A Historical Grammar of the Maya Language of Yucatan (1557-2000)
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spread,’ where there is no ambiguity because the inherited passive example contains two “b’s” (xabbal).
A few more root transitives in the Calepino have retained the inherited passive because the root-final
consonant is a laryngeal: [ʔ] or [h] (Table 7-2). Either because laryngeals are weak consonants or because
the transitive roots in question already had a laryngeal consonant, the passivizing suffix was never reduced
to a glottal stop. In the case of CVʔ roots, it was incorporated into the root as the coda consonant, resulting
in CVVb-Vl. For example, the Calepino lists choobol ‘be cleaned, erased, flayed,’ specifying that it has an
TRANSITIVE VERBS
143
Table 7-1. Comparison of inherited and innovated passives derived from transitive roots in the Calepino
de Motul (Ciudad Real 1600?).
Transitive Phonetic
Inherited Phonetic
Innovated Phonetic
Root
Spelling
Gloss
Passive
Spelling
Passive
Spelling
Gloss
ɔac
ȼ’ak
cure, heal
ɔac-b-al
ȼ’ak-b’-al
ɔaac-al
ȼ’aʔak-al
be cured, healed
pat
pat
form,
pat-b-al
pat-b’-al
paat-al*
paʔat-al
be formed,
shape
shaped
pay
páay
borrow,
pay-b-al
páay-b’-al
paay-al*
paʔay-al
be borrowed,
lend
lent
piɔ
piȼ’
gin cotton
piɔ-b-il
piȼ’-b’-il
pijɔ-il
piʔiȼ’-il
be ginned
(cotton)
ppec
p’ek
hate
ppec-b-el
p’ek-b’-el
ppeec-el
p’eʔek-el
be hated
toc
tok
snatch
toc-b-ol
tok-b’-ol
tooc-ol
toʔok-ol
be snatched
away,
away, defended
defend
tok
tok’
puncture,
tok-b-ol
tok’-b’-ol
took-ol*
toʔok’-ol
be punctured
let blood
xab
šab’
transplant, xab-b-al
šab’-b’-al
xaab-al
šaʔab’-al
be transplanted,
scatter,
spread
spread
*”Accent on first syllable”
accent on the first syllable, as the passive of choo ‘clean something wet, polish, flay.’ In Modern Yucatec,
the reflex of the root of this verb is čoʔ, and its passive derivation is chóʔob’-ol (not č’oʔoʔ-ol, as it would be
if it had undergone the same changes as other passives derived from root transitives in Modern Yucatec).
The presence of a glottal stop in čoʔ and the other glottal-stop-final transitive roots in Table 7-2 blocked
the reduction of [b’] to [ʔ] in this group of root transitives. An example of the use of choobol appears below:
(3a) licil
v choobol ti keban olal
‘with which the (bad) conscience is cleansed’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 243r)
The Calepino treats cħaabal ‘be collected, recovered’ (< cħa ‘collect, recover’; phonetic [č’aʔ]) in the same
way, doubling the vowel in the main entry, as well as in two illustrative examples:
(3b) nacalbil
v cħaabal v uich coco
‘climbing for coconuts to be collected’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 316r)
(3c)
ma tech c u cħaabal a tħan
‘your advice is never taken’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 150v)
Here again, the final glottal stop in the root has become part of the vowel nucleus.
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TRANSITIVE VERBS
Table 7-2. Passives of laryngeal-final transitive roots in the Calepino de Motul (Ciudad Real 1600?).
Transitive Phonetic
Phonetic
Root
Spelling
Gloss
Passive
Spelling
Gloss
coo
koʔ
strip bark
coobol
koʔob’ol
be stripped (bark from trees)
chij
čiʔ
eat meat
chibil
čiʔib’il
be eaten (meat, eggs, fish)
choo
čoʔ
scrub, rub, wipe
choobol
čoʔob’ol
be scrubbed, rubbed, wiped
cħa
č’aʔ
collect, recover
cħaabal
č’aʔab’al
be collected, recovered
haa
haʔ
scrape, grind, file,
haabal
haʔab’al
be scraped, ground, filed,
brush, polish, smooth
brushed, polished, smoothed
he
heʔ
open
heebel
heʔeb’el
be opened
paa
paʔ
break, unbind,
paabal
paʔab’al
be broken, unbound,
demolish
demolished
ppa
p’aʔ
open
ppabal
p’aʔab’al
be opened
ppoo
p’oʔ
wash, launder
ppoobol
p’oʔob’ol
be washed, laundered
too
toʔ
wrap
toobol
toʔob’ol
be wrapped
tza
ȼah
sue
tzaabal
ȼaʔab’al
be sued
tze(e)
ȼeh
grind coarse
tzeebel
ȼeʔeb’el
be ground coarse
ɔa
ȼ’ah
give, concede,
ɔaabal
ȼ’aʔab’al
be given, conceded, authorized
authorize
xe
šeh
vomit
xeebel
šeʔeb’el
be vomited
The passives derived from /h/-final root transitives have a similar history. Here, too, the presence of a
laryngeal in the transitive root blocked the reduction of [b’] to [ʔ], but laryngeal /h/ was replaced by a glottal
stop in the stem. For example, the phonetic spelling of the root transitive entry ɔa ‘give, concede, authorize,
place, put, expose’ in the Calepino is [ȼ‘ah]. The passive form of this verb is listed only as ɔabal, but one of
the example sentences in the Calepino contains the following phrase:
(3d)
macech t u ɔaabal v yatzil ah num=ya
‘or by alms being given to the poor’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 282r)
In this case, the verb stem is spelled as ɔaabal (phonetic [ȼ’áʔab’-al]), instead of ɔabal (phonetic [�
�’ah-b’-al]).
