Stress

Mam has weight sensitive stress assignment.^[13] Primary stress falls on the long vowel in a word if there is one, e.g. aq'ú:ntl 'work'. Words without a long vowel assign primary stress to the vowel preceding the last glottal stop, e.g. puʔláʔ 'dipper'. Words without a long vowel or a glottal stop assign stress to the vowel preceding the last consonant in the root, e.g. xpicháqʼ 'raccoon'. Stress is not assigned to suffixes or enclitics that do not have long vowels or a glottal stop.

Vowels

Mam has 10 vowels, 5 short and 5 long:^[14]

• The Mid-central vowel is an allophone of short a, e and u that can occur in the syllable following a stressed long vowel.

Like in many other Mayan languages, vowel length is contrastive, and short and long vowels have different phonemic values and are treated as separate vowels. The long versions of the non-front vowels, transcribed ⟨oo⟩, ⟨uu⟩ and ⟨aa⟩, are slightly compressed and pronounced [o͍ː], [u͍ː] and [ɒ͍ː].

In the Todos Santos dialect the vowel structure is somewhat different. While /o/, /a/, and /u/ remain the same as in other varieties, short /e/ has become the diphthong /ɛi/, an audio example of this can be heard here:^[15]

In the Todos Santos dialect, the long vowels (distinguished by the doubling of the letter) have evolved into separate sounds altogether. Long /aː/ has become /ɒ/, long /oː/ has become /øː/ and long /uː/ has become /yː/.

In some dialects vowels interrupted by a stop have evolved into individual phonemes themselves, for example in Todos Santos dialect /oʔ/ (spelled oʼ) has evolved into /ɵʏˀ/ and /oʔo/ (spelled oʼo) has evolved into /ɵʼʉ/.

Consonants

Mam has 27 consonants, including the glottal stop:^[5]

• Todos Santos Mam has an extended amount of affricate consonants being apical palato-alveolar /t̺͡ʃ̺ʰ, t̺͡ʃ̺ʼ, ʃ̺/.^[16]

/ɓ/ is realized as [βʼ] word-finally and when part of a consonant cluster in many dialects. In the Todos Santos dialect it is pronounced as [v] as part of a consonant cluster and as [βv̻] word finally.

Examples: tzeb [tsɛβʼ] goat, kbon [kβʼɤŋ] small table. In the Todos Santos dialect, tzeb is [tsɛiβv̻] and kbon is [kvoŋ] small table.

/p/ is realized as [pʰ] word-finally and word initially, [p] elsewhere, [ɸ] in a consonant cluster and before short i, o, and u. It is pronounced as [ɸʰ] word finally in certain dialects. [f] is an interchangeable pronunciation of [ɸ].

Examples: piich [pʰiːt͡ʃ] bird, txkup [ʈ͡ʂkʰɯpʰ] or [ʈ͡ʂkʰɯɸʰ] animal, ptzʼan [pʰt͡sʼaŋ] or [ɸʰt͡sʼaŋ] sugarcane.

/ch/ has evolved from /tʃ/ to /sʃ/ in most Mexican dialects and some northern Guatemalan dialects. Sometimes the /t/ sound is still lightly pronounced before the stressed /sʃ/ sound.

Example: choot [tʃʰoːtʰ] weeds has evolved into [sʃøːtʰ] or [^tsʃoːtʰ]

/t/ is realized as [tʰ] word-finally and before another consonant, [t] elsewhere.

Examples: taʼl [taʔl̥] juice, soup, chʼit [t͡ʃʼɪtʰ] bird, qʼootj [ʛoːtʰχ] dough

/k/ is realized as [kʰ] word-finally and before another consonant, [k] elsewhere.

Examples: paakiʼl [pɑːkɪʔl̥] butterfly, xtook [ʂtʰoːkʰ] staff, kjoʼn [kʰχɤʔŋ] cornfield

/w/ can be pronounced [ʋ], [v], [v̥] or [β] word initially, [w], [ʍ], [ʋ] following a consonant, and [ʋ], [v], [v̻ʰ] or [fʰ] word finally. It is freely variable between [w] [v] [ʋ] [v̥] in all other positions with [ʋ] being the most common pronunciation. In the Todos Santos dialect, /w/ is realized as either [v] or [ʋ] word-initially or between vowels and before another consonant, as [ʍ] following a consonant and as [v̥] word finally.

