Combined Dictionary-Concordance of the Yucatecan Mayan Language

132. There is in fact an instance when ma is not directly tied to the verb tense, but in this case ma would be translated as "Wasn't it".

Example:

Ma holac binen Ho?

"Wasn't it yesterday that I went to Mérida?"

Ma zamac cu hokol le maco?

"Wasn't it just a little while ago that that man came out?"

133. For compound and complex subjects the position which they take follows the rule given for the simple subjects; that is, the subject can come either before or after the intransitive verb tense for which it is the subject.

Examples:

Lio yetel Angel dzoc u meyahoob.

"Lio and Angel finished they work."

Dzoc u meyahoob Lio yetel Angel.

"Finished they work Lio and Angel."

Le maco, le minaan u ppoc tio, dzoc u meyah.

"That man, that without his hat with him, finished he work."

Dzoc u meyah le maco, le minaan u ppoc tio.

"Finished he work that man, that without his hat with him."

Le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, cu hokol.

"The iguana, that which lives in the palm thatch of that roof, comes out."

Cu hokol le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao.

"He comes out that iguana, that which live in the palm thatch of that roof."

Notice that in the last two sets of examples the modifying clause le (clause)o is tied to and follows that which the clause modifies, in this case le (subject)o. It is not possible to either separate the modifying clause from the subject or to transpose the position of the modifying clause. For all three of these sets of sentences either word order would be correct, but the preferred word order is given by the second example in each set in which the order is "(verb) (subject and modifiers of subject)."

134. The negation of the above sentences follows the rule shown in Section 131 on simple subjects: the negator goes in front of and is tied to the verb tense.

Examples:

Lio yetel Angel ma dzoc u meyahoob.

Ma dzoc u meyahoob Lio yetel Angel.

Le maco, le minaan u ppoc tio, ma dzoc u meyah.

Ma dzoc u meyah le maco, le minaan u ppoc tio.

Le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, ma tu hokol.

Ma tu hokol le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao.

135. Just as the subject of an intransitive verb takes its position depending on the emphasis which the speaker wants to place on either the subject or the verb, so too is the position of an adverb or adverbial clause quite flexible, the positioning again relying on the idea the speaker wants to emphasize.

Examples:

Cu hokol zanzamal.

"He comes out daily."

Zanzamal cu hokol.

"Daily he comes out."

Even though a second modifying element is added, the positioning continues to be completely random.

Examples:

Cu hokol zanzamal hach hadzcabe.

Cu hokol hach hadzcabe zanzamal.

Hach hadzcabe cu hokol zanzamal.

Zanzamal cu hokol hach hadzcabe.

Zanzamal hach hadzcabe cu hokol.

Hach hadzcabe zanzamal cu hokol.

The meaning of the sentences is "Daily he/she/it comes out very early." There are three elements which make up these sentences:

cu hokol he/she/it comes out

zanzamal daily

hach hadzcabe very early (literally: very morning)

As can be seen here, all possible permutations are used, and all are perfectly possible, just as they are in English. It is our opinion though that the positioning of the verb element in the middle between the two modifying elements is most preferable, and all things being equal,

Zanzamal cu hokol hach hadzcabe.

would be the sentence most likely to be used.

136. Now, if a subject, such as le huho (that iguana) is added again all permutations are possible, but in fact some get to be rather awkward. The following sentences are the more probable ones, starting with the most probable:

Zanzamal cu hokol le huho hach hadzcabe.

Cu hokol le huho zanzamal hach hadzcabe.

Le huho cu hokol zanzamal hach hadzcabe.

Le huho cu hokol hach hadzcabe zanzamal.

Zanzamal hach hadzcabe cu hokol le huho.

Hach hadzcabe zanzamal cu hokol le huho.

137. As a sentence gets more complex, the flexibility in positioning clauses gets more limited, mainly because it becomes increasingly unclear what a clause is modifying if it is not positioned near that which it is modifying. For example, if the adjectival clause le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao (that which lives in the palm thatch of that roof) is added in order to modify le huho to the permutations which generated the above sentences, several of the above examples become no longer viable and a new order of acceptability is created.

Zanzamal cu hokol hach hadzcabe le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao.

Zanzamal cu hokol le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, hach hadzcabe.

Le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, cu hokol zanzamal hach hadzcabe.

Cu hokol zanzamal le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, hach hadzcabe.

Cu hokol zanzamal hach hadzcabe le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao.

Zanzamal hach hadzcabe cu hokol le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao.

Hach hadzcabe cu hokol zanzamal le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao.

138. Now an adverbial clause, utial u haykintcuba (so that he can sun himself), is added. This new clause is most often tacked on the end of the already available permutations.

Le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, cu hokol zanzamal hach hadzcabe utial u haykintcuba.

Cu hokol zanzamal le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, hach hadzcabe utial u haykintcuba.

Cu hokol zanzamal hach hadzcabe le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, utial u haykintcuba.