The fact that the vowel in the passive form of this verb is doubled indicates that it contains a glottal stop.
It contrasts with the ɔabal spelling of the passive that serves as an entry in the Calepino and the other
example sentences containing it. The co-existence of the two forms in the Calepino suggests that [ ȼ’ah-b’-al]
was still in free variation with [ȼ’aʔab’-al] while the Calepino was being compiled.
Only the ȼ’aʔab’-al form of this passive can be found in Modern Yucatec today:
(4a)
héʔ u ȼ’aʔab’al b’in ten tàak’ineʔ
‘they say that I will be given money’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1993:1041)
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145
Other examples of passives based on h-final root transitives in Modern Yucatec include:
(4b)
le máaš máʔ ʔuȼ t u t’àan u ȼaʔab’aleʔ máʔ u pàaš
‘whoever doesn’t like to be dunned doesn’t go into debt’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:40)
(4c)
ȼ’óʔok u šéʔeb’el in nòok’ t u mèen le pèek’oʔ
‘my dress was vomited on by that dog’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:256)
The transitive roots in question are ȼah ‘to collect, recover, dun’ and šeh ‘to vomit.’
The imperfective passives based on ʔ-final transitive roots have the same CVʔVb’-Vl structure in Modern
Yucatec:
(5a) yan
u tóʔob’ol teč le b’áʔalaʔ hoseh wá keš máʔ
‘must this thing be wrapped for you, José, or not?’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1993:1043)
(5b)
le in nòok’aʔ yan u p’óʔob’ol
‘these clothes of mine have to be washed’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1993:1043)
(5c)
k u čáʔab’al šan im p’atik in meyah
‘I will also be permitted to leave my work’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1993:1041)
The transitive roots in question are toʔ ‘to wrap,’ p’oʔ ‘to wash clothes, launder,’ and čaʔ ‘to free, loosen,
untie, release, allow, let.’
The Calepino contains only ten root transitives whose passive stems have the structure inherited from
Proto-Yucatecan, and eight of them have an alternative passive stem that has the same structure as the
passives based on root transitives in Modern Yucatec. The presence of a laryngeal-final consonant in four-
teen root transitives blocked the conversion of the passivizing suffix into a glottal stop, but not the intro-
duction of a glottal stop into the vowel nucleus.
The presence of a medial laryngeal, either a glottal stop or /h/, prevented a small group of semantically
transitive roots from adopting the innovated passive as well. Because the development of passives in this
group of root transitives paralleled that of passives in derived transitives, they are compared with the pas-
sives they resemble in 1.2.3. below.
In addition, the passives of 125 root transitives had completed the transition to the Modern form, with-
out leaving traces of the inherited passive, when the Calepino was compiled. They are listed as main entries
with the -Vl imperfective suffix, which are sometimes illustrated in context:
(6a)
hun=muɔub ich v çaatal t u vich
‘in an instant their sight is lost’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 199v)
(6b)
a nah tzijcil a nah kuultabal a nah yacunabal y etel tanlabal
‘you deserve to be honored, you deserve to be adored and to be served,
cech yumile cech Diose
you who are Lord, you who are God!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 319r)
(6c)
ma hun=çut v caanal babal
‘the thing cannot be learned in one moment!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 197v)
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TRANSITIVE VERBS
(6d)
v taacal che y alan cum
‘the sticks are positioned beneath the pot’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 398v)
They also appear in example sentences with the perfective -i suffix:
(6e)
mooci kaan t in menel
‘the hammock was knotted by me’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 306v)
(6f)
maaci v chij batab ti ho ppel tostones
‘the mouth of the leader was closed with five silver coins [i.e., he was bribed to keep silent]’ (Ciudad
Real 1600?: fol. 281r)
(6g)
paayi v beel t u men u çucun
‘he was guided by his older brother’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 360v)
(6h)
çaati t u men v netzil
‘he got lost because of his stupidity’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 325v)
(6i)
ol haaɔen t u men padre
‘I was about to be whipped by the priest’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 349v)
(6j)
olen haaɔi t u men padre
‘I was about to be whipped by the priest’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 349v)
In addition, the Calepino contains a few examples of such passives with the subjunctive suffixes, -Vc and
-ebal (the latter in an adverbial focus construction):
(6k)
nuuɔuc to hun ppel haab ca conffesarnacech t u ca=ten
