‘who pulled the needle from this cloth?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:105)
(106c) máaš ʔáʔal-Ø-Ø táan in-tùukul-
who say-subj-3sg durative 1sg-think-impf
‘who said that I was thinking?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:283)
There are also patient-focus questions introduced by máaš and b’áʔaš in the Hocaba dictionary that retain
the particles that are missing in agent-focus questions:
(107a) máaš t-aw-ilib’-t-ah-Ø
who completive-2sg-daughter-in-law-trans-perf-3sg
‘whom did you take for a daughter-in-law?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:13)
(107b) b’áʔaš t-a-ȼ’á-ah-Ø ten
what completive-2sg-give-perf-3sg to-me
‘what did you give me?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:47)
(107c) b’áʔaš k-a-čak-ik-Ø š-pìil
what incompletive-2sg-boil-impf-3sg fem-Phyllis
‘what are you boiling, Phyllis?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:61)
(107d) b’áʔaš k-u-b’èet-ik-Ø h-wàan hoʔ
what incompletive-3sg-do-impf-3sg masc-John Merida
‘what is John doing in Merida?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:207)
For examples of such questions introduced by máaš with other aspectual inflections, see V. Bricker (1979b:
122, 125, 127).
Other information questions in Modern Yucatec employ adverbial interrogatives that refer to location
and time, as in the following examples with the interrogative particle, túʔuš ‘where?,’ and the interrogative
compound, b’áʔaš=k’ìin ‘when?’:
(108a) túʔuš t-a-ȼ’á-ah-Ø in-nòok’
where completive-2sg-put-perf-3sg 1sg-clothes
‘where did you put my clothes’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:47)
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
459
(108b) čan wíinik túʔuš k-a-b’in-Ø
little man where incompletive-2sg-go-impf
‘little man, where are you going?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:63)
(108c) b’áʔaš=k’ìin _ a-b’in-Ø hoʔ
what=day _ 2sg-go-impf Merida
‘when will you go to Merida?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:27)
(108d) b’áʔaš=k’ìin-hak _ b’in-Ø-eč hoʔ
what=day-ago _ go-perf-2sg Merida
‘when did you go to Merida?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:27)
The use of b’in ‘to go’ in (108b–d) is instructive because it highlights the difference between information
questions that begin with locative and temporal interrogatives. In the first case (108b), túʔuš ‘where?’ is fol-
lowed by the incompletive aspectual particle, k-. In the second (108c), the temporal interrogative, b’áʔaš-kìin
‘when?,’ is not followed by an aspectual particle. In the third (108d), the same temporal interrogative has
a suffix, -hak ‘ago,’ that places the verb in the past. The aspectual particle is apparently unnecessary in
information questions introduced by temporal adverbial expressions, which establish their own temporal
parameters.
On the other hand, the manner interrogative, b’iš ‘how?,’ employs an aspectual particle with perfective
transitive verbs, but not imperfective transitive verbs:
(109a) b’iš t-a-haȼ’-il-en
how completive-2sg-hit-nom-1sg
‘how did you hit me?’ (V. Bricker 1981b:118)
(109b) b’iš _ aw-il-ik-Ø le way-aʔ
how _ 2sg-see-impf-3sg det here-prox
‘how do you like it here?’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:47)
Questions about measurement and quantity employ the interrogatives, b’ukáʔah ‘how much ~ many?,’
b’ahuš ‘how much?,’ and hay ‘how many?,’ which co-occurs only with numeral classifiers:
(110a) b’ukáʔah k’ìin u-b’in-Ø a-b’in-Ø
how-many day 3sg-go-impf 2sg-go-impf
‘how many days are left until you go?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:37)
(110b) b’ukáʔah a-tàak’in yàan
how-much 2sg-money exist
‘how much money do you have?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:37)
(110c) b’ahuš t-u-tohol-t-ah-Ø
how-much completive-3sg-cost-trans-perf-3sg
‘how much did it cost?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:279)
460
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
(110d) b’ahuš u-šùul
how-much 3sg-limit
how much is your final [price]?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:264)
(110e) hay-p’éel t’àan aw-òohel-Ø
how-many-nc language 2sg-know-3sg
‘how many languages do you know?’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:49)
(110f) hay-lòoč yàan tíʔ le b’eh-oʔ
how-many-nc exist prep det road-dist
‘how many curves does that road have?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:170)
(110g) hay-toʔ wàah t-a-man-ah-Ø
how-many-nc tortilla completive-2sg-buy-perf-3sg
‘how many bundles of tortillas did you buy?’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:277)
The numeral classifiers in (110e-g) are p’éel ‘thing,’ lòoč ‘bend, curve,’ and toʔ ‘bundle.’