Examples: waaj [ʋɑːχ], [vɑːχ], [v̥ɑːχ], or [βɑːχ] tortilla, twon [twɤŋ], [tʍɤŋ], [tʋɤŋ] introversion, lew [lɛʋ], [lɛv] [lɛv̥ʰ] [lɛfʰ] care.

/q/ is realized as ⟨qʰ⟩ word-finally and before another consonant, ⟨q⟩ elsewhere.

Examples: 'muuqin' [muːqɪŋ] tortilla, aaq [ɑːqʰ] honeycomb, qloolj [qʰɺoːlχ] obscurity

/tʼ/ is realized interchangeably as ⟨tʼ⟩ and ⟨ɗ⟩ word-initially and -finally, after a vowel or before ⟨l⟩.

Examples: tʼrikpuul [tʼɾɪkʰɸuːl̥] ~ [ɗɾɪkʰpuːl̥] to jump, chʼuutʼ [t͡ʃʼuːtʼ] ~ [t͡ʃʼuːɗ] something sharp-pointed

Examples: tʼutʼan [tʼɯtʼaŋ] ~ [ɗɯɗaŋ] wet, witʼli [vɪtʼli] ~ [vɪɗli] seated squatting

/n/ is realized as ⟨ŋ⟩ before velar- and uvular consonants and word-finally, as ⟨ɲ⟩ before ⟨j⟩ and as ⟨m⟩ before /ɓ/ and /p/, ⟨n⟩ elsewhere.

Examples: nim [nɪm] much, juun [χuːŋ] one, qʼankyoq [ʛaŋkʲɤqʰ] thunder

Examples: saajel [sɑːŋχel̥] sent, nyuxh [ɲɯʃ] my godfather

Examples: qanbʼax [qamɓaʂ] foot, npwaaqe [mpwɑːqɛ] my money

/l/ is realized as [l̥] word-finally, [ɺ] before short vowels and after plosives, bilabial, alveolar and retroflex consonants and [l] elsewhere.

Examples: luux [luːʂ] cricket, loʼl [ɺoʔl̥] to eat fruits, wlat [vɺatʰ] stiff.

⟨ky⟩ is realized as [kɕʲ] in front of another consonant and [kɕʰ] word finally. It is pronounced as [kʲ] in all other instances.

Examples: kyjaʼtzan [kɕʲχaʲʔtsʰaŋ], kyokleen [kʲɤkleːŋ]

/ ʼ / is realized as [ʲʔ] following /a/, /aa/, /e/, /ee/, /i/, /u/, /uu/ and /oo/. The standard pronunciation is simply [ʔ] after all vowels however in spoken speech [ʲʔ] is the common pronunciation. A similar trend can be seen in other Eastern Mayan languages. After /o/ it is pronounced as [ʉʔ] and after /ii/ it is pronounced simply as [ʔ]. Following consonants / ʼ / modifies each individual consonant differently as explained in the section above. In the Mam language every word must start with a consonant. In the current orthography initial / ʼ / is not written but if a word ever begins with a vowel, the word is treated as if it begin with a / ʼ /. The initial / ʼ / may be pronounced as either [ʔ] or [ʡ] in free variation.

Syllable structure

Most roots take the morphological shape CVC.^[17] The only possible root final consonant cluster is -nC. Syllables can have up to four consonants in a cluster in any position. Most consonant clusters are the result of vowel dropping and morpheme addition.^[18]

The Mam verb complex

Verbs in Mam can include inflection for person, aspect and mode, as well as auxiliaries in the form of directionals.^[20] The verb complex has distinct forms for transitive and intransitive verb stems depending in part on whether the complex cross-references one or two arguments. The lexical status of the verb complex is ambiguous.^[21] The inflections with vowels are phonologically independent (indicated by spaces). Transitive verb complexes with directionals have a dependent suffix. Two of England's examples of intransitive and transitive verb complexes are shown below.

Intransitive verb complex with directional (England 1983:162)

Transitive verb complex with directional (England 1983:175)

Mam extends the Set A (ergative) person markers in the context of focused adverbials and certain subordinate clauses.^[22] In these contexts, the Set A markers cross-reference the subject of intransitive verbs and both the subject and object of transitive verbs. The following examples show the extended ergative marker /t-/ in bold.

