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Hofling 2000 pages, headings, examples ( ). Remaining Exs. are Lacandon.
Basic word order in Lacandón is VOS, where S refers to the subject and O, the direct object, in an active declarative clause. Other word orders are marked, usually signalling discourse highlighting. SVO is a common alternant.
A clause typically contains only one nominal argument. Additional arguments occur as dependent pronouns affixes. Clauses with two full nominal arguments are not common. When two nominal arguments do occur, it is not always easy to disambiguate the subject and the object. Subjects may be marked with the nominal particles Eh MASC and Ex FEM and the topical suffix -eh.
Basic word order is VOS, although sentences with two arguments are not common. More typically, sentences are VO or VS, with person markers indicating an object or subject argument that is already established in context. SVO is a relatively unmarked, alternate order. When the animacy levels of arguments are equal, ambiguity can occur.
191 (4)
| V | S/O | O/S | ||
| V O S | k-u-kin-s-ik | winik | b'alum | (a) man killed (a) jaguar/ (a) jaguar killed (a)man. |
| IRREAL-3SG.A-die-CAUS-ITS | man | jaguar |
With both indirect and direct objects present, the order is: VOIOS or VOSIO.
192 (10b)
| V | O | IO | S | ||
| V O IO S | t-u-tz'aj | nEl | t-a7 winik | ix-ch'up-ej | The woman gave corn to the man. |
| COM-3SG.A-give | corn | to-the man | FEM-woman-TOP | ||
| V | O | S | IO | ||
| or: | t-u-tz'ah | nEl | ix-ch'up-ej | t-a7 winik. |
a ts'ahik ti7 k'uh pEtan. Lo das a dios, formados. You give it to the gods, molded. \Nar_Forest_CK
a ts'ah-ik ti7 k'uh pEt-an
2SG.A give-ITS to god fold-PART
It is possible to use SVO order to highlight the subject; -eh TOP can also occur with the subject.
192 (15)
| S | V | O | ||
| S V O | A7 b'alum-ej | k-u-y-il-ik | winik | The jaguar sees a man. |
| the jaguar-TOP | IRREAL-3SG.A-3SG.A-see-ITS | man |
The more common sentence forms are VO and VS.
(13)
VO t-u-mEch-aj uk'ab' a7 winiki-ej It grabbed the arm of the man.
in bo7otik Ek yum. 7in bo7ol-t-ik 7Ehk yum.
1SG.A payment-TRN-ITS 1PL.A lord
lo estoy pagando nuestro diós.
I am paying our god.\Cacao_JK_01
(11)
VS I k'och-oo7 aj kEnan-oo7 And, the guards arrived.
tu tusahen Eh t'uur
t-u tus-ah-en Eh t'uul
COM-3SG.A lie-CTS-1SG.B MASC rabbit
The rabbit lied to me.\Jag_Rab_Kin_02
196 8.2
Modifier-modified word order is typical of VO languages. Modified-modifier order is possible.
197 8.2.1
Adjective + Noun
7ah-sEk tunich white stone
MASC-white stone
7ek' hunk'uk'. black hawk
naachi ts'ul. white person
naach-il ts'ul
far-ADJ.DER boss
jum=p'eel ha7 lake
one=inan. water
a7 nah the house
the house
he7-loh a7 winik-eh There is the man.
Ost-Dist the man-TOP
u-k'ab a7 winik-eh the arm of the man (also cf. Hofling 2000:192)
3SG.A-arm the man-TOP
u poxal ch'uprah. woman's purse
u poox-al ch'uprah
3SG.A bag-NOM woman
u komi nok'. short pants
u koom-il nok'
3SG.A short-NOM.DER pants
hita7an u nahi. roof of a house
hit-a7an u nah-il
weave-PART 3SG.A house-POSS
che7il u kal. back of the neck
che7-il u kal
tree-POSS 3SG.A neck
k'Es yor. jealous
k'Es y-ol
bad 3SG.A soul
nuk u nEk'. thick object
big 3SG.A belly/middle
ch'an a bakel. heavy, thick
ch'an a bak-el
thick 2SG.A bone-POSS
a7 noh 7ayim he7=loh that big crocodile
Det big crocodile Ost-Dist
sum polok thick rope
rope thick
Determiner or Noun Classifier-Noun + Relative Clause-Topicalizer
199 (1)
i a7 winik-oo7 [k'och-oo7 et a7 mo7nok chen-eh] and the men that arrived with the little canoe
and the man-PL [arrived-PL with the little canoe-TOP]
200 (7)
i a7 [max k(a7)-u-kim-es jun=tuul b'a7alche'-ej] and whoever would kill an animal
and the [who SUB-3A-die-CAUS one=animal-TOP]
Particle ti7, to, at, in, from, on and combining form t- is a preposition and heads prepositional (and infinitival phrases).
