A Historical Grammar of the Maya Language of Yucatan (1557-2000)

by Victoria R. Bricker

  ‘John is becoming stooped (with age)’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 345v)

  They can be compared with the CVC-Vc-nac adjectival affects that are contextualized in (14a–g) below:

  (14a) buyucnac v boc

  ‘it is very smelly’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 57r)

  (14b) calacnac in cucutil t u men vijh

  ‘my stomach is aching from hunger’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 63v)

  AFFECTS 313

  (14c) culucnac v pec caan

  ‘the sound of the sky is very loud (thunder)’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 89r)

  (14d) çamacnac v boc

  ‘it smells very sweet’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 97v)

  (14e) hulucnac v benel ahau can

  ‘the rattlesnake goes swiftly’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 195r)

  (14f) lemecnac v nak caan

  ‘the sky is fair’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 205v)

  (14g) necħecnac in benel in xoy teex

  ‘I go along slowly to see you-all’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 325v)

  2.2. ADJECTIVAL AFFECTS IN MODERN YUCATEC. Only one of the three basic adjectival affect stems in Co-

  lonial Yucatec, the one ending in -ci, survived into Modern Yucatec. The ones ending in -nac are no longer

  present in Modern Yucatec. However, they are still evident today in Itsaj and Mopan, as is -ci, although in

  the latter language, the CV-CVC-nac form is now rare, and the CVC-Vc-nac stem has become CVC-V-nac

  (Hofling 2000:152–153, 172; 2011:22–23).

  In the course of the transition from Colonial to Modern Yucatec, -ci became -cil (phonetic [-kil]), a

  change that did not take place in Itsaj or Mopan (Hofling 2000:152–153; 2011:22). A complete list of the -kil

  affects elicited for the Hocaba dialect of Modern Yucatec can be found in the third and fourth columns of

  Table 12-3.

  Apart from the shift from -ci_ (phonetic [-kih]) to -cil (phonetic [-kil]), the principal difference between

  such affects in Colonial and Modern Yucatec involves the reduction in the number and kind of CVC-CVC

  stems. Only nasal-final and glottal-stop-final roots appear in CVC-CVC-kil stems in Modern Yucatec (see [15]

  and [16] below), whereas the CVC-CVC-ci stems were not limited to those roots in Colonial Yucatec (see [9]

  above).

  (15)

  CVN-CVN-kil

  Gloss

  b’anb’ankil

  fat, heavy

  ȼanȼankil

  hardened, tempered

  ȼ’anȼ’ankil

  dense (leaves), crammed (meat in stew)

  činčinkil

  bowed [from weight of fruit]

  č’enč’enkil heavy

  kankankil

  stiff (neck, back)

  sonsonkil

  thick, covered [with weeds or vines]

  tintinkil

  taut, tight

  t’int’inkil

  very tight (guitar strings)

  (16)

  CVʔ(V)-CVʔ(V)-kil

  Gloss

  b’íʔib’iʔkil

  soft, smooth

  ȼ’iʔȼ’iʔkil

  sparkling clean

  ȼ’úʔuȼ’uʔkil

  soft, mushy

  čáʔačáʔakil loose

  314 AFFECTS

  háʔahaʔkil juicy

  síʔisíʔikil

  dry [in sun or near fire]

  t’iʔt’iʔkil distended

  yuʔyuʔkil soft

  The use of -kil affects in context is illustrated in (17a–f) below:

  (17a) t in hàantah hum p’éel š b’úʔuli k’éek’en b’ehláʔeʔ

  ‘I ate a serving of pork and beans today

  ȼ’anȼ’ankil y éetel u kíʔil

  that was crammed with meat’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:48)

  (17b) le h kàaš t a píiʔtah b’ehláaʔ č’enč’enkil

  ‘that rooster you baked today is heavy’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:82)

  (17c) hihič’kil inw ič

  ‘my eyes are gritty’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:105)

  (17d) t inw ilah h pèedro hohoč’kil kaláʔanil

  ‘I saw Peter limp from drinking’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:108)

  (17e) nonohkileč b’eyeč pèek’eʔ

  ‘you are hanging around like a dog’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:199)

  (17f) pipiʔkil in koh

  ‘my tooth is loose’ (V. Bricker et al. 1998:216)

  3. ADJECTIVAL COMPOUNDS DERIVED FROM BASIC COLOR TERMS

  The suffix -en in Colonial Yucatec (-éʔen in Modern Yucatec) derives adjectives from a variety of roots and

  compound expressions, and it sometimes serves as a variant of the participial suffix, -an (phonetic [-áʔan]).