Intransitive verb complex with extended ergative marking (England 1983:259)

Transitive verb complex with extended ergative marking (England 1983:259)

Verb morphemes

Pronouns

Mam has no independent pronouns.^[24] Rather, pronouns in Mam always exist as bound morphemes.

Nouns

The Mam language displays inalienable possession. Certain Mam nouns cannot be possessed, such as kya'j 'sky' and che'w 'star'.^[25] On the other hand, some Mam nouns are always possessed, such as t-lokʼ 'its root' and t-bʼaqʼ 'its seed'.

Noun phrase structure can be summarized into the following template.^[26]

Demonstrative

Number

Measure

Plural

Possessive affixes

NOUN ROOT

Possessor

Adjective

Relative clause

The plural clitic is qa.

Numerals

San Ildefonso Ixtahuacán Mam numbers are as follows.^[27] Numbers above twenty are rarely used in Ixtahuacán and are usually only known by elderly speakers. Although the number system would have originally been vigesimal (i.e., base 20), the present-day number system of Ixtahuacán is now decimal.

1. juun
2. kabʼ
3. oox
4. kyaaj
5. jwe'
6. qaq
7. wuuq
8. wajxaq
9. bʼelaj
10. laaj
20. wiinqan
40. kya'wnaq
60. oxkʼaal
80.. junmutxʼ

Verbal predicates

Verbal predicates are either transitive or intransitive according to the number of arguments cross-referenced in the verb complex. The number of arguments cross-referenced by the verb complex is not consistent with the transitivity of the verb root or the number of participants in an event. England notes examples of transitive verb roots that only appear in their antipassive or passive forms where they only cross-reference a single participant.

• Transitive verb root with obligatory antipassive voice (England 1983:178)

• Transitive verb root with obligatory passive voice (England 1983:180)

Another possibility is the use of intransitive motion verbs to express transitive events.^[29]

• Intransitive motion verbs expressing transitive events (England 1983:181)

The basic word order in verbal sentences with two nominal arguments is VSO.^[30] Other word orders are not acceptable.

If only one argument appears in a transitive sentence and the argument is compatible with either person marker on the verb, it has a patient interpretation.^[31]

Mam speakers use a higher proportion of intransitive sentences than speakers of other Mayan languages. England and Martin (2003) found a low frequency of transitive sentences in Mam texts. Pye (2017:114–115) found a low use of overt subjects in transitive sentences in adults speaking to children. One adult produced overt subjects in 6% of transitive sentences. The same adult produced overt subjects in 41% of intransitive sentences and produced overt objects in 49% of transitive sentences.

Non-verbal predicates

Mam adds Set B person markers to nouns and adjectives to form non-verbal predicates. The following Set B person markers are used for non-verbal predicates (i.e., nouns, adjectives). Also, in statives, aa can be omitted when the rest of the stative is a non-enclitic (in other words, a separate, independent word).

Paradigmatic examples of non-verbal predicates from England (1983:76) are given below.

Notes

Bibliography

• Pérez, Eduardo & Jiménez, Odilio (1997). Ttxoolil Qyool Mam – Gramática Mam. Cholsamaj.

• England, Nora C. (1983). A grammar of Mam, a Mayan language. Austin: University of Texas Press.

• England, Nora C. and Martin, Laura. (2003). Issues in the comparative argument structure analysis in Mayan narratives. In J. W. Du Bois, L. E. Kumpf and W. J. Ashby (Eds.), Preferred Argument Structures, pp. 130–155. John Benjamins.
• Pye, Clifton (2017). The Comparative Method of Language Acquisition Research. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226481289.
• Pye, Clifton (2021). "Documenting the acquisition of indigenous languages". Journal of Child Language. 48 (3): 454–479. doi:10.1017/S0305000920000318. PMID 32500845. S2CID 219327130.
• Pye, Clifton, Pfeiler, Barbara and Mateo Pedro, Pedro. (2013). The acquisition of extended ergativity in Mam, Q’anjob’al and Yucatec. In Edith L. Bavin and Sabine Still (Eds.), The Acquisition of Ergativity, pp. 307–335. John Benjamins.
• Pye, Clifton, Mateo, Pedro, Pfeiler, Barbara and Stengel, Donald. (2017). Analysis of variation in Mayan child phonologies. Lingua 198:38–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2017.07.001
• Pye, Clifton and Pfeiler, Barbara. (2019). The acquisition of directionals in two Mayan languages. Front. Psychol. 10:2442.