Cu hokol hach hadzcabe zanzamal le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, utial u haykintcuba.

Zanzamal le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, cu hokol hach hadzcabe utial u haykintcuba.

Zanzamal hach hadzcabe cu hokol le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, utial u haykintcuba.

An example of a sentence using the same elements as above but with a different position for the new clause would be the following.

Le huho, le cu cahtal ichil u xan le bukil nao, zanzamal cu hokol utial u haykintcuba hach hadzcabe.

SENTENCES WITH TRANSITIVE VERBS

139. A declarative sentence built around a transitive verb must have both a subject and an object. In the simplest form both the subject and object are expressed in pronouns. In some instances the object pronoun is not actually expressed but implied, the object already having been mentioned in foregoing conversation.

Examples:

Dzoc in betic. "I have finished doing it." ("Finished I do it." The "it" is understood and supplied elsewhere in the conversation.)

Tan u pulic. "He/she/it is throwing him/her/it/them."

(This is a very ambiguous sentence, and can only be cleared up by context. The object is again understood and supplied elsewhere.)

140. The negation is as follows:

Examples:

Ma dzoc in betic.

Ma tan u pulic. (also, Ma tu pulic.)

141. Normally though the transitive sentence includes an object. This object must always come after the verb, but need not be directly tied to it.

Examples:

Dzoc in betic in uotoch.

"I have finished making my home."

Tan u pulic le tunichobo.

"He/she/it is throwing those rocks."

If the word holac (yesterday) is added to the first sentence, then it can be seen that the object need not be directly tied to the verb:

Holac dzoc in betic in uotoch.

Dzoc in betic holac in uotoch.

Dzoc in betic in uotoch holac.

142. The position which a subject takes on the other hand is very flexible, just as was the case with intransitive verbs.

Examples:

Le maco tan u pulic le tunichobo.

Tan u pulic le maco le tunichobo.

Tan u pulic le tunichobo le maco.

There are obviously cases where a sentence can become very ambiguous. For example, if both "that man" and "those rocks" are either singular or plural, e.g.:

Tan u pulic le tunicho le maco.

Tan u pulic le maco le tunicho.

Tan u pulicoob le tunichobo le macobo.

Tan u pulicoob le macobo le tunichobo.

then it would be impossible to know from the sentence itself what is the subject and what is the object. If it is necessary to eliminate ambiguity then the subject is put in front of the verb, since under normal circumstances only the subject can precede the verb and the object never can.

Examples:

Le maco tan u pulic le tunicho.

Le macobo tan u pulicoob le tunichobo.

143. A second and frequently used option which clears up the ambiguity is to place the word tumen (because) before the causer of the action and to transform the verb into a passive verb. In this case the clause tumen (causer) must be the final clause in the sentence.

Examples:

Tan u pultaal le tunicho tumen le maco.

Tan u pultaaloob le tunichobo tumen le macobo.

In English we would also use the passive conjugation when forming a sentence in this way. We would say the above pair of phrases as follows: "The stone/stones is/are being thrown by the man/men." More on passive verbs following this discussion on transitive verbs.

144. Compound and complex subject of transitive verbs are also flexible in their positioning in relation to the verb.

Examples:

Dzoc u betcoob u yotoch Lio yetel Angel.

Dzoc u betcoob Lio yetel Angel u yotoch.

Lio yetel Angel dzoc u betcoob u yotoch.

"Lio and Angel have finished making his/her/its/their house."

Dzoc u betic u yotoch le maco, le minaan u ppoc tio.

Le maco, le minaan u ppoc tio, dzoc u betic u yotoch.

"That man, that without his hat with him, has finished making his/her/its/their house."

In these two sets of examples we have another ambiguity, namely to whom the u of u yotoch is referring. The ambiguity can be cleared up either by the context in which the conversation is taking place or that failing by specifying in the sentence for whom the house was built.

Lio yetel Angel dzoc u betcoob u yotoch Mam Goya.

Here Mam Goya is the possessor of the house.

Furthermore, when the subject follows the object u yotoch it could be misconstrued that the subject, instead of being the subject of the sentence, is the possessor of the object. If confusion must be avoided then the subject is placed elsewhere, preferably at the beginning of the sentence.

In the first set of examples with the compound subject there are three possible positions which the subject can take. In the second set of examples with the complex subject however there are only two positions which the subject can take. Apparently because of the complexity of the subject it is not possible to place it between the verb and the object.

145. As the object becomes more complex or as such things as indirect objects are introduced flexibility in positioning subject and objects becomes much more limited. The subject will usually be positioned at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the verb, then the direct object, and then finally the indirect object. An exception to the order of direct and indirect objects is when the indirect object is a personal pronoun of the type described in Section 34 or a simple indirect object such as a personal name or a simple thing. In this case the order is indirect object - direct object.

Examples:

Lio yetel Angel dzoc u betcoob ten in uotoch.