ka bini tu pach u nahi. Se fue atrás de la misma laguna otra vez. She went behind (across) the same lagoon again. \Int_Hist_AM_01
ka7ah bin-ih pach u nahi
again go-3SG.A back-ADJ.DER lagoon
t-u-tzeel at the side
at-3SG.A-side
tu ku tak ta k'a7. finger ring
tu k-u tak t-a k'a7
where IRR-3SG.A position at-2SG.A hand
ti7 ha7 in the water in water
Particle ich in, inside, within
bEk' ich k'aax. animal in the forest
Adverbial modifiers typically occur in final position but may occur initially in focus constructions or initially and finally in framing constructions. Adverbial modifiers come from a number of sources. particle roots, such as locative, temporal and manner particles, sometimes in combination, provide most adverbial modifiers. Adverbs may also be derived from adjectival and nominal roots.
Clause Final:
ne yaap' in meyah beh ma7 xupuk in meyah mE7te7.
Tengo mucho trabajo, no se ha acabado nada mi trabajo, todavía.
I have a lot of work, I haven't finished any of my work, not yet. \Tortillas_CNK
ne yaap' in meyah beh ma7 xup-Vk in meyah mE7te7
very much 1SG.A work EUPH NEG use.up 1SG.A work not.yet
Preverbal position highlights:
ma7te7 ts'okok. Todavía no he terminado.(I) haven't finished yet.\Tortillas_CNK
ma7te7 ts'ok-Vk
not yet finish-DIS
pachi tan u buhik u che7. Después, está rajando leña. Later, he is chopping wood.
pach-il tan u buk-ik u che7
back-ADJ.DER DUR 3SG.A chop-ITS 3SG.A wood \Jag_Rab_SK_01
ki7 k'aynen. I sang well. \Nar_Forest_CK
ki7 k'ay-n-ah-en
well sing-AP-CIS-1SG.B
Adverbial Framing Constructions
201(10)
ka7 t-u-mol-aj-oo7-ej Then they collected them.
then COM-3A-collect-CTS-pl-TOP
Set B pronouns affix to nominal and adjectival stems to create stative predicates.
saak-en I was afraid.
fear-1SG.A
yaan, the existential adjective stem and its negative counterpart ma7an form stative predicates.
yan u ch'om. She has to cover it.
be 3SG.A cover
way yenen ten.
way yan-en ten
here exist-1SG.B 1SG.IPRO
Here I am. \Jag_Rab_SK_01
202(7)
tumen...ma7an-0 yaab' k'im because...there weren't many days.
203(11)
yaan jun-tuul ix-ch'upaal... There was a young woman.
Interrogative sentences are marked with special intonation, interrogative particles, or interrogative words.
203(4)
tan-a-jan-t-ik b'Ek' waj ? Are you eating meat? DUR-2A-eat-TRN-ITS meat INTER
203(6)
ba7ax k-a-men-t-ik ? What are you doing?
what INC-2A-do-TRN-ITS
bihi metik. By what means do I do it?
bik k in men-t-ik.
how IRR 1SG.A do-TRN-ITS
mEk
who
The two most common negative markers are the particles ma7 and mix.
203(1)
A7 7ayim-e ma7 t-u-jalk'E7-t-aj... The crocodile didn't turn him loose
204(7)
mix jun=pak t-in-tuk-l-a...mix t-in-naay-t-aj-i7ij Not once did I think, nor did I dream.
NEG one-time COM-1sgA-think-nom-CTS...NEG-COM-1sgA-dream-TRN-CTS-FOC
ma7an there are not
ma7-a7an
not-PART
man u k'ik'e. pallid
ma7-a7an u k'ik-el
not-PART 3SG.A blood-POS
tu no7oh in chemo7. ti7 u no7oh in chem-o7.
at 3SG.A right.side 1SG.A canoe-PL
a la derecha de nuestro cayuco.
at the right side of our canoe \Bal_Rit_AM_04
pachi tu purah u bEh yok'o ha7. Después se tiró en el agua. Later he threw himself in the water
pach-il t-u pul-ah u bEh yok'ol ha7
back-ADJ.DERCOM-3SG.A fling-CTS 3SG.A-REFL on water \Frg_Mos_Kin_01
460(?)
wa tan u ch'apa a na7. If your mother gets sick.
wa tan u ch'ap-Vl a na7
if DUR 3SG.A sick-IIS 2SG.A mother
372
V + PRO kah. X is about to...
