Qʼanjobʼal language

Qʼanjobʼal
Qʼanjobʼal
Kanjobal
Native to	Mexico, Guatemala
Region	Chiapas, Huehuetenango
Ethnicity	208,000 Qʼanjobʼal in Guatemala (2019 census)
Native speakers	180,000: 170,