"Lio and Angel have finished making me my house."

Le x-chhupalo tan u bizic ti u yoch.

"That girl is taking him/her/it his/her/its food."

Le x-chhupalo tan u bizic Don Lio u yoch.

"That girl is taking Mr. Lio his food."

Le x-chhupalo tan u bizic le kekeno u yoch.

"That girl is taking the pig its food."

146. If in the third and fourth examples the indirect object is expanded to an indirect object which is preceded by a preposition then the order becomes direct object - indirect object.

Example:

Le x-chhupalo tan u bizic u yoch ti le kekeno.

"That girl is taking its food to that pig."

Even with a sentence of this level of complexity there remains little flexibility in the positioning of the various components of the sentence. It is possible position the subject behind the verb, but that is the only change which could take place.

Tan u bizic le x-chhupalo u yoch ti le kekeno.

147. If we add adverbs there are really only two positions which they can take; either at the beginning or the end of the sentence. Other positions are possible but not probable. First we add zanzamal (daily).

Examples:

Zanzamal le x-chhupalo tu bizic u yoch ti le kekeno.

Zanzamal tu bizic le x-chhupalo u yoch ti le kekeno.

Tan u bizic le x-chhupalo u yoch ti le kekeno zanzamal.

Note that tan u gets syncopated to tu as noted in Section 37.

Now we add hach hadzcabe, very early.

Examples:

Zanzamal le x-chhupalo tu bizic u yoch ti le kekeno hach hadzcabe.

Zanzamal hach hadzcabe le x-chhupalo tu bizic u yoch ti le kekeno.

Zanzamal hach hadzcabe tu bizic le x-chhupalo u yoch ti le kekeno.

Zanzamal tu bizic le x-chhupalo u yoch ti le kekeno hach hadzcabe.

In certain instances, especially when the subject, in this case le x-chhupalo, is to be emphasized, the following word order is possible.

Examples:

Le x-chhupalo zanzamal tu bizic u yoch ti le kekeno hach hadzcabe.

As can be seen from the above examples, sentence structure for those sentences built around transitive verbs is much more rigid than was the case for the sentences built around intransitive verbs. This seems to be because of the existence of both the subject and the object within the sentence of the transitive verb and the resulting confusion which could arise if the structure did not exist.

SENTENCES WITH PASSIVE VERBS

148. The normal position for the subject of a passive verb is directly following the verb tense. Under normal circumstances the subject would remain in this position.

Examples:

Hantabi in col. "My garden was eaten." (Was eaten my garden.)

Tu chucpachtaal le thulo. "That rabbit is being chased." (Is being chased that rabbit.)

149. Frequently sentences with passive verbs include the causer of the action. As was noted in Section 143 above this is done by adding a clause at the end of the sentence. The first word of this clause is tumen (because) and is followed by the causer; e.g. tumen (causer).

Examples:

Hantabi in col tumen le uacaxobo.

"My garden was eaten by those cows."

Tu chucpachtaal le thulo tumen huntul h-dzone.

"That rabbit is being chased by a hunter."

150. There are times when the subject of a passive verb does not follow the verb, but these cases happen when the passive verb is part of a subordinate clause.

Example:

Yan bin huntul chan thule, tu chucpachtaal tumen huntul h-dzone.

"There was once it is said a little rabbit, who is being chased by a hunter."

151. Generally though the subject of the passive verb remains directly behind and tied to the verb. If for example the simple adverb holac (yesterday) is added to the first example of a sentence with a passive verb there are two possibilities:

Holac hantabi in col.

Hantabi in col holac.

152. If the causative clause tumen (causer) is added then the following sentences are possible:

Holac hantabi in col tumen le uaxacobo.

Hantabi in col holac tumen le uaxacobo.

Hantabi in col tumen le uaxacobo holac.

153. If however the simple adverb holac is replaced by an adverbial clause such as dzoc u man kin (some time ago) then such flexibility is no longer possible. The adverbial clause must go in front of the verb tense.

Dzoc u man kin hantabi in col.

Dzoc u man kin hantabi in col tumen le uaxacobo.

154. No matter how complex the subject of a passive verb is, it remains directly behind the verb. Adding the adjectival clause le yan pach caho (that one which is behind the town) does not change the already limited order in which the sentence can be formed.

Hantabi in col, le yan pach caho.

Holac hantabi in col, le yan pach caho.

Hantabi in col, le yan pach caho, holac.

Dzoc u man kin hantabi in col, le yan pach caho.

The addition of the causative clause would eliminate the third example just given above as an example of possible word order.

Hantabi in col, le yan pach caho, tumen le uaxacobo.

Holac hantabi in col, le yan pach caho, tumen le uaxacobo.

Dzoc u man kin hantabi in col, le yan pach caho, tumen le uacaxobo.

