A Historical Grammar of the Maya Language of Yucatan (1557-2000)
Page 42
(3) Colonial
Modern
Adjective
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
co
crazy, foolish, insolent,
koʔ
mischievous
boisterous, roguish,
cunning, deceitful
coc deaf
kóok
deaf
cul short
kul
short
çuc
tame, gentle
sùuk
tame, accustomed
ɔuut
scarce, scanty, avaricious, ȼ’úʔut
stingy, niggardly
stingy, miserly,
niggardly
il
obstinate, stubborn,
ʔìil
short-tempered, tearful
furious
kaz
bad, ugly
k’àas
bad, ugly
kox
wild, intractable
k’óʔoš
churlish, surly, wild, antisocial
(animal), churlish, surly
surly, uncouth, strange,
antisocial, laconic
kux
angry, hateful, rancorous, k’ùuš
angry, hateful, rancorous,
abhorrent
abhorrent
nun
ignorant
nùum
ignorant, stupid, lazy, retarded
poch
ravenous
pòoč
desirous, longing
tħah
active, industrious,
t’áʔah
active, industrious, tireless
tireless, curious, brave
utz
good, just, well-made
ʔuȼ
good, just
Monosyllabic adjectives that refer to a broader range of meanings appear below:
(4)
Colonial
Modern
Adjective
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
al
heavy
ʔal
heavy
ceel
cold
kéʔel
cold
cet
equal, even, jointly,
kèet
equal, even
together
ADJECTIVES
249
çaal
light (not heavy)
sáal
light (not heavy)
çuu
thick, dense
suʔ
dense, thick
ɔuɔ
withered, shrivelled
ȼ’ùuȼ’
small, retarded, undeveloped
chaah
sensitive (eyes to light,
čáʔah
sensitive (eyes to light, tooth)
tooth)
chan
small
čan
little
haacħ
thin, sparse, not dense
háʔač’
watery, thin (liquid)
(gruel, soup)
yaab
much, many, often
yáʔab’
much
kam
strong (voice, wind),
k’áʔam
strong, vigorous, violent
nach
far, distant, extended,
náač
far
long (shadow)
naah
sufficient, full, complete
náʔah
full, satiated
tuu
stinky, rotten
tuʔ
stinky, rotten
uijh
hungry
wíʔih
hungry
Disyllabic adjectival roots are much less numerous than monosyllabic adjectival roots in Colonial and
Modern Yucatec, but they cover a similar range of semantic categories:
(5) Colonial
Modern
Adjective
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
bekech
thin (stick, thread)
b’ek’eč
thin
çuhuy
virgin
suh(úʔ)uy
intact, virgin
chacau
hot, warm
čokoh
hot
chauac
long
čowak
long
cħilib
dry
č’ilib’
fallen (dried branches); skinny
yanal other
yàanal
other
kanan
necessary, beautiful,
k’áʔanáʔan
necessary
esteemed
komoh
smelly
k’omoh
smelly
mehen
small
mehen
small (plural)
poloc
fat, corpulent
polok
fat
ppulux
swollen
p’uruš
swollen
ticin dry
tikin
dry
Adjectives preceded the nouns that they modified in Colonial Yucatec:
(6a)
chacau taan
‘hot ashes’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 134v)
(6b)
hacħ ça
‘watery gruel’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 203r)
(6c)
kan nal
‘ripe ear of corn’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 238r)
250 ADJECTIVES
(6d)
a noh tuz
‘your great lie’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 330r)
(6e)
yax ppoppox
‘green nettles’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 392r)
So also do adjectives in Modern Yucatec:
(7a)
b’oš mìis
‘black cat’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:36)
(7b)
ȼ’uȼ’ wíinik
‘small man’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:55)
(7c)
hač čokoh k’ìin
‘very hot sun’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:72)
(7d) táah
k’áʔan ʔìik’
‘very strong wind’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:144)
(7e)
le š tuʔ nóok’aʔ
these stinky clothes’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:281)
2. DERIVED ADJECTIVES
Several kinds of adjectival stems could be derived from nominal and verbal roots, as well as from adjectival
roots themselves. The principal derivational suffixes in Colonial Yucatec were -il, -tzil, -liç, -lac, -lic, -cabal,
-chalac, -kalac, -ben, -Vch, -em, -en, and the participial suffixes, -an and -Vl, not all of which have survived
into Modern Yucatec.