2.6. CONCLUSIONS. Colonial Yucatec had a well-developed system of focused adverbial particles and com-
pounds with its own aspectual suffixes for transitive and intransitive verbs and its own type of split ergativ-
ity based on a person hierarchy, instead of aspectual distinctions. Only two features of the Colonial system
are still evident in Modern Yucatec, namely the marking of perfective intransitives with -ik and transitives
with -il (after focused manner adverbials only). Over time, the other characteristics of the traditional sys-
tem were replaced by those associated with the Basic Word Order (see Table 16-3).
3. TOPICALIZATION
Focus was not the only syntactic option used in Colonial Yucatec for fronting a noun or nominal phrase, nor
is it in Modern Yucatec today. Topicalization provided another means for accomplishing that objective in
Colonial times. With it, some person or object mentioned in passing in a conversation or written text could
be retrieved for additional comment, and that option is in frequent use today.
The deictic frame, he ... e, was commonly used for this purpose in Colonial Yucatec:
(111a) he cal-h-al-e lay v-naa vch-ac-il
as for drunk-inch-nom-top det 3sg-mother happen-subj-nom
‘as for inebriation, this is the mother
çip-il t-u-lac-al la-ix tal-ebal-Ø koch
sin-nom prep-3sg-all-nom det-and come-subj-3sg fault
of all sins that come from faults’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 408r)
(111b) he icham-bil-ob-e
as for husband-nom-3pl-top
‘as for husbands,
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
461
v-nah v-yacun-Ø-Ø v-cħup-ill-ob
3sg-obligation 3sg-love-subj-3sg 3sg-woman-nom-3pl
they should love their wives’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 223v)
(111c) he tun sant franco padre-s-ob-e
as for then holy Franciscan father-pl-3pl-top
‘as for the holy Franciscan fathers then,
hach tibil v-tħan-ob toon
very nice 3sg-speak-3pl to-us
very nicely do they speak to us’ (MID567:fol. 365, lines 30–31)
(111d) he v-molay ah-oc-ol-al-ob t-u-lac-al-e
as for 3sg-congregation ag-enter-heart-nom-3pl prep-3sg-all-nom-top
‘as for the congregation of all believers,
bay v-bay-el y-et-el v-ɔac-al v-bac-el-il
thus 3sg-body-nom 3sg-with-nom 3sg-add-nom 3sg-limb-nom-nom
it is like the body with the addition of limbs
vinic v-cah hun-hun-tul ti-ob-e
person 3sg
-go one-one-nc prep-3pl-encl
of each person’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 42r)
Occasionally, the terminal deictic alone served as the topicalizer in Colonial Yucatec:
(112a) le vino-e y-ah-hop-ç-ah-ul tzucach-il
det wine-top 3sg-ag-burn-caus-perf-nom lewd-nom
‘as for wine, it is the inducement for lewdness’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 18r)
(112b) y xan t-u-stô convento-e uaxac-tul tzimin
and also prep-3sg-holy convent-top eight-nc horse
‘and also in his holy convent, eight horses
c-u-tzen-t-ab-al t-u-men ca-tul-ili
incompletive-3sg-adoptee-trans-ps-impf prep-3sg-deed two-nc-only
are being cared for by only two
h-semana-ob x-ma-ma han-(a)l-il
ag-week-3pl and-not-not food-nom-nom
weekly laborers without meals’ (HB784C-217A-D)
(112c) t-u-men t-u-kin-il col-e tan u hok-s-ab-al
prep-3sg-deed prep-3sg-time-nom fell-top durative 3sg-leave-caus-ps-impf
‘because during the time of felling [bush], they were being caused to leave’ (HB784B-105A-B)
462
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