HOF (bel) u-ka7aj ti wen-el
(go) 3A-go SUB sleep-IIS
S/he is going to sleep.
HOF (b'el) u-ka7aj u-jan-t-ej
(go) 3A-go 3A-eat-TRN-DTS
S/he is going to eat it
bin in ka7 buhu. Yoy a reventarme. I'm going to burst. \Jag_RAb_Kin_02
bin in kah buh-Vl
go 1SG.A about to split-IIS
woro tus u ka7 lati7 a t'uur.Puras mentiras(?)el conejo.The rabbit is about to tell pure lies.
wolol tus u kah lati7 Eh t'u7ul
all lie 3SG.A about.to 3SG.IPRO MASC rabbit \Jag_Rab_SK_01
in bin in wEhkEntik. Voy a ponerlo ariba. I'm going to raise it. \Cacao_JK_01
in bin in wEk-kun-t-ik
1SG.A go 1SG.A swell-CAUSE-TRN-ITS
[Indicates Spanish Source]
445(2)
t-u-ch'Ek-aj-oo7 che7...kap(-ij) u-k'Ex-E'-oo7 They cut wood, they began to tie it.
General: 7i. and
Temporal: ka7. ka7ti7. then
450(1)
...ka7 nEk-l-aj-ij ...then he sat down
451
[7aastaj (ka7) until]
452
yaj already
453 (4)
ya b'a-je7-laj..ma7 t-in-jach=7u7-ik w jach yaj a7 ke7el-ej. Already now, I am not feeling so much that the cold is very bad...
i a7 che7-ej...li7-litz'-kiy..tumen ch'ul... and the tree was slippery because it was wet.
..i mentEk-ej b'in-oo7 ti7ij ti7 ja7.. and it was for that reason that it went from them into the water...
waj either, or
mix neither, nor
[peeroj but]
ka7ax although
tu7ux. where
tu luk'i ne tsoy ha7. Donde sale está muy bonito el agua (rio). The water (river) is very beautiful where it comes out. \Int_Hist_AM_01
tu luk'-ih ne tsoy ha7
where leave-3SG.B very beautiful water
ka7 adv. when, then, already.
481 (8)
ka7 t-in-tz'on-aj...[A7-ka7 wak'-ij in tz'on-ej] Then I shot it.When my gun fired.
ka sutbEh ten. ...cuando yo regresé. ...when I return. \Int_Hist_AM_01 kah sut-bEh ten when return-REFL 1SG.IPRO
ti7 (2b) SUB. a. to (Hofling 1997:593) with intransitive subordinate verbs.
samal-ej ma7 tan-ki-bel ti meyaj tomorrow not DUR-we-go to work
chukah tu mE7 u la hene la kimi tu woro.
Lo agarró para que no se cayera [y] se mueren todos.
He grabbed it so that it would not fall [and] everyone die. /Jag_Rab_Kin_02
chuk-ah ti7-u mE7 u lah hen-eh lah kim-Vl tu wol-ol
grab-CTS to-3SG.A NEG 3SG.A all fall-DTS all die-IIS round-ADJ.DER
Complements follow the verb.
u-jan-b7-El b'Ek' jach ma7lo7 The eating of meat is very good.
488
in-k'a7t-ij k'ay I want to sing. ti SUB tan-a-tab'-s-ik-en ti uk'-ul He is convincing me to drink. ka7 SUB (highlights purpose semantics)490
k-in-waj-t-ik-ech ka7 tak-ech I am shouting to you for you to come.491
tan-in-t'En-ik-ech (ka7) a-juch'-u7 ixi7im. I am calling you (for you) to grind corn. 492 t-inw-a7al-aj ti7ij...ka7 meyaj-n-ak ka7=p'e k'in I told him to work two days.with verb of speech (al say)
501 (5)
ka7 t-uy-a7l(-aj) a7 winik ti7ij-ej..."pak'-t-ej!" ki... Then the man told him, "Wait!" he said
bin in ka buhur tu yarah chEk baron. I'm going to explode said the Jaguar. Jag_Rab_SK_01
bin in kah buh-Vl t-u yar-ah chEk balon
go 1SG.A begin explode-IIS COM-3SG.A say-CTS red jaguar
with quotative (ki QUOT)
503 (1)
ma7 a-b'el a-jan-t-een ki a7 winik ti7ij-ej You aren't going to eat me, the man said to him.