155. From these examples it can be seen that sentences built around passive verbs are the most structured of the three conjugations. Whether the subject of the verb or the object in the causative clause is simple, compound, or complex, the order remains the same. The only variation, as we have seen, is the positioning of the adverb / adverbial clause, and even here variation is allowed only if the adverb is simple.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

156. There are two types of interrogative sentences: those which are introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs and those which are not introduced by these words.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES INTRODUCED BY INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS OR ADVERBS

157. Interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs have already been looked at in a limited way in Section 45, 46, and 47. The word order for simple interrogative sentences from the three conjugations is usually the same: (interrogative pronoun/adverb) (verb).

Baax cu betcoob? "What are they doing?" (transitive conjugation)

Baax ora hani? "When did he eat?" (intransitive conjugation)

Tuux elabi? "Where was he/she/it burnt?" (passive conjugation)

However as interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs become more complex differences in sentence structure between the three conjugations do arise. Therefore each conjugation will be looked at individually.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES WITHOUT VERBS

158. Just as there are declarative sentences which do not have verbs so too are there interrogative sentences which do not have verbs. The word order of these sentences is (interrogative pronoun/adverb) (description).

Bix a kaba? "What is your name?" (How your name?)

Bix a bel? "How are you?" (How your road?)

Bahux le ppaco? "How much are the tomatoes?"

INTRANSITIVE INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

159. There are three types of intransitive interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs:

1) those in which the interrogative pronoun is the subject.

2) those in which the interrogative pronoun is the indirect object.

3) those in which the interrogative adverb is modifying the verb.

160. If the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence then the standard word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb).

Maax mani? "Who passed by?"

Baax lubi? "What fell?"

If an indirect object is included in the sentence then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (indirect object).

Maax mani ti le beo? "Who passed by on the road?"

Baax lubi te kobeno? "What fell in the kitchen?"

161. For the sentences in which the interrogative pronoun is an indirect object then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb).

Baaxtial cu bin? "What is he/she/it going for?"

If a subject is added then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject).

Baaxtial cu bin le maco? "What is that man going for?"

162. For the sentences with interrogative adverbs the word order is (interrogative adverb) (verb).

Tuux bini? "Where did he/she/it go?"

Baaxkin cu bin? "When is he/she/it going?"

If a subject is added then the word order is (interrogative adverb) (verb) (subject).

Tuux bini in uicham? "Where did my husband go?"

Baaxkin cu bin X-Tina? "When is Tina going?"

If an adverbial clause is added then the word order is usually (interrogative adverb) (verb) (subject) (adverbial clause).

Tuux bini in uicham ma zamaco?

"Where did my husband go just a little while ago?"

Baaxkin cu bin X-Tina ti Ho?

"When is Tina going to Mérida?"

When the adverbial clause is short, i.e. a single word, then the word order can be (interrogative adverb) (verb) (adverbial clause) (subject).

Baaxkin cu bin Ho X-Tina?

TRANSITIVE INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

163. There are four types of transitive interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs:

1) those in which the interrogative pronoun is the subject.

2) those in which the interrogative pronoun is the direct object.

3) those in which the interrogative pronoun is the indirect object.

4) those in which the interrogative adverb is modifying the verb.

164. If the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence then the standard word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object). However it is possible that the direct object is implied rather than expressed.

Maax cu betic? "Who is doing it?"

Frequently though the direct object is expressed.

Maax cu betic le hanalo? "Who is making the food?"

Baax cu hantic le paklobo? "What is eating the plants?"

If an indirect object is included in the sentence then the word order depends on type of indirect object. For simple indirect objects such as personal pronouns the order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (indirect object) (direct object). For more complex indirect objects the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object) (indirect object).

Maax cu betcech le hanalo?

"Who is making you the food?"

Maax cu betic le hanalo utial le h-meyahobo?

"Who is making the food for the workers?"

165. If the interrogative pronoun is the direct object then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb).

Baax cu betcoob? "What are they doing?"

Macalmac cun u bize? "Which one is he/she/it going to take?"

If a subject is given the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject).

Baax cu betcoob le palobo? "What are the children doing?"

Macalmac cun u bize a uatan? "Which one is your wife going to take?"

If an indirect object is included in the sentence then the word order depends on type of indirect object. For simple indirect objects such as personal pronouns the order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (indirect object) (direct object). For more complex indirect objects the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object) (indirect object).

Baax cu betcech le palobo? "What are the children doing to you?"

Baax cu betcoob le palobo ti le otzil peko? "What are the children doing to the poor dog?"

166. For the sentences in which the interrogative pronoun is an indirect object the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object).

Baaxtial cu betic u col? "Why is he/she/it making his/her/its garden?"

Maaxtial cu pakcachtic le uaho? "For whom is he/she/it making tortillas?"

If a subject is included then there are two possibilities: (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject) (direct object) or (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object) (subject).

Baaxtial cu betic u col le maco? "What is that man making his garden for?"

