven in applying this convention of writing clipped vowels using the double vowel symbol and just a frequently wrote clipped vowels using the standard orthography. They were also uneven about writing the double vowel symbol in the case where a reduplicated glottal-stopped vowel is present in a word, thus frequently writing a word which has a reduplicated glottal-stopped vowel as if it was a regular or elongated vowel.

 

Recently some writers have tried to make the distinction between clipped vowels and regular vowels by placing a apostrophe or a " " behind the vowel ( V' or V ) if the vowel is clipped. Thus the above words would be written:

ha' ha

na' na

uo' uo

i' i

Many linguistic works also have been trying to differentiate between high and low tones for the vowels. One of the more common conventions is to use the accent grave (v) for the low tone and the accent acute (v) for the high tone.

In this book however we will stay with the more common convention of not making any visual distinction between a regular vowel and a clipped vowel.

 

Needless to say, failure to observe the length of time a vowel is to be held can result in confusion. This is especially true in Mayan because it is so highly monosyllabic. As an example of what changes are made by different lengths of vowels, if we take the consonant n and place it in front of the vowel a we have the various possibilities:

na "mother". The a is clipped.

na "house". The a is regular.

nah verb root for "earn". The a is elongated.

naah verb root for "full (of food)". The a is

glottal-stopped.

Another example with c before a:

ca "squash"

ca "two", "then", "when", "if"

cah "town"

caah immediate future indicator, "to be good for"

In the cases where the vowel is not the final value within a syllable, i.e. when the syllable is of the type "CVC" or "VC", then it is not possible for the vowel to be clipped. It would seem that this stems from the fact that it is close to a physical impossibility to both cut off the vowel sound and pronounce the ensuing consonant after having cut off the vowel. Thus for syllables of the "CVC" and "VC" types there are only three possibilities for vowel types: regular, elongated, and reduplicated glottal-stopped (which of course includes glided).

Some examples:

With the letters m, i, and z:

miz "cat". The i is regular.

miz verb root for "sweep". The vowel is elongated.

With the letters c, a, and n:

can "snake", "four", verb root for "learn / teach".

The a is regular.

can verb root for "to tire". The a is elongated.

caan "sky". The a is glottal-stopped.

The following are some examples in which it is very important to observe the glottal-stop:

can (snake, four) caan (sky)

kan (ripe) kaan (hammock, spider web)

kum (squash) kuum (boiled corn ready for grinding)

There are however some words in which the vowel can be either simple or glottal-stopped. There is usually some circumstance which determines in which form the word will appear.

och, ooch "food"

in uooch "my food"

in uoch buul "my food the beans"

In this case the word by itself is glottal-stopped, but when it is followed by a word designating the type of food then the vowel becomes regular. It might be noted that och also means "possum", but that och (possum) never takes the consonant u- nor does its vowel ever become glottal-stopped.

4. Consonants

The consonants used in Mayan are generally similar to those used in English. The following comments will show those differences which do exist.

c is always hard as in "come". In colonial writing this rule is not always observed and so there are at times instances when c will be employed as an "s".

c' is a special orthographic convention. This symbol is normally pronounced ca with the vowel clipped, and is the first person plural pronoun / possessive adjective "we / our". The use of this orthographic convention throughout the colonial and modern literature is uneven, with c' and ca being used interchangeably. Thus the phrase "our younger brothers and sisters" can be written as follows:

c' uidzinoob

ca uidzinoob

The reason for this orthographic convention c' seems to lie in the fact that frequently the consonant from this pronoun / adjective will append itself to the word on either side of it, although this happens most frequently with the word preceding it. More detail on this is given in the chapter on pronouns. In this book the convention c' is used throughout.

k is a fortis (forced) "k" sound. This is done by squeezing the tongue against the back of the roof of the mouth as the "k" sound is beginning and forcing the "k" sound to explode. Being able to make the distinction between the two sounds in speech is important.