In Modern Yucatec, topicalization is marked by the terminal deictic, -eʔ, alone:
(113a) ʔáak’ab’-eʔ k-u-ʔéeʔ-hoʔč-éʔen-kúun-s-ik-Ø t-u-láak-al
night-top incompletive-3sg-black-?-aj-caus-caus-impf-3sg prep-3sg-all-nom
‘as for night, it causes everything to become dark’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:7)
(113b) háʔaȼ-kab’ k’ìin-eʔ síis-ʔóol
be divided-earth day-top cold-heart
‘as for the morning, it is cool’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:92)
(113c) u-t’àan-il in-kàah-al-eʔ máʔ t-a-náʔat-ik-Ø
3sg-language-nom 1sg-town-nom-top not durative-2sg-understand-impf-3sg
‘as for the language of my town, you don’t understand it’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:289)
Topicalization is not limited to nouns and noun phrases in Modern Yucatec. Verbs can also appear in topi-
calized phrases:
(114a) p’eleč kóoh-(i)k-en-eʔ káʔah hàan-Ø-en
scarcely arrive-perf-1sg-top when eat-perf-1sg
‘I had scarcely arrived when I ate’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:228)
(114b) le máaš u-k’áat-eʔ yàan k’úum
det who 3sg-want-top exist pie-pan squash
‘as for the person who wants it, there is pie-pan squash,
yàan ȼ’óol yàan š-kaʔ p’àak yàan ʔìib’ šan
exist long-squash exist clas-round-squash, tomato, exist bean also
there is long squash, there is round squash, tomatoes, there are beans too’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:149)
Apart from singling out a topic to comment on, topicalized phrases provided a context for the comment
that follows. When asked to provide example sentences, native speakers of Yucatecan Maya use topicaliza-
tion to provide a context for them. That is why many of the example sentences in the Hocaba dictionary of
Modern Yucatec (V. Bricker et al. 1998) begin with a topicalized phrase and continue with a comment that
contains an example of the dictionary entry in question.
4. STATIVE AND EQUATIONAL CLAUSES
Neither Colonial nor Modern Yucatec have verbs meaning ‘to be’ or ‘to have.’ Instead, they have stative
or non-verbal predications, in which nominal or adjectival stems are marked with pronominal suffixes that
serve as their subjects, but they are not marked for tense/aspect or mood. The existential predicate, yan,
provides an alternative way of referring to possession.
4.1. THE FORMATION OF STATIVE CLAUSES. As mentioned in (13a–b) in Chapter 4, the suffixation of depen-
dent pronouns to nominal and adjectival stems transforms them into stative or equational expressions,
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
463
obviating the need for a verb ‘to be.’ The noun, uinic ‘man, woman, person,’ functioned as a stative verb in
the following clauses in Colonial Yucatec:
(115a) noh vinic-en
right-handed person-1sg
‘I am a right-handed person [not left-handed]’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 330r)
(115b) puɔ-ul vinic-ech va
flee-aj person-2sg interrog
‘are you a fugitive person?’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 383v)
(115c) ma kuun vinic-Ø
neg gentle person-3sg
‘he is not a gentle person’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 254v)
(115d) cħe-cħeh-ci vinic-ob ti y-otoch ku
tight-aj person-3pl prep 3sg-home God
‘people are tightly pressed together in church’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 154r)
The stative noun is preceded by an adjective in each case that attributes a quality to it (right-handed, fugi-
tive, not gentle, tightly pressed together).