Maaxtial cu pakachtic le xunano le uaho? "For whom is that lady making those tortillas?"

167. For the sentences with interrogative adverbs the word order is (interrogative adverb) (verb) (direct object).

Baaxkin cun u dzocz in uipil? "When is he/she/it going to finish my uipil?"

Tuux cu betic u col? "Where is he/she/it making

his/her/its garden?"

If a subject is included then there are two possibilities: (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject) (direct object) or (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object) (subject).

Baaxkin cun u dzocz X-Tina in uipil? "When is Tina

going to finish my uipil?"

Tuux cu betic u col le maco? "Where is that man

making his garden?"

PASSIVE INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

168. There are three types of passive interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs:

1) those in which the interrogative pronoun is the

subject.

2) those in which the interrogative pronoun is the

indirect object.

3) those in which the interrogative adverb is

modifying the verb.

169. If the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence then the standard word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb).

Maax cimzabi? "Who was killed?"

Baax elabi? "What was burnt?"

If an indirect object is included in the sentence then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (indirect object).

Maax cimzabi tumen le kazil maco? "Who was killed by

the evil man?"

170. For the sentences in which the interrogative pronoun is an indirect object the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject).

Baaxtial cimzabi le maco? "Why was that man killed?"

Maaxtial betabi le chaano? "For whom was the party

made?"

171. For the sentences with interrogative adverbs the word order is (interrogative adverb) (verb).

Baaxkin hantabi? "When was he/she/it eaten?"

Tuux elabi? "Where was he/she/it burnt?"

If a subject is included then the word order is: (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject).

Baaxkin hantabi a col? "When was your garden

eaten?"

Tuux elabi le kaxo? "Where was the forest burnt?"

If an indirect object is included then the word order is: (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject) (indirect object).

Baaxkin hantabi a col tumen le zakobo? "When was

your garden eaten by the locusts?"

Tuux elabi le kaxo tumen le lelem chaco? "Where was

the forest burnt by the lightning?"

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES NOT INTRODUCED BY

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS OR ADVERBS

172. Interrogative sentences not introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs differ very little from their declarative counterparts.

Malob le hanalo. "That food is good."

Malob le hanalo? "Is that food good?"

Dzoc a betic in hanal. "You have finished making

my food."

Dzoc a betic in hanal? "Have you finished making

my food?"

Yan a bin meyah. "You have to go to work."

Yan a bin meyah? "Do you have to go to work?"

Hantabi u col. "His garden was eaten."

Hantabi u col? "Was his garden eaten?"

173. There are however two ways of distinguishing between a declarative and an interrogative sentence. First is by intonation, but this is often ineffective in making an interrogative sentence definitely distinguishable from a declarative sentence. The second is by inserting the interrogative particle ua in the interrogative sentence. The presence of this particle makes the sentence unequivocally an interrogative sentence.

174. In those sentences without verbs the interrogative particle goes directly behind the adjectival predicate.

Malob ua le hanalo? "Is the food good?"

175. In those sentences in which the verb has an auxiliary verb tense indicator the interrogative particle is most frequently placed between the auxiliary verb tense indicator and the verb directly in front of the pronoun.

Dzoc ua a betic in hanal? "Have you finished making

my food?"

Yan ua a bin meyah? "Do you have to go to work?"

A paradigm with an auxiliary verb tense indicator and ua is as follows:

singular plural

1st yan ua in bin yan'c ua bin

2nd yan ua a bin yan ua a bineex

3rd yan ua u bin yan ua u binoob

The second and third persons singular and plural however are almost always contracted in normal speech:

singular plural

2nd yan ua bin yan ua bineex

3rd yan ua bin yan ua binoob

176. For those sentences in which there is no auxiliary verb tense indicator the interrogative particle ua is usually placed behind the verb:

Hantabi ua u col? "Was his garden eaten?"

Hanech ua? "Have you eaten?"

Cu hokol ua le maco? "Is the man coming out?"

IMPERATIVE AND EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES

177. Imperative and exclamatory sentences are generally structured much like the declarative sentences. In fact most of these sentences are declarative sentences with an imperative or exclamatory intonation added. However in the chapter on verbs under the section on transitive verbs (Section 79) and the section on intransitive verbs (Section 83) it was noted that there is an imperative tense. Since the sentence structure is somewhat different with the use of this tense we will look at that structure here.

IMPERATIVE SENTENCES USING THE IMPERATIVE TENSE

178. Sentences in which the imperative tense is used is usually begun with the imperative tense verb. The simplest form of these sentences is constructed by using just the verb itself.

Transitive:

Taze! "Bring it!"

Bize! "Take it!"

Bete! "Do it!"

Chhaeex! "Take it!" (plural)

Intransitive:

Hanen! "Eat!"

Ualen! "Stand up!"; "Stop!"

Xen! "Go!"

Coten! "Come!"

For the transitive imperative tense often an object is expressed:

Taz ten in hanal! "Bring me my food!"