Indirect Quotation (al + ke)
505 (4)
t-inw-a7l-aj ti7ij-ej. ke ma7 inw-ojel. I said to him that I don't know.[kej = que]
| Grammatical Affixes (modified from Bricker) | |
|---|---|
| Prefixes | |
| a(w)- ~w- | second person singular subject of verb or possessor of noun 2SG.A |
| Eh- | masculine agentive MASC |
| h- | intransitive completive aspect COM |
| in(w)- ~w- | first person singular subject or possessor 1SG.A |
| (ah)k- | first person plural subject or possessor of noun 1PL.A |
| k(ah)- | incompletive, irrealis, habitual aspect IRR |
| t- | transitive completive aspect COM |
| t(an)- | incompletive, durative aspect DUR |
| ts'- | terminative aspect. finished <ts'uk |
| u(y)- ~ y- | third person singular subject possessor 3SG.A |
| (Eh)x- | feminine agentive FEM |
| (Eh)x- + -V(b)' | instrumental |
| Suffixes | |
| -a7 | passive PASS |
| -ah | completive transitive status CTS |
| -ah | dependent transitive status DTR |
| -ah | completive transitive status CIS |
| -ah | antipassive AP |
| -ak | dependent intransitive status DIS |
| -al | ownership possession NOM, POSS |
| -a7an | participial; intransitive present perfect PART |
| -an | participle; intransitive present perfect PART |
| -ankil | affect |
| -b | causative CAUS |
| -bal | affect |
| -ben | potential, agentive, stative |
| -ch ~ -chah ~ -chal | inchoative INCH |
| -e7 | topical enclitic TOP |
| -ech | second person singular object of transitives or subject of statives and completive intransitives 2SG.B |
| -eh | transitive subjunctive DTS |
| -eh | transitive imperative IMPTS |
| -eh | suffix of admiration. (Bruce 1968:48) |
| -el | inalienable possession POSS |
| -en | first person singular object of transitives or subject of statives and completive intransitives 1SG.B |
| -en | intransitive imperative IMPIS |
| -eno7 | first person plural object of transitives or subject of statives and completive intransitives; our/us exclusive 1PL.B |
| -eex | second person plural object of transitives or subject of statives and completive intransitives; your/you plural 2PL.B |
| -i7 | scoping enclitic |
| -ih ~ -i7 | third person singular object of transitives or subject of statives and completive instransitves ; intransitive completive 3SG.B |
| -iho7 | third person plural object of transitives or subject of statives and completive intransitives 3PL.B |
| -ik | transitive incompletive ITS |
| -ik | focus intransitive completive FOC |
| -il | focus transitive completive FOC |
| -il | ownership possession POSS |
| -il | associative possession POSS |
| -il | abstractive ABST |
| -tal | positional and inchoative incompletive POSIT, INCH |
| -(an)kil | adjectival affect |
| -kin ~ -kun | causative CAUS |
| -k' | celeritive CELER |
| -l | positional completive and dependent POSIT |
| -m | present perfect |
| -mEn | agentive stative |
| -n | antipassive AP |
| -nan | agentive |
| -o7 | distal enclitic |
| -o7 | third person plural object of transitives, subject of intransitives and statives, and plural of nouns. PLUR |
| -oon | our/us dual - first person plural object of transitives and subject of intransitives and statives |
| -oonex | our/us excusive - first person plural object of transitives and subject of intransitives and statives |
| -oh | adjectival (~ -w) ADJ |
| -p | agentless passive |
| -s | causative CAUS |
| -t | transitivizer TRN |
| -(ta)l | inchoative and positional incompletive |
| -V(b)' | instrumental; nominal |
| -Vch | adjectival ADJ.DER |
| -Vk | intransitive subjunctive DIS |
| -Vk | nominal; adjectival NOM.DER, ADJ.DER |
| -Vkbal | positional adjectival |
| -Vl~ -Vn | intransitive incompletive IIS |
| -Vl ~ -Vn | ownership possession; nominal; adjectival POSS, NOM, ADJ |
| -Vm | nominal NOM |
| University of Victoria | Department of Linguistics |
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