determiners in tojol-ab'al [toj] mayan...determiners in tojol-ab’al [toj] mayan antonio...

Determiners in Tojol-ab’al [toj] Mayan

Antonio Magana MacıasLeipzig Unviersity

Syntax of the world’s languages VIIIParis INALCO

September 5th 2018

DeterminersTojol-ab’al

Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Outline

1 Introduction

2 The language

3 Formal inventory

4 Nominal domain

5 Corpus data

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Introduction

Tojol-ab’al has different formal devices comparable tothe functions of definite, indefinite and demonstrativearticles in other languages.Their behavioral properties are however different.The particularities of the determiners in Tojol-ab’alare better explained considering at least two factors:

i the nature of the nominal domainii the nature of the phonological phrases

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

The language

Tojol-ab‘al is a Western Mayan language spoken inthe Southeastern Mexican State of Chiapas, Mexico.There are at least 40000 Speakers.Previous controversy regarding its exact place withinthe Maya family: Kaufman (1969) andSchumann Galvez (1981) placed it together withChuj in the Q’anjob’alan sub branch while Robertson(1977) put it together with Tseltal in the Tseltalansub branch.Law (2011, 2013) and Gomez Cruz (2017) have bothconcluded, that it is a mixed language.

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Typological profil IHead marking languageAspect based temporal codingMesoamerican traits Campbell et al. (1986): no verbfinal, vigesimal number system, relational nounsrather than adpositions, possessive construction NGVOS/SVO language Furbee-Lose (1976), Brody(1982), Curiel 2007VO and VS language Curiel 2007 with Dryer’s 2007predictionsMorphological ergativityNo syntactic ergativity but a neutral alignment ispossible regarding Equi-NP deletionLow absolutive language Coon et al. (2014)No agent focus Stiebels (2006) and no restrictions onextraction

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Formal inventory

definite determiner jaindefinite determiner juncircumclitic determiner ja...=i’proximal demonstrative itdistal demonstrative jaw

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

The determiners ja and jun

There is no particular selection with respect tonatural sex or animacy.

(1) jaDET

winikman

//

jaDET

ixukwoman

//

jaDET

ts’i’dog

//

jaDET

tonstone

‘the man’ / ‘the woman’ / ‘the dog’ / ‘the stone’

(2) junINDF

winikman

//

junINDF

ixukwoman

//

junINDF

ts’i’dog

//

junINDF

tonstone

‘a man’ / ‘a woman’ / ‘a dog’ / ‘a stone’

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References


The first mention of a nominal in a text tend to bewith jun.

(3) JunINDF

yalDIM

keremboy

sokINST

junINDF

ts’i’dog

tiEXPL

ay-e’EXIST-PL

b’aLOC

s-kwarto.A3-room

‘A little boy and a dog are in his room.’ [Frog IRL.001]

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References


This is the second mention of the nominal kerem inthe same text:

(4) JaDET

yalA3-little

kerem=i’boy=DEF

wan=xaPROG=DISC

way-elsleep-VN

iand

ja’xaT.SHIFT

jaDET

tanMASC

wo’=i’frog=DEF

el-um=xago.out-AGEN=DISC

elgo.out

jaDET

b’aLOC

ak’-ub’algive-PRF.PASS

ochenter

kan=i’.stay=DEF

‘The boy is sleeping and as for the frog, it is comingout of where it was put’[Frog IRL.003]

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

The circumclitic determiner ja...=i’Several Mayan languages present a phenomenon inwhich nominal phrases are wrapped up by adeterminer at the beginning and a final enclitic.

(5) Tseltal

teDET

winik=e’man=DEF

‘the man’

(6) Tojol-ab’al

jaDET

winik=i’man=DEF

‘the man’

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

The circumclitic determiner ja...=i’Curiel 2007 considers the final enclitic to be agrammaticalized topic marker. According to him,there is a topic ex situ at the beginning of thesentence and a topic in situ at the end of thesentence. However, it is possible to have two encliticsin the same sentence.

(7) S-mil-aA3-kill-VT

[jaDET

mut]chicken

[jaDET

winik=i’].man=DEF

‘The man killed the chicken.’