Nouns in equational clauses could also be inflected for possession in Colonial Yucatec:
(116a) nach in-booy-Ø
long 1sg-shadow-3sg
‘my shadow is long’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 317r)
(116b) pap in-ich-Ø t-u-men buɔ
burning 1sg-eye-3sg prep-3sg-deed smoke
‘my eyes are burning because of the smoke’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 367r)
(116c) ppuz v-boc-Ø vay-e
musky 3sg-odor-3sg here-encl
‘the odor is musky here’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 393r)
(116d) vtz v-cal-Ø
good 3sg-voice-3sg
‘his voice is good’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 63r)
(116e) kam v-tħan-Ø
strong 3sg-voice-3sg
‘his words are strong’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 236v)
(116f) bolon-te uitz u-kaba-Ø u-lum-il-la-e
nine-nc hill 3sg-name-3sg 3sg-land-nom-prox-encl
‘the name of this land of theirs is nine hills’ (Gordon 1913:77)
464
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
Adjectival phrases could also precede nouns in equational clauses in Colonial Yucatec:
(117a) cij-ob y-ol in-mehen-ob
sweet-3pl 3sg-heart 1sg-son-3pl
‘my sons are happy’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 73v)
(117b) hal-ach vtz v-beel-Ø padre-lo
true-aj good 3sg-road-3sg priest-dist
‘the way of that priest is truly good’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 176r)
(117c) chauac v-kab Juan ti ocol
long 3sg-arm John prep stealing
‘John has long arms for stealing!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 138r)
Equational clauses could contain a nominal phrase, instead of a single noun, in Colonial Yucatec:
(118a) kep v-chij-Ø a-nok
uneven 3sg-edge-3sg 2sg-cloth
‘the edge of your cloth is uneven’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 244v)
(118b) v-tħup-il-en v-mehen-ob
3sg-youngest-child-nom-1sg 3sg-son-3pl
‘I am the youngest of his sons’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 435v)
(118c) in-mam batab y-al (in)v-ix-cit
1sg-cousin leader 3sg-son 1sg-fem-mother’s-sister
‘my cousin is the leader, the son of my mother’s sister’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 292r)
(118d) v-chun ca-tħan Juan
3sg-head 1pl-word John
‘our leader is John’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 149r)
Equational clauses could also be introduced by the initial deictic, lay ‘this,’ in Colonial Yucatec:
(119a) lay v-kex-ul t-a-pach-lo
det 3sg-change-nom prep-2sg-back-dist
‘that is your successor [and heir]’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 245v)
(119b) lay in-bool tech mehen-la-e
det 1sg-payment to-you son-prox-encl
‘this is my wage for you, son!’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 54v)
(119c)
lay v-mul=tumut-la-e
det 3sg-together=decision-prox-encl
‘this is their joint decision’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 313r)
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
465
Equational clauses sometimes began with topicalized phrases in Colonial Yucatec:
(120a) he ah-sabac na-il-e
here agn-soot house-nom-top
‘as for the man of Soot House here,
v-chun v-uinic-il ah-na
3sg-first 3sg-person-nom agn-house
he is the first of the Na family’ (Gordon 1913:9)
(120b) he-ix nohoch na-la-e
here-and large house-prox-top
‘and this large house here,
lay y-ahau ppoc ɔoc-la-e
det 3sg-enormous hat palm-prox-encl
this is an enormous palm hat’ (Gordon 1913:30)
Similar constructions occur in Modern Yucatec:
(121a) tòoh inw-óol-Ø
straight 1sg-heart-3sg
‘I am fine [literally, my heart is straight]’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:18)
(121b) miš=b’áʔal im-b’èel-Ø
no=thing 1sg-road-3sg
‘I am worthless [literally, my road is nothing]’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:29)
(121c) ʔuȼ t-inw-ič-Ø t-u-láak-al
good prep-1sg-eye-3sg prep-3sg-all-nom
‘I like it all’ (Blair and Vermont-Salas 1965:48)
(121d) le-laʔ u-pak’-(a)l-il in-kòol
det-prox 3sg-plant-nom-nom 1sg-cornfield
‘this is the planting of my cornfield’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:206)
(121e) le p’óok-aʔ hač kóʔoh
det hat-prox very expensive
‘this hat is very expensive’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:131)
(121f) nòok’ yáʔaš-eʔ máʔ ʔuȼ t-inw-ič-iʔ
clothes green-top not good prep-1sg-eye-partit
‘as for green clothes, I don’t like them’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:312)
(121g) u-k’àay š-pìil-eʔ séen haȼ’uȼ’
3sg-song fem-Phyllis-top very beautiful
‘as for Phyllis’s song, it is very beautiful’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:149)
466
SYNTAX AND DISCOURSE
4.2. THE EXISTENTIAL PREDICATE, YAN. Colonial and Modern Yucatec have an indirect method of express-
ing ‘to have’ with the existential predicate yan ‘exist.’ This predicate can also be found in locational clauses.
4.2.1. EXPRESSING “TO HAVE” WITH YAN. Clauses express possession with yan in two ways: (1) in one, yan
is followed by a noun that is inflected for possession with a clitic pronoun that serves as the subject of the
A Historical Grammar of the Maya Language of Yucatan (1557-2000) Page 73