Biz le palalobo! "Take the children!"

Chha le tunicho! "Take that stone!"

Adverbs and adverbial clauses are appended to these verbs.

Bize zebi! "Take it quickly!"

Taze beyora! "Bring it now!"

Ualen zebi! "Stand up / stop quickly!"

Xen telo! "Go there!"

Coten uaye! "Come here!"

Taz ten in hanal uaye! "Bring me my food here!"

Ualen tu tzel le coto! "Stand up next to that wall!"

Xen te pachilo! "Go back there!"

Coten utial in pactic a uich! "Come so that I can see

your face!"

179. Some intransitive imperative tense verbs, xen (go) and coten (come) in particular, are used in conjunction with the first form of transitive and intransitive verbs to form complex imperative verbs. The transitive verb is usually preceded by the second person personal pronoun a but the intransitive verb is not.

Xen a chha ten in hanal! "Go and get me my food!"

Xen a ppoic ten in nok! "Go wash my clothes!"

Coteneex a uanteneex! "Come and help me!"

Xen uenel! "Go to sleep!"

Xeneex hanal! "Go and eat!"

Coten hanal! "Come and eat!"

In the colonial literature the personal pronoun a is not used in front of the transitive verb.

Xen chha ten yibnel caan uaye! "Go and bring me the

placenta of heaven here!"

Xen chha ten a uex utial in uic u boc uaye! "Go and

bring me here your loincloth so that I can smell its

odor!"

INFLUENCES OF CONQUESTS ON THE MAYAN LANGUAGE

180. The Maya have suffered three conquests in historical times. The first conquest was that of the Toltecs under the leadership of Quetzalcoatl (Kukul Can in Mayan) in a Katun 4 Ahau (816 A.D. in colonial Mayan reckoning, or 987 A.D., Goodman-Martinez-Thompson correlation). The second was that of an unidentified Mexican group, the leaders of which were Ah Cintli Iuitl Chan, Ah Tzontecomatl, Ah Tlaxcalo, Ah Pantli Mitl, Ah Xochi Ueuetl, Ah Itz Coatl, and Ah Quaquatecatl, in a Katun 8 Ahau (1080 A.D. in colonial Mayan reckoning). The latest conquest was that of the Spaniards in 1546.

181. The Toltec and Mexican influence on the Mayan language seems to be very slight. Indeed, it may be that the conquering Toltecs and Mexicans adopted the Mayan language much as the German invaders of the Roman Empire adopted Latin. In any case, the language of the Toltecs before leaving Tula in the Mexican highlands is thought to have been a Nahuatl dialect. It is also to be presumed that the language of the Mexican group was also Nahuatl. A brief glance through a Nahuatl dictionary published in 1571 by Alonso de Molina reveals very few words shared by both languages:

Nahuatl Mayan English

chimali chimal "shield"

maceualli (vassal) mazeual "Indian" or "native"

huaxim uaxim "acacia"

huipil (blouse) uipil "dress"

The name for Yucatan may well come from Nahuatl. The name seems not to be Mayan in any case because most Mayan place names have recognizable meanings and Yucatan does not, although there have been various attempts to explain it as a Mayan word. The reason for supposing that Yucatan is a Nahuatl word is because of the suffix -tan. The Nahuatl suffixes -tla and -tlan both indicate "the place of", although it seems that -tla indicates more precisely "the place where there is an abundance of". Both the Maya and the Spanish were not very good about writing, and thus presumably pronouncing, Nahuatl words, especially those with the tl in them. Normally the tl is turned into a t. Thus the suffix -tlan would become -tan in Mayan.

Yuhcatla is given in Simeon's Diccionario de la Lengua Nahuatl as meaning "deserted place, solitude, vacant space". On the other hand, yuca is given in Molina's dictionary as "to be of another". Thus there seems to be at least two possibilities in Nahuatl for a word which is similar to Yucatan: Yuhcatlan or Yucatlan. Either of these two words could have been the basis for Yucatan's name. There is also the Spanish word yuca (the yucca plant called tuc in Mayan) which is derived from some Native American language, although we have not been able to trace the origins. While the yucca plant is different from the various agave plants which grow and are cultivated in Yucatan (ci is the Mayan name for the cultivated henequen plant and chhelem is the Mayan name for the smaller and hardier wild plant) the yucca and agave plants share many visual characteristics. As a long shot it could be that the name Yucatan is derived from a name meaning "place of the yuccav, but we have seen nothing in the Nahuatl dictionaries which would support this reading.