  When combined with each of the five basic color terms and a limited number of roots from a variety of

  form classes, it produces evocative expressions very much like the adjectival affects described in 2.1.-2.2.

  above (see V. Bricker [1999] for a comprehensive treatment of such compounds and their relationship to

  affects in Modern Yucatec and Tzotzil).

  3.1. COLOR COMPOUNDS IN COLONIAL YUCATEC. Colonial Yucatec had only five basic color terms: chac

  ‘red,’ ek ‘black,’ kan ‘yellow,’ çac or zac ‘white,’ and yax ‘green.’ Each of them could refer to a range of hues. Thus, although the primary meaning of chac is ‘red,’ the term can also be used in describing objects

  that are pink, purple, orange, and rust colored. Similarly, although kan is usually translated as ‘yellow,’ its

  semantic range extends to orange, brown, and even the shade of red that characterizes the richest soil for

  agriculture (kan cab). And, although yax was glossed as ‘green’ in the Calepino de Motul, it also referred

  to blue in some compounds in other early Colonial dictionaries (see Table 12-5), as it does in other Mayan

  languages.

  AFFECTS 315

  Table 12-5. Compound stems based on the basic color terms in Early Colonial dictionaries.

  ek

  chac

  kan

  çac

  yax

  Root

  ‘black’

  ‘red’

  ‘yellow’ ‘white’ ‘green’ Gloss

  ba ‘?’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  covered with black buboes

  bac ‘bone’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  convalescent

  ban ‘very, much’

  —

  +

  —

  +

  —

  intense

  bay ‘?’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  convalescent

  biç ‘?’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  dark, murky, gloomy

  bitħ ‘?’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  black, dirty, soiled

  box ‘dark’

  —

  +

  —

  —

  —

  dark red

  buɔ ‘smoke’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  smoky black

  buy ‘vapor’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  cloudy, light blue (eyes)

  cab ‘?’

  —

  —

  —

  —

  +

  blue, turquoise (sea, sky)

  cim ‘di
e’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  faint, pallid

  cob ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  whitish yellow

  coh ‘lion [sic], puma’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  tawny

  cul ‘sit down, reside’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  distant, dim

  culul ‘complete’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  very dark

  cum ‘swell’

  —

  —

  —

  —

  +

  bruised

  cun ‘?’

  —

  —

  —

  —

  +

  bruised

  çam ‘rather, slightly’

  +

  —

  +

  —

  —

  dusky, at twilight

  tzah ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  jaundiced

  tzay ‘fry’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  jet black, matted black

  tzoh ‘?’

  —

  +

  +

  —

  —

  blond, smoky

  ɔil ‘peel, skin, husk’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  ripe

  ɔuy ‘tough’?

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  jet black

  cha ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  blond

  chab ‘dandruff, scurf’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  yellowish

  chal ‘clear’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  very white, transparent

  cheb ‘pen point, chisel’

  —

  +

  —

  —

  —

  bloody (eyes)

  chic ‘light’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  white (hair)

  haa ‘water’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  pale, colorless, faded

  haab ‘year; age; period of years’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  golden

  haɔ ‘whip, discipline’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  gleaming, brilliant

  hol ‘excess, leftover’

  +

  +

  —

  —

  —

  very black, red-hot

  hom ‘clear level’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  clean, swept, clear

  hop ‘light fire’

  —

  +

  —

  +

  —

  lustrous white, red

  hul ‘?’

  —

  —

  —

  —

  +

  sky blue

  huy ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  blond

  iɔ ‘?’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  purple

  kal ‘transparent’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  clear, transparent, luminous

  kol ‘transparent, clear’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  +

  clear, cloudless

  lem ‘flash, sparkle, gleam’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  lustrous white

  316 AFFECTS

  Table 12-5. (cont’d) Compound stems based on the basic color terms in Early Colonial dictionaries.

  ek

  chac

  kan

  çac

  yax

  Root

  ‘black’

  ‘red’

  ‘yellow’ ‘white’ ‘green’ Gloss

  loh ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  smoky

  mal ‘?’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  colorless, bloodless (face)

  mecħ ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  colorless

  na ‘?’

  +

  —

  —

  +

  —

  at dusk, twilight; white

  nic ‘flower, rose’

  —

  +

  —

  —

  —

  pink, rose-colored

  och ‘?’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  dark

  ol ‘?’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  very black

  opp ‘brittle’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  brittle white

  paç ‘?’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  at sunset

  pach ‘color’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  pale (from fear or illness)

  pah ‘stale’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  whitish

  pay ‘part, piece’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  speckled with white

  pak ‘wall’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  white (expanse, wall)

  (ah) pich ‘Negro’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  black (ink)

  pik ‘clear, lighten, brighten’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  white, whitish

  pil ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  jaundiced

  poc ‘wash’

  —

  —

  —

  +

 
; —

  whitish

  poç ‘pale, colorless’

  +

  —

  +

  +

  —

  ash-colored, pale

  puk ‘dilute, dissolve, mix’

  —

  —

  —

  —

  +

  bruised

  ppoch ‘overloaded’

  —

  +

  —

  —

  —

  very red

  ppox ‘rash’

  —

  +

  —

  —

  —

  red, flushed

  ppul ‘swollen’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  very black

  ppum ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  smoky

  topp ‘expanse’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  +

  yellow area; blue, turquoise

  tħoh ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  blond

  uol ‘all’

  —

  —

  —

  +

  —

  light blue (eyes)

  xic ‘calk’

  —

  +

  —

  —

  —

  blushing red

  yoc ‘?’

  —

  —

  +

  —

  —

  ripe

  yub ‘cloth’

  +

  —

  —

  —

  —

  between white and red

  NOTE: A plus sign (+) indicates that the compound is attested, whereas a minus sign (—) means that it is unattested.

  For expressing the other common dimensions of contrast —  brightness and saturation —  Colonial

  Yucatec relied on the formation of compounds composed of the color term and lexemes recruited from

  other form classes: nouns, transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, particles, and other adjectives. For example,

  the particle root çam ‘rather, slightly’ was combined with ek ‘black’ to produce the compound expression,

  ek=çamen ‘dusky,’ as in the following sentences in the Calepino de Motul:

  (18a) ek=çamen y ocol kin ca luken cumkal

  ‘it was dusky at sunset when I left Conkal’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 163r)

  AFFECTS 317

  (18b) ek=çamen u tal y ahal=cab ca luken

  ‘it was dusky as dawn was coming when I left’ (Ciudad Real 1600?: fol. 163r)

  In both examples, ek=çamen is referring to twilight, when the sky is only slightly black. At the opposite end

  of the saturation continuum are compounds that refer to dark colors, for example, ek=ppulen ‘very black’

  (< ppul ‘swollen’) and chac=boxen ‘dark red’ (< box ‘dark’). And the dull end of the brightness continuum is

  represented by ek=buɔen ‘smoky black’ (< buɔ ‘smoke’) and the bright end by çac=haɔen ‘gleaming, brilliant

  white’ (< haɔ to whip, discipline; clear bush’) in the Calepino de Motul (Table 12-5).

  However, other such compounds refer to characteristics of colors that have nothing to do with relative

  saturation or brightness, and it is in those semantic domains that they resemble most closely the adjecti-

  val affects described in 2.1.-2.2. above (see Table 12-5). Compounds like çac=pacen ‘white (expanse, wall)’

  (< pak ‘wall’?) and çac=payen ‘speckled with white’ (< pay ‘part, piece’) contrast a white that is evenly spread