Proto-Mayan

Proto-Mayan

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Proto-Mayan

Proto-Mayan is the hypothetical common ancestor of the 30 living Mayan languages, as well as the extinct Classic Maya language documented in the Maya Hieroglyphical inscriptions.

Phonology

Sound rules
Developments

Grammar
Vocabulary
References
External links

Phonology

The Proto-Mayan language is reconstructed (Campbell and Kaufman 1985) as having the following sounds:

Five vowels: a, e, i, o and u. Each of these occurring as short and long: aa, ee, ii, oo and uu,

	Bilabial		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain
Stops	p	b'	t	t'	ty	ty'	k	k'	q	q'	'
Affricate		ts	ts'	ch	ch'
Fricative			s		x				j		h
Nasal	m		n				nh
Liquids			l r
Glide					y		w

Sound rules

The following set of sound changes from proto-Mayan to the modern languages are used as the basis of the classification of the Mayan languages. Each sound change may be shared by a number of languages; a grey background indicates no change.

Overview of soundrules from Proto-Mayan to modern Mayan language groups
Huastecan	Yucatecan	Cholan-Tzeltalan		Q'anjob'alan-Chujean		K'ichean-Mamean
		Ch'olan	Tzeltalan	Q'anjob'alan	Chujean	K'ichean		Mamean
		Ch'olan	Tzeltalan	Q'anjob'alan	Chujean	Core K'iche'	Kaqchikel- Tz'utujil	Mam	Ixil
w > b
h > w/_o,u
q > k, *q' > k'
? > h	? > n					? > x
		e: > i, *o: > u
	a: >
	-t > -t?							t > t?
							-h > -j
						CV?VC > CV?C
								r > t
								r > j
								t? > t?
							-? > -?/VCV_#

Developments

The palatalized plosives and are not carried down into any of the modern families. Instead they are reflected differently in different branches allowing a reconstruction of these phonemes as palatalized plosives. In the eastern branch (Chujean-Q'anjob'alan and Cholan) they are reflected as and . In Mamean they are reflected as and and in Yukatek and K'ichean as and .^[1]

reflexes of Proto-Mayan and ^[2]
Proto-Mayan	Q'anjob'al	Mam	K'iche'	English
				tree
				ashes

The Proto-Mayan liquid is reflected as in the eastern languages (Chujean- Q'anjob'alan and Cholan), Huastecan and Yukatek but as in Mamean and in K'ichean and Poqom. ^[3]

reflexes of Proto-Mayan ^[4]
Proto-Mayan	Yukatek	Ixil	K'iche'	English
				green
				fish

Proto-Mayan velar nasal * is reflected as in the western branches (K'ichean Mamean), as in Q'anjob'alan, Cholan and Yukatekan, and only conserved as in Chuj and Poptí. ^[5] In Huastecan * is reflected as [h].

reflexes of Proto-Mayan ^[6]
Proto-Mayan	Q'anjob'al	Ixil	Poptí	English
				tail

The changes of Proto-Mayan glottal fricative are many and it has different reflexes according to position. In some positions it has added length to the preceding vowel in languages that preserve a length distinction. In other languages it has the reflexes , , , or a zero-reflex. ^[7]

Only K'ichean-Mamean and some Q'anjob'alan languages have retained proto-Mayan uvular stops and whereas all other branches have changed these into and respectively.

In Mamean a chain shift took place changing * into , * into , * into and * into . These retroflex affricates and fricatives later diffused into Q'anjob'alan. ^[8]

In polysyllabic words Kaqchikel and Tz'utujil have changed a final proto-Mayan *[w] and * into [j] and * respectively.^[9]

Huastecan is the only branch to have changed Proto-Mayan *[w] into [b]. Wastek also is the only Mayan language to have a phonemic labialized velar phoneme , but this is known to be a postcolonial development. Comparing colonial documents in Wastek to modern Wastek it can be seen that they were originally clusters of k and a rounded vowel followed by a glide. For example the word for "vulture" which in modern Wastek is pronounced was written <cuyx> in colonial Wastek and pronounced .

The Yucatecan languages have all shifted proto-Mayan *[t] into in wordfinal position.

Several languages particularly Cholan and Yucatecan have changed short [a] into .

All Cholan languages have changed long proto-Mayan vowels and into and respectively.

Vowel length distinction has been lost in Q'anjob'alan-Chujean (except for Mocho' and Akateko), Kaqchikel and Cholan. Some languages have reduced the vowel length distinction into a tense lax distinction that was later lost for most vowels, Kaqchikel however retains a centralized lax schwa-like vowel as a reflex of proto-Mayan ^[10]. Two languages, Yukatek and Uspantek and one dialect of Tzotzil have introduced a tone distinction in vowels between high and low tones as reflexes of former vowel length and [h] and .

Grammar

Vocabulary

References

↑ England (1994), p.35.
↑ adapted from cognate list in England (1994)
↑ England (1994), p.35.
↑ adapted from cognate list in England (1994)
↑ England (1994), pp.30-31.
↑ adapted from cognate list in England (1994)
↑ England (1994), p.37.
↑ Campbell (1997), p.164.
↑ Campbell, Lyle, 1998, "Historical Linguistics", Thames & hudson p.170
↑ England (1994), pp.110-111.

England, Nora C., 1994, Autonomia de los Idiomas Mayas: Historia e identidad. (Ukuta'mil Ramaq'iil Utzijob'aal ri Maya' Amaaq'.) Cholsamaj. Guatemala.

Handbook of Middle American Indians, 1967, 1969, R. Wauchope (series ed.). Vol 7 (ethnographic sketches of Mayan groups), Volume 5 (linguistic sketches and other useful materials). F 1434, H 3, LAC (ref).