On page 63 of the Chilam Balam of Chumayel there is a line which might indicate that for the Mayan of Yucatan the word Yucatan is a foreign word: uay ti luum Yucalpeten, Yucatan tu than maya ah Itzaob lae ("here in the land Yucalpeten, Yucatan in the mayan language of the Itzas" or as Roys translates this line "here in the land Yucalpeten, Yucatan in the speech of the Maya Itza"). The word Yucalpeten can be looked at as a composite of u (collar), cal (neck), and peten (island, province, region, from the root word pet (round)). Given that yucalche, meaning "yoke", is in fact "neck wood" (u, cal, che) one could say that yucalpeten is "neck region" or "neck island" which yields "peninsula", a recognition by the Maya that their land is a peninsula. Roys maintains that Yucalpeten is a Mayan imitation of the name Yucatan, but the reverse could also be true. In the Mayan language peten is not used to the same extent that the Nahuatl language uses -tlan, but they are somewhat equivalent. In any case, we have not found in the various pieces of literature written by the Maya any explanation for the name Yucatan, so we will leave this problem inconclusively.

182. The influence of Spanish on the Mayan language has been much greater, especially in this last century. The principal reason for this strong influence seems mostly to be because of the new technology being brought into the Mayan culture via the Hispano-Mexican culture. Many of the words which come with this technology are part of the global technological vocabulary while others are from the Spanish vocabulary or from the regional Mexican vocabulary. There are also other words from these technologically advanced cultures which are also being brought into the Mayan language. Thus baseball and sandwich as well as refrigerador and television are words which are to be found in Mayan today. However even as early as 1557 when the Mani land treaty was written Maya showed the propensity to incorporate new terminology in their language. At that time Spanish terminology for various official positions and political apparatuses had already been brought into use: gobernador, juez, alcalde, regidor, audencia, provincia, etc. Also for some reason it became immediately fashionable to have Spanish first names: Fransico de Montejo Xiu, Juan Cocom, Juan Hau, Gaspar Antonio Chi, etc.

Aside from the names for the items which are new to the Maya and the use of Spanish numbers mentioned in Sections 7 and 71, the Yucatecan Mayan language has stayed in remarkably good state of preservation despite the long continuous contacts with outside cultures. This can be seen in the modern short stories given in the Anthology section of this book. It is true that there are those speakers of the Mayan language today who tend to mix in a large Spanish vocabulary when speaking Mayan, with some people using up to or more than 25% Spanish. However, except for the things mentioned above it is almost always possible to find a perfectly good and well used Mayan word for most of the Spanish words interjected into the Mayan language.

183. Spanish words used in Mayan usually suffer a tonal change as was mentioned about numbers in Section 7. Spanish words are also with some frequency mispronounced, especially those words which have in them letters which are not normally used in the Mayan language.

Spanish Mayan English

fiesta piesta "fiesta"

volquete bolcete "dump truck"

vidrio bidrio "glass"

184. Spanish verbs are turned into Mayan verbs by tacking on the following suffixes:

-tic, -tah, -mah, -te transitive conjugation

-, -nahi, -nahaan, -nac intransitive conjugation

-taal, -tabi, -taan, -taac passive conjugation

Conpesar (to confess):

conpesartic, conpesartah, conpesarmah, conpesarte

conpesar, conpesarnahi, conpesarnahaan, conpesarnac

conpesartaal, conpesartabi, conpesartaan, conpesartaac

185. Spanish nouns are not altered except for pronunciation when brought into the Mayan language. However the method by which the plural of these nouns is formed is quite varied. In some instances just the Spanish plural form is used. In other instances the Mayan plural marker -oob is appended to the plural form of the Spanish noun. This is the preferred method. And finally in some instances the Spanish noun has the Mayan plural marker attached directly to it. It seems that the choice of which type of plural marker to use is subject to individual preference and not to some set of rules.

bomba bombas, bombasoob

refrigerador refrigeradores, refrigeradoresoob

gobernador gobernadoresoob

piesta piestasoob

cruz cruzoob

GENERAL REMARKS ABOUT THE MAYAN LANGUAGE

Contractions and Syncopations

185. As was noted in Section 8, the spoken Mayan language is highly contracted. We have tried to note many of these contractions throughout this grammar. The problems arising from contractions were noted in Section 8. We cannot stress too strongly how important it is to learn all of the different modes in which contractions are used so that some of these problems can be avoided.

186. A somewhat similar problem which we have noted briefly in the chapter on the alphabet, Section 4, is that certain letters, especially l when it is the final consonant in a syllable, get lost in normal conversation. An example of this kind of problem is as follows: in the chapter on verbs it will be remembered that the second form of the transitive verb conjugation is -ah, that the general form of the intransitive verb conjugation for certain verbs is -al, and that the general form of the passive verb conjugation is often -aal. In normal conversation all of these endings sound more or less the same, namely -ah. Therefore for the verb root ppat ("to stay", "to leave"; the idea being that there is no movement) the words ppatah, ppatal, and ppataal would all sound the same in normal conversation. Thus the phrase which audibly one would hear as tin ppatah could be one of three things:

tin ppatah I left

tin ppatal I am staying

tin ppataal I am being left

Note that in the case of the transitive conjugation that tin is the time indicator particle t- plus in whereas in the other two cases tin is the contraction of tan in.