can (snake, four) kan (ripe)

caan (sky) kaan (hammock, spider web)

cum (pot) kum (squash)

ch and chh, also written chh and ch': the ch sounds like the English "ch" as in "child". The chh is a fortis of "ch" formed by increasing the pressure of the front part of the tongue as the "ch" is being formed. For most of this century because of typesetting considerations chh has been the standard way of writing this consonant. Because of the ambiguity of whether the second "h" belongs to this consonant or to the following syllable when chh appears in the middle of a word, and because the symbol "hh" has recently become available again on modern computers, we have decided to return to the use of chh to eliminate this ambiguity. Note that the symbol "hh" can only exist as a part of the consonant chh. However an ambiguity still exists when the letters ch appear between two syllables. Ch in the middle of a word can either represent the consonant "ch" or the individual letters "c" and "h". Examples:

nachil (nach-il: foreign, from nach = far and -il =

adjectival suffix)

nuchal (nuc-hal: to grow, from nuc = big and the

intransitive verb suffix -hal)

nachhal (nach-hal: to become distant, from nach = far

and the intransitive verb suffix -hal)

h is the same as "h" in English. However, because many writers are more used to writing Spanish, from time to time g, j, and very occasionally x are employed to represent the "h" sound. Conversely, because in Spanish the h is silent, there are occasions when some writers will employ the silent h in writing Mayan words which begin with a vowel. In this book h will be used only when it is pronounced as the English "h".

It should be mentioned that when h is the final vowel of a word, should some grammatical particle which begins with a vowel be added onto the word, then the h is pronounced as the leading consonant of the grammatical particle. Thus, for the past perfect verbal suffix -ah, for example as in chucah ("captured", see above in the third paragraph of Section 3), when the direct object pronouns -en, -ech, -i, -oon, -eex, -oob are attached to the verb, as for example chucahen, then the resulting word is pronounced chu-ca-hen. Since it is often difficult to know whether a word has a final h, the test for the existence of the final h is to add a grammatical particle which begins with a vowel. Examples:

cah (town) le caho (le ca-ho; that town)

betah (made) le cu betaho (le cu be-ta-ho; that

which he/she/it did)

pp, also written p and p', is a fortis "p" with the extra pressure being placed on the lips.

th, also written tt, hh, thh, and t', is a fortis "t" with the extra pressure placed on the tip of the tongue.

tz and dz: the tz sounds much like a German "z", and the dz is a fortis of that sound with the extra pressure being placed on the tip of the tongue. Dz is most commonly written in older manuscripts and publications as " ", and we would use it here, but unfortunately this symbol is still not available in the computer.

u, aside form being a vowel, also works as a consonant with the value of our "w". When u precedes another vowel, especially as the first letter in a word, then it can be assumed to be the consonant "w". Unfortunately this is not always true as can be seen in the following examples:

u as "w"

uah (tortilla)

uich (face)

uudzul (to bend)

u as the vowel

uic (u-ic: to listen)

le kuo (that nest)

kuum (boiled corn)

The consonant u and its companion consonant y perform a special function in Mayan. Some words which begin with a vowel, but by no means all of these words, will add one of these consonants as a prefix. This happens particularly when these words follow possessive adjectives, but there are many other instances when this happens also. The rule for adding these consonants is that for the first and second person singular and plural u- is added and for the third person singular and plural y- is added. This rule is not always observed though and some speakers will add u- in all cases. Thus for the word ooch (food) we have the following:

in uooch (my food) c' uooch (our food)

a uooch (your food) a uoocheex (your food)

u yooch (his/her/its food) u yoochoob (their food)

For the third persons there is the alternative:

u uooch u uoochoob

x sounds like "sh" in English.

y functions as a consonant as mentioned above as well as an obligatory consonant, i.e. one in which the word would be meaningless without its presence. There is the colonial orthographic convention y which is really a shorthand notation for the conjunction yetel (and, with). In modern texts this conjunction is now spelled out.

z sounds like "s" in English and in this book we will follow the convention of using z for the "s" sound which seems to be the firmly established convention at the beginning of this century. There is however certain amount of variation on how the "s" sound is represented, and the four possibilities are c, ç, s, and z.

GMR. SRC Continued
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