(8) [JaDET

winik=i’]man=DEF

s-mil-aA3-kill-VT

[jaDET

mut=i’].chicken=DEF

‘The man killed the chicken.’

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

The circumclitic determiner ja...=i’

The enclitic =i’ attaches only to nominalconstituents.Relative clauses are within the circumcliticdeterminer.

(9) Cham-tadie-already

jaDET

winikman

[∅REL

julcome

eke’=i’]RC .yesterday=DEF

‘The man that came yesterday died already’

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

The circumclitic determiner ja...=i’

The enclitic =i’ attaches only to phonologicalphrases.There is a drop in the F0 after the enclitic.

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

The demonstrativesThere are two demonstratives in Tojol-ab’al: a distaljaw and a proximal it.They are suffixes and cannot appear alone.

(10) a. jaDET

ixukwoman

it=i’PROX=DEF

‘this woman’

b. jaDET

ixukwoman

jaw=i’DIST=DEF

‘that woman’

c. *ja ixuk it=a’‘this one’

d. ja ixuk jaw=a’‘that woman’ (situational and social deixis)

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

The demonstratives

They need the circumclitic determiner for their mostbasic reading as deitic or anaphoric devices

(11) a. jaDET

it=i’PROX=DEF

‘this one’

b. jaDET

jaw=i’DIST=DEF

‘that one’

c. *ja it=a’‘this one’

d. ja jaw=a’‘that one’

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Characteristics of the noun

A shared trait with other Mayan languages is the factthat the nouns in Tojol-ab’al are transnumeral, i.e.their default interpretation is not an individuatedentity.Schumann Galvez (1993) citing Zavala 1990 says thatthe function of classifiers in these languages is toerase the property of being non verbal predicates.It is commonly stated that Mayan languages (andother Mesoamerican languages) are weak in thedimension of number.However, number must be understood as a categoryrealized by different means (Gomez Cruz, 2017).

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Characteristics of the noun

Nouns are divided in several possession classes withrespect to alienability.Some nominal roots (inalienability reading with bodyparts, cloths and kinship terms) must occur withpossessive inflection in their most simple form.If they occur without possessor, then they have totake an -Vl affix (inalienability reading).Other nouns can occur without possessor in theirmost basic form. They can optionally take the -Vlaffix to get a particular meaning.

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Expansion of the nominal phraseGomez Cruz (2010)

Table: Projections of the nominal phrase

6.de

term

iner

sja

and

jun

5.nu

mer

alcl

assifi

ers

4.no

min

alcl

assifi

ers

tan

and

men

3.di

min

utiv

eya

l2.

Set

A1.

adje

ctiv

es

nucleus 1.th

eco

llect

ive

plur

alju

mas

a’

2.th

ede

mon

stra

tives

jaw

and

it

3.a

poss

esso

rno

min

alph

rase

4.a

rela

tive

clau

se5.

the

final

posit

ion

cliti

cs=

a’an

di’

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Corpus data

Out of a corpus of 27 599 word tokens we get:4497 nouns2885 determiners ja861 determiners jun1963 enclitics =i’147 nominal classifiers tan (3%)58 nominal classifiers men (1.3%)338 diminutives yal (7.5%)

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Corpus data

Out of 4497 nouns we get:511 phrases ja N=i’ (11%)1118 POSS-N (25%)538 ja POSS-N

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Indefinite article with possesor

The presence of the indefinite article helps toindividuate the referent of the noun. It is the firstoccurrence of the noun ts’i in this story.

(12) Ja’FOC

k-i’-ojA1-take-TR

junDET

j-ts’iA1-dog

‘I brought one of my dogs (partitive)’‘It is my dog that I brought (presentational cleft)’[Story CLC.012]

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Indefinite article with possessor

Indefinite article, diminutive and possessor on thefirst mention of the bear oso.