2.1. ADJECTIVES MARKED BY -IL. The suffix, -il, was used for deriving adjectives from nominal and adjectival
roots.
2.1.1. ADJECTIVES DERIVED FROM NOMINAL ROOTS WITH -IL. Monosyllabic roots served as the source of a
number of adjectives marked by -il in Colonial Yucatec:
(8)
Noun
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
bak meat
bakil meaty
caan
sky, heaven
caanil
high, celestial
çaç
light, vision, sight
çaçil
lighted, clear, clean
ɔib
writing, letter, painting ɔibil
written, painted
cħoh
indigo
&n
bsp; cħohil
dyed, tinted with indigo
ic
chili pepper
icil
peppery (sauces, broth, meat, stew)
kab
hand, arm, finger
kabil
capable, talented
kaax
forest, woods
kaaxil
forested, wooded, rustic, wild
ADJECTIVES 251
kik blood
kikil bloody
kijx
spine, thorn
kijxil
spiny, thorny
ku God
kuil divine
muk
strength
mukil
firmly
pach
back, rear side, bark
pachil
last, final, ultimate
(of tree); last thing
uey concubine ueyil adulterous
One of the adjectives in this data set (kuil ‘divine’) had an alternative form (kuul) in which the vowel in the
suffix (u) was a copy of the vowel in the root.
Five sets of examples in (8) have cognates in Modern Yucatec:
(9)
Noun
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
b’ak’
meat
š b’ak’il
fleshy
sáas
light, vision, sight
sáasil
clear
ȼ’íib’
writing
ȼ’íib’il
written
káʔan
sky, height
káʔanal
high, above
pàač
back, rear side; bark
pačal
retarded, backward
(of tree)
The suffix in the last two adjectives in (9) is a copy of the vowel in the roots (káʔan and pàač), continuing a
process that seems to have begun during Colonial times.
Adjectives were also derived from disyllabic nouns by suffixing -il to the nominal root in Colonial times:
(10)
Noun
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
akab
night
akabil
nocturnal [seldom used]
anumal
news, fame, reputation anumalil
newsworthy, laudatory
ciçin
devil, demon, idol
ciçinil
devilish
cucut body
cucutil corporeal
mitnal
Hell
mitnalil
infernal, hellish
pixan soul
pixanil spiritual
takin
gold, silver; money
takinil
gold, silver
uinic
man, woman
uinicil
human
None of the adjectival examples in (10) have cognates in the Hocaba dictionary of Modern Yucatec, but
adjectives derived from other disyllabic nominal roots that refer to the four cardinal directions in Modern
Yucatec take the same suffix (V. Bricker et al. 1998:70, 163, 199, 254):
(11)
Noun
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
čik’in
west
čik’(i)nil
western
lak’in
east
lak’(i)nil
eastern
nohol
south
nòoh(o)lil
southern
šaman north
šam(a)nil northern
2.1.2. ADJECTIVES DERIVED FROM ADJECTIVAL ROOTS WITH -IL. The Calepino de Motul lists ten adjectival
stems that were derived from adjectival roots with -il:
252 ADJECTIVES
(12)
Adjective
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
çiz
cold, cool
çizil
cool [from something cold]
chac
great; very, much
chacil
grave, serious, very important
han
clear of objects
hanil
clear of objects
ya
painful, sore; grave,
yail
dangerous, severe
serious; difficult;
pressured, intense,
insistent
il
obstinate, stubborn;
ilil
terrible, abominable, wicked,
furious
depraved, inauspicious
kaz
bad, ugly
kazil
mean, vile, foolish
kam
strong (voice, wind),
kaamil
strong, forceful
vigorous
koch
true, infallible, certain
kochil
true, infallible, certain
nach
far, distant, extended,
nachil
foreign, of another land or
long (shadow)
kingdom; aside
teel
necessary; traditional;
teelil
traditional
beneficial; profitable
The glosses provided by the Calepino for some derived adjectives in (12) are no different from those of the
roots from which they were derived. For example, han and hanil both meant ‘clear of objects,’ and koch
and kochil both meant ‘true, infallible, certain.’ However, in the majority of examples, the derived adjective
had a somewhat different meaning from the adjectival root. Thus, nach meant ‘far, distant, extended,’ but
nachil meant ‘foreign, of another land or kingdom,’ in addition to ‘aside.’ The meaning of il ‘obstinate, stub-
born; furious’ was intensified in ilil ‘terrible, abominable, wicked, depraved, inauspicious.’ The same is true
of kaz ‘bad, ugly’ versus kazil ‘mean, vile, foolish.’