‘when one year has been completed, you will confess again’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 335r)
(6l)
bin kuubuc v baal in ba t in cħuplil y etel t in paalilob manbal kin tiob
‘my possessions will be given to my wife and children so that they can survive,
maix ti hun=pay
and to no one else’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 296r)
(6m) xoococ hun-hun=tzuc ti cuch=teelil
‘each piece of land may be counted one by one’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 87v)
(6n)
ma kahan bin çatebal
‘it will be lost without warning’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 289v)
The structure of the imperfective (CVVC-Vl), perfective (CVVC-ih/-Ø), and subjunctive (CVVC-Vc) stems
in Colonial Yucatec shown in (6a–m) is identical to the structure of their counterparts in Modern Yucatec:
(7a)
ȼ’óʔok u síʔip’il a síʔipil
‘your mistakes have already been increased’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:247)
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147
(7b)
le š č’úupaloʔ ȼ’óʔok u k’áʔašal uy òok t u mèen h wàan
‘that girl is engaged to John [literally, that girl, her foot is tied up by John]’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:148)
(7c)
tak č’éʔeneʔ k u sáʔap’al
‘even wells dry up’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:242)
(7d)
wáah táan u t’óʔošol hàanleʔ máʔ aw áalkab’
‘if food is being distributed, don’t run!’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:293)
(7e)
in k’úʔumeʔ síʔip’ih
‘as for my hominy, it was swollen’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:247)
(7f)
k’áʔal u šàanab’ t u káap hum p’éel tùunič
‘his shoe was stuck in the cleft of a rock’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:143)
(7g)
h wàaneʔ čúʔuk t u y òokol
‘John, he was caught in the act of robbing’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:74)
(7h)
t yàʔan le dóon háasintoh pàatoʔ
‘that Don Jacinto Pat was there,
t yáʔan túun dóon séesilyoh čiʔoʔ
that Don Cecilio Chi was there then,
káʔah máʔač u kàahil tíhosùukóeʔ
‘when the town of Tihosuco was taken’ (V. Bricker 1981a:249, lines 1083–1085)
(7i)
káʔah ʔúʔuk’uk saʔ t u mè
en h wàan
‘gruel may be drunk by John’
(7j)
káʔah páʔak’ak kòol t u mèen tèen
‘the field might be planted by me’
(7k)
káʔah háʔaȼ’(a)keč t u mèen tèen
‘you might be hit by me’
(7l)
káʔah kóʔolok t u mèen h wàan
‘it might be cleared off by John’1
Thus, by the late sixteenth century, the Modern pattern for passive stems derived from root transitives
had almost completely replaced the pattern inherited from Proto-Yucatecan, and this is the only pattern
that characterizes such passives in Modern Yucatec and Lacandon. These languages contrast with Itsaj and
Mopan, which have retained the inherited pattern intact. Because the shift from Proto-Yucatecan to the
Modern pattern of passivization was so advanced during the second half of the sixteenth century, it must
have begun much earlier, perhaps before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1511. Itsaj and Mopan must have
already separated from what became Colonial Yucatec and therefore did not participate in the changes
that led to the innovated passive of Modern Yucatec and Lacandon.
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TRANSITIVE VERBS
1.1.3. THE ANTIPASSIVE VOICE OF ROOT TRANSITIVES. Folio 464 verso of the Calepino de Motul contains a
minimal pair that contrasts the imperfective antipassive stem of the root transitive, pocħ ‘to insult, dishon-
or, reprove, condemn,’ with its active counterpart:
(8a)
xulic v pocħic batab Juan
‘John insulted the leader to the limit’
(8b)
xulic v pocħ_ Juan ti batab
‘John insulted the leader to the limit’ [literally, to the limit, John insulted to the leader]
In the active example (8a), batab ‘leader’ is the direct object of v pocħic ‘he insulted him,’ whereas there is
no direct object in the second example (8b), v pocħ ‘he insulted,’ and the nominal direct object has been
moved into an oblique phrase after the preposition ti. The example in (8b) implies that the imperfective
antipassive is marked by -Ø (no suffix), contrasting with the imperfective active in (8a) that is marked by
-ic. Although the two examples can be glossed in the same way, the active transitive verb implies a direct
object, whereas the antipassive verb has a more general meaning.
The examples of antipassive based on the transitive root, tuz ‘lie, deceive,’ in (9a–c) below show that
the perfective and subjunctive stems of such verbs were marked by -n, instead of -Ø, in Colonial Yucatec:
(9a)
lic bin a haɔic a palil t u men v tuz_
‘they say that you customarily whip your son because he lies’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol 267r)
(9b)
tuzni
‘he lied’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 428r)
(9c)
bin tuznac