(13) tiEXPL

s-ta’-aA3-find-TR

junINDF

yallittle

s-’osoA3-oso

‘He found a bear’

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Definite article with possessor

Definite article with possessor with kinship term

(14) TiEXPL

y-al-aA3-say-TR

jaDET

s-tatam=i’. . .A3-husband=DEF

‘Then, her husband said. . . ’[Story CLC.002]

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Definite and indefinite article

Partitive reading. The set was previously presented.

(15) jaDET

junINDF

s-k’ab’=i’A3-arm=DEF

jaDET

s-yam-unejA3-take-PERF.TR

jaDET

s-topA3-bottom

jaDET

basobaso

‘One of his arms is grabbing the bottom of theglass.’ [NijCutBreak IRL.137]

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Definite and indefinite article

Distributive reading. The set was previouslypresented.

(16) jaDET

jun-e’INDF-CL

jaDET

winik=i’man=DEF

ayEXIST

s-pistolaA3-gun

‘Each one has a gun’[Scope OSR171]

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

Other uses of ja...=i’

The circumclitic determiner can wrap all kind ofsyntactic phrases: adverbial phrases, prepositionalphrases and can also function as complementizer

(17) jaDET

b’aLOC

ak’-ub’algive-PRF.PASS

ochenter

kan=i’.stay=DEF

‘of where it was put’[Frog IRL.003]

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

References IBrody, Jill. 1982. Discourse processes of highlighting in tojolabal maya morphosyntax.

St. Louis, MO: Washington University. (doctoral dissertation.).Campbell, Lyle, Terrence Kaufman & Thomas C. Smith Stark. 1986. Meso-american

as a linguistic area. Language 62. 530–570.Coon, Jessica, Pedro Mateo Pedro & Omer Preminger. 2014. The role of case in a-bar

extraction asymmetries: Evidence from mayan. Linguistic Variation 14(2). 179–242.Curiel Ramırez del Prado, Alejandro. 2007. Estructura de la informacion, enclıticos y

configuracion sintactica en tojolab’al. Mexico City CIESAS mathesis.Dryer, Matthew S. 2007. Language typology and syntactic description, vol. I: Clause

Structure chap. 2 Word Order, 61–131. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Furbee-Lose, Louanna. 1976. The correct language, tojolabal: A grammar with

ethnographic notes. New York: Garland Pub.Gomez Cruz, Jose. 2010. Adjetivos en tojolab’al. Mexico City CIESAS mathesis.Gomez Cruz, Jose. 2017. Estructuras morfosintacticas del tojol-ab’al en perspectiva

comparativa. el caso de una lengua maya mixta. Mexico City: CIESAS (doctoraldissertation.).

Kaufman, Terrence. 1969. Some recent hypothesis on mayan diversification. WorkingPaper, 26. Berkeley: Language Behavior Research Laboratory, University ofCalifornia.

Law, Danny. 2011. Linguistic inheritance, social difference, and the last two thousandyears of contact among lowland mayan languages. Austin, TX: University of Texasat Austin dissertation.

Law, Danny. 2013. Mayan historical linguistics in a new age. Language and LinguisticsCompass 7(3). 141–156.

Robertson, John S. 1977. A proposed revision in mayan subgrouping. InternationalJournal of American Linguistics 43. 105–120.

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Magana Macıas

Introduction

The language

Formalinventory

Nominaldomain

Corpus data

References

References II

Schumann Galvez, Otto. 1981. La relacion linguıstica chuj-tojolabal. InMario Humberto Ruiz (ed.), Los legıtimos hombres: Aproximacion antropologica algrupo tojolabal, 129–169. Mexico, D.F.: UNAM.

Schumann Galvez, Otto. 1993. Los clasificadores nominales en ch’ol. In Anuario 1993del centro de estudios indıgenas., 285–303. San Cristobal de Las Casas: UniversidadAutonoma de Chiapas.

Stiebels, Barbara. 2006. Agent focus in mayan languages. Natural Language &Linguistic Theory 24(2). 501–570.

Zavala Maldonado, Roberto. 1990. Los sistemas clasificatorios en el kanjobal de sanmiguel acatan (acateco). Funcion V(9-10).

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determiners in tojol-ab'al [toj] mayan...determiners in tojol-ab’al [toj] mayan antonio...

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