Only two of the derived adjectives in (12) have cognates in the Hocaba dictionary of Modern Yucataec:
(13)
Adjective
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
háan
cleared
háanil
cleared of objects
k’àas
bad, ugly
k’àasil
evil
The derived adjective, k’àasil, appears in a euphemism for the Devil: u k’àasil b’áʔal, literally ‘the evil thing’
(V. Bricker et al. 1998:148).
2.2. ADJECTIVES DERIVED FROM NOMINAL ROOTS WITH -TZIL. Another set of adjectives derived from nom-
inal roots is marked by -tzil (phonetic [-ȼil]) in the Calepino de Motul. Monosyllabic roots serve as the
source of the adjectives in (14):
(14)
Noun
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
cheeh
laughter
chehtzil
ridiculous, laughable
muk
strength; patience,
muktzil
endurable, tolerable
suffering, necessity
nup
the other (of a pair);
nuptzil
inimical, resistant, antagonistic,
opposition; enemy,
competing
adversary;
counterweight
ADJECTIVES 253
ol
heart (non-corporeal),
oltzil
poor, miserable,
mind, will, desire,<
br />
anguished, wretched, hurt
energy, spirit,
condition, quality
ppec hatred
ppectzil abominable
tzen
person raised by
tzentzil
requiring much service
another
[rarely used]
In (15) appear such adjectives derived from disyllabic roots:
(15)
Noun
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
anat
help, favor, aid,
anattzil
worthy of help
protection
batab
chief, leader
batabtzil
suitable for leadership
baxal
toy, game
baxaltzil
ridiculed, mocked
manab
phantom, ghost,
manabtzil
abominable, frightening, frightful
apparition, goblin,
hobgoblin, sprite
The -tzil suffix is no longer productive for deriving adjectives from nominal roots in Modern Yucatec.
It is limited to a single example: ʔóo(l)ȼil ‘poor, miserable’ (< ʔóol ‘heart, will, energy, spirit’) (V. Bricker et al.
1998:14, 17).
2.3. ADJECTIVES DERIVED FROM NOMINAL ROOTS WITH -LIZ. The suffix, -liz, co-occurred with ten adjec-
tives derived from nominal roots listed in the Calepino de Motul. The roots of six of them also served as nu-
meral classifiers, and the adjectives derived from them were concerned with size, time, and completeness:
(16)
Numeral
Classifier
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
bak
count of 400
bakliz
huge
cot
classifier for counting
co(o)tliz
whole (animal)
quadripeds
haab
year, age, period
haabliz
lasting one year, every year
of years
paac
count of tribute cloths
pacliz
complete
pic
count of 8,000
picliz
many, numerous, countless,
innumerable
u
lunar month
uliz
every month
The remaining adjectives were derived from common nouns:
(17)
Noun
Gloss
Adjective
Gloss
ak
vine
akliz
creeping, climbing, vining
be
road
beeliz
travelling, walking, going about