Of course it is clear from the context which one of these three conjugations is being used.

Tin ppatah in uatan. I left my wife.

Tin ppatal. I am staying

Tin ppataal tumen in uatan. I am being left by my wife.

Frequently in transcriptions of conversations by such people as Andrade and Vermont Salas all three of these tenses would be transcribed as p'ata. However in the transcriptions of stories which follow in this book we have written out the tenses as they would be said in formal speech. This is of course some help to the learner of the language. Just bear in mind that when listening to the Mayan language the speakers will not normally make the clear distinction between the three types of verbal suffixes.

One problem which we haven't noted about contractions is the dropping of the l from the demonstrative particle le. We have noted that l, especially as a final consonant, is frequently not spoken. Depending on the speaker the same is true for the l of le. There is however an occasion in which the omission of the l is much more uniform and frequent. This occurs when le follows a word which ends in -e, particularly if the -e is some kind of suffix.

Example of a sentence in formal speech:

Max cun u bete le hanalo? "Who is going to make the

food?"

With the l contracted out:

Max cun u bet'e hanalo?

Another contraction we noted earlier in Sec. 4 is the dropping of the consonant k from a syllable when the k is the final consonant of that syllable. This contraction seems to take place only when the syllable is followed by another in the same word.

Examples:

colonial/formal usage contracted usage

ekhochhen ehochhen evening

kaknab kanab sea

hokzic / hokzabal hozic / hozaal to take out

/ be taken out

Consonant and Vowel Shifts

187. Another problem which was mentioned briefly in the chapter on the alphabet, Sections 4 and 5, is that there are certain letters which shift to other letters. These shifts have various reasons and are based on a wide range of factors. The factors range from regional dialectical differences to individual preferences.

For the consonants some of the more common shifts are:

n m

c k

ch chh

p pp

t th

z tz dz

For the vowels some of the more common shifts are:

a o

a u

o u

For example, a dog like animal variously reported to be a coyote or a fox has the following names:

chamac chhamac

chomac chhomac

chhomoc

chhumac

It seems that both from the colonial sources and from modern day usage, at least in northwestern Yucatan, that chhamac is the preferred usage. In any case one could argue that the reason that the pronunciation of this animal's name varies so widely is that it is not a common animal: neither of us has ever seen one nor do we know of anyone reporting a sighting of one. Thus its name is rarely used and maybe the variations stem from the fact that the person pronouncing the name is groping for the right one. This seems to be a general trend: those items which are not part of everyday life tend to have more variations in the way their names are pronounced than do the everyday things.

Idiomatic Expressions

188. In the Mayan language, as in any other language, there are idiomatic expressions which are particular to the language and direct translations of these expressions into another language would render either unusual or meaningless phrases. Small talk in Mayan seems to be especially prone to idiomatic expressions. Greetings in particular are rather odd to the outsider.

An example of a formal exchange, such as when a younger person meets an elderly man in passing, is as follows:

Dias, nohoch tat. Bix a bel? "Good morning, great

father. How is your road? (How are you?)"

Hach toh in uol, dios botic tech. Cux tun tech? "Very

straight my spirit, god pay you. (Very well, thank

you.) And thus you?"

Xulul beyo, dios botic. "Always like that, god pays.

(As usual, thanks)."

A more standard greeting amongst peers is as follows:

Baax ca ualic? "What do you say? (= How are you?)"

Mixbaal. Cux tech? "Nothing. (= O.K.) And you?"

Chen beya. "Just like this. (= Nothing new to report.)"

Two of the words used in the formal exchange, bel (road, path, way) and ol (spirit, heart) are the foundation of many idiomatic expressions.

For bel the following are but a few:

dzoc u bel "finish his/her road" (= married)

lob u bel "bad his/her road" (= evil doer)

utz u bel "good his/her road" (= do-gooder)

kohaanil u bel "sickness his/her road" (= sickly)

chen bel "only road" (= common; lowly)

For ol the following are but a few:

ca ye ol "two pointed spirit" (= undecided)

choco ol "hot spirit" (= hot tempered)

ceel ol "cold spirit" (= cold-blooded)

ci ol "sweet spirit" (= contented)

dza ol "give spirit" (= attentive)

hak ol "surprise spirit" (= surprised)

hun pay ol "different spirit" (= undecided)

nen ol "mirror spirit" (= contemplate)

oc ol "enter spirit" (= believe)

ok ol "cry spirit" (= sad)

toh ol "straight spirit" (= well)

ya ol "hurt spirit" (= sad)

ziz ol "cool spirit" (= calm)

As mentioned in Section 9 on complex words each of the words in the above expressions are treated as grammatically individual entities:

Tulacal in palaloob dzocaan u beloob. "All of my children

have gotten married."

Nin caah in ziztal in uol. "I have to go and calm down."

Hun pay u yol le xibpalo. "That boy is undecided (about

what to do)."

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