Proto-Mayan language

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox proto-language Proto-Mayan is the hypothetical common ancestor of the 30 living Mayan languages, as well as the Classic Maya language documented in the Maya inscriptions. While there has been some controversy with Mayan subgrouping, there has been a general agreement that the following are the main five subgroups of the family: Huastecan, Yucatecan, Cholan-Tzeltalan, Kanjobalan-Chujean, and Quichean-Mamean.

Genealogy of Mayan languages.

Genealogy of Mayan languages.

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,

Type	Bilabial		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
Sound	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain	ejective	plain
Stop	p  Template:IPAblink	bʼ/pʼ  [ɓ]/Template:IPA link]	t   Template:IPAblink	tʼ  Template:IPAblink	ty  Template:IPAblink	tyʼ  Template:IPAblink	k  Template:IPAblink	kʼ  Template:IPAblink	q  Template:IPAblink	qʼ  Template:IPAblink	ʼ   Template:IPAblink
Affricate			ts  Template:IPAblink	tsʼ  Template:IPAblink	ch  Template:IPAblink	chʼ  Template:IPAblink
Fricative			s  Template:IPAblink		x  Template:IPAblink				j  Template:IPAblink		h  Template:IPAblink
Nasal	m  Template:IPAblink		n  Template:IPAblink				nh  Template:IPAblink
Liquid			l  Template:IPAblink  r  Template:IPAblink
Glide					y  Template:IPAblink		w  Template:IPAblink

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		Qʼanjobʼalan–Chujean		Kʼichean–Mamean
		Chʼolan	Tzeltalan	Qʼanjobʼalan	Chujean	Kʼichean		Mamean
						Core Kʼicheʼ	Kaqchikel- Tzʼutujil	Mam	Ixil
*w > b
*h > w/_o,u
*q > k, *qʼ > kʼ
*ŋ > h	*ŋ > n					*ŋ > x
*ty > tʃ, *tyʼ > tʃʼ		*ty > ty/t, *tyʼ > tyʼ/tʼ		*ty > t, *tyʼ > tʼ		*ty > tʃ, *tyʼ > tʃʼ		*ty > tz, *tyʼ > tzʼ
		*e: > i, *o: > u
	*a: >
	*-t > -tʃ							*t > tʃ
		*-h > -j					*-h > -j
						CVʔVC > CVʔC
								*r > t
								*r > j
								*tʃ > tʂ
							*-ɓ > -ʔ/VCV_#

Developments

The palatalized plosives and have not been retained in most of the modern languages, a notable exception being the Ch'ol language. Instead they are reflected differently in different branches allowing a reconstruction of these phonemes as palatalized plosives. In the western branch (Chujean–Qʼanjobʼalan and Cholan) they are reflected as and . In Mamean they are reflected as and and in Yukatek and Kʼichean as and .

reflexes of Proto-Mayan and

Proto-Mayan	Qʼanjobʼal	Mam	Kʼicheʼ	English
				tree
				ashes

The Proto-Mayan liquid is reflected as in the western languages (Chujean–Qʼanjobʼalan and Cholan), Huastecan and Yukatek but as in Mamean and in Kʼichean and Poqom.

reflexes of Proto-Mayan

Proto-Mayan	Yukatek	Ixil	Kʼicheʼ	English
				green
				fish

Proto-Mayan velar nasal is reflected as in the eastern branches (Kʼichean–Mamean), as in Qʼanjobʼalan, Cholan and Yukatekan, and only conserved as in Chuj and Poptí. In Huastecan is reflected as .

reflexes of Proto-Mayan

Proto-Mayan	Qʼanjobʼal	Ixil	Poptiʼ	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.

Only Kʼichean–Mamean and some Qʼanjobʼalan 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 Qʼanjobʼalan.

In polysyllabic words Kaqchikel and Tzʼutujil have changed a final Proto-Mayan and into and respectively.

Huastecan is the only branch to have changed Proto-Mayan into . 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 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 into in wordfinal position.

Several languages particularly Cholan and Yucatecan have changed short into .

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

Vowel length distinction has been lost in Qʼanjobʼalan-Chujean (except for Mochoʼ 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 . 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 and .

Sources

• England, Nora C., 1994, Autonomia de los Idiomas Mayas: Historia e identidad. (Ukutaʼmil Ramaqʼiil Utzijobʼaal ri Mayaʼ Amaaqʼ.) 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).
• Lyle Campbell and Terrence Kaufman, Annual Review of Anthropology. 1985. "Mayan Linguistics: Where are We Now?"

External links

• The Guatemalan Academy of Mayan Languages – Spanish/Mayan site, the primary authority on Mayan Languages
• Yucatec – English Dictionary
• Bibliography of Maya related topics from the University of Texas Anthropology website
• The Mayan Languages- A Comparative Vocabulary contains more than 40,000 entries for 31 Mayan languages
• English Words and their Classic Maya Equivalents
• Ethnologue Mayan language family tree