Qʼanjobʼal language

Qʼanjobʼal is a Mayan language from the Q'anjobalan branch spoken primarily in Guatemala and part of Mexico. According to 1998 estimates compiled by SIL International in Ethnologue, there were approximately 77,700 native speakers, primarily in the Huehuetenango Department of Guatemala. In Chiapas, Mexico, municipalities where the Qʼanjobʼal language is spoken include Catazajá, Amatenango de la Frontera, La Trinitaria, Bella Vista, Frontera Comalapa, Las Margaritas and Maravilla Tenejapa. In Huehuetenango, the municipalities where the language is spoken are San Juan Ixcoy, San Pedro Soloma, Santa Eulalia, Santa Cruz Barillas, San Rafael La Independencia, and San Miguel Acatán. Qʼanjobʼal is taught in public schools through Guatemala's intercultural bilingual education programs.

Classification

Qʼanjobʼal is a member of the Qʼanjobʼalan branch of the Mayan language family. The Mayan language family includes 31 languages, two of which are now extinct. The Qʼanjobʼalan branch includes not only Qʼanjobʼal itself but also Chuj, Akatek, and Jakaltek, also spoken in Mexico and Guatemala. The Qʼanjobʼalan languages are noted for being among the most conservative of the Mayan language family, although they do include some interesting innovations.

Phonology

Qʼanjobʼal consists of 26 consonant sounds and 5 vowel sounds.

in Qʼanjobʼal has a limited distribution. It is used mostly in borrowings, primarily in words borrowed from Spanish, such as roxax, rose, from Spanish rosa. It is also used in affect and positional words like kʼarari 'noise of an old engine or the like', jeran 'to be in a broken position/form'.

Stress

Primary stress in Qʼanjobʼal is fairly simple. Words in isolation and in final phrase boundaries bear stress on the last syllable. However, words within a phrasal unit bear stress on their first syllable.

Morphology and syntax

Verbs

As in all Mayan languages, Qʼanjobʼal classifies all verbs as either inherently intransitive or as inherently transitive. Qʼanjobʼal is an ergative–absolutive language, in which the subject of a transitive verb takes an ergative affix, while the subject of an intransitive verb, as well as the object of a transitive verb, takes an absolutive affix.
There are two sets of affixes for ergative: the first set is used for those verbal roots beginning with a consonant, and the second set is used for those beginning with a vowel.
Ergative affixes are also used for possession.
There is only one set of absolutive affixes with two variations: pronounced like free words or attached to something else. The third person absolutive affix is Ø, i.e., unmarked or empty.
However, while verbs are classified as either ergative or absolutive and take their own respective sets of pronoun affixes, this rule is altered in certain cases, such as when a verb becomes progressive:
but,

Aspect

In Qʼanjobʼal, aspect is more important than tense. Thus, in most utterances, one will indicate whether the action is incompletive, or whether it is completed, or may happen in the future, in which case it is considered 'unreal', or of irrealis mood, the event still only in the realm of thought or imagination.

Incompletive

Ch is used to indicate that an event is incomplete or ongoing at some time:

Completive

Max or x- are used to indicate that an event is complete:

Future/Irrealis

The prefix hoq- with the suffix -oq are used to indicate that the event spoken of has not yet happened, but remains only in the realm of the 'unreal' with only the potential for occurrence in the future:

Negative

Negative particles include kʼam and manaq:

Interrogative

Questions can be formed simply by using rising intonation with declarative syntax:
There is also a question particle, mi:

Affixation

Many different affixes are used in Qʼanjobʼal, both prefixes and suffixes. Among these are aj-, used to denote the doer or leader of an action: ajtzʼibʼ, ʼwriterʼ, ajbʼe, 'spiritual guide' ; -bʼal, used to indicate the location where something happens: tzombʼal 'market' ; -al, -alil, -il, used to derive abstract nouns from adjectives, adverbs, numerals, transitive verb roots, and nouns: syalixhal 'his/her smallness' ; swinaqil 'husband' ; -kʼulal, to derive nouns from intransitive verbs, adjectives, other nouns, etc.: watxkʼulal 'friendliness'; -oj, nominalizer, turning verbs into nouns: kuyoj 'studying'.

Word order

Qʼanjobʼal has a fixed word order. It follows a verb–subject–object word order. All changes to this word order are driven by pragmatic or syntactic factors like focus, negation, interrogation, relativization, etc. These are subject to an ergative–absolutive pattern where arguments cross-referenced by ergative affixes must become absolutives prior to their fronting. This results in some possible subject–verb, object–verb–subject orders. However SVO, SOV and OSV are not possible. The apparent exception is in reflexives and reflexive possessives, where the reflexive phrase ERG-bʼa or reflexive possessive ERG-noun appears directly following the verb.

Classifiers

Some Qʼanjobʼal nouns require that certain classifiers be used with them. Among these are no', te, ix, naq, chʼen, xim, and an.

Reduplication

Reduplication, or duplication of a root word, is a minor process in the formation of Qʼanjobʼal vocabulary, as in the following:

Vocabulary

Qʼanjobʼal consists of groups of roots that can take affixes. Words are traditionally classified as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, intransitive and transitive verbs, particles, and positionals. Positionals are a group of roots which cannot function as words on their own; in combination with affixes they are used to describe relationships of position and location. Particles are words that do not take affixes; they mostly function in adverbial roles, and include such things as interrogative particles, affirmative/negative words, markers of time and location, conjunctions, prepositions and demonstratives.
Locatives are often formed by placing a noun after a possessed body-part term: s-ti bʼe, 'edge of the road' < 'its-mouth road' and s-jolom witz, 'mountaintop' or 'summit' < 'its-head mountain'. Similarly, compound nouns may be formed by placing a noun after another possessed noun: y-atutal kuyoj, 'school' < 'its-house studying'.

Numbers

1. jun
2. kabʼ
3. oxebʼ
4. kanebʼ
5. oyebʼ
6. waqebʼ
7. uqebʼ
8. waxaqebʼ
9. bʼalonebʼ
10. lajonebʼ
11. uslukʼebʼ
12. kabʼlajonebʼ
13. oxlajonebʼ
14. kanlajonebʼ
15. holajonebʼ
16. waqlajonebʼ
17. uqlajonebʼ
18. waxaqlajonebʼ
19. balonlajonebʼ
20. junkʼal
21. jun skakʼal
22. kabʼ skakʼal
23. oxebʼ skakʼal
24. kanebʼ skakʼal
25. oyeb skakʼal
26. waqebʼ skakʼal
27. uqebʼ skakʼal
28. waxaqebʼ skakʼal
29. bʼalonebʼ skakʼal
30. lajonebʼ skakʼal
31. uslukʼebʼ skakʼal
32. kabʼlajonebʼ skakʼal
33. oxlajunebʼ skakʼal
34. kanlajonebʼ skakʼal
35. holajonebʼ skakʼal
36. waqlajonebʼ skakʼal
37. uqlajonebʼ skakʼal
38. waxaqlajonebʼ skakʼal
39. balonlajunebʼ skakʼal
40. kakʼal
60. oxkʼal 3x20
80. kankʼal
100. okʼal
120. waqkʼal
140. uqkʼal
160. waxaqkʼal
180. balonlajonkʼal
200. lajunkʼal
400. junkʼalwinaq
800. kakʼalwinaq
2000. okʼalwinaq

Abbreviations used

ABS abstractivizer

CL classifier

COM complete

INC incomplete

INT interrogative

IRR irrealis

NEG negative

NZR nominalizer

PL plural

PROG progressive

SFX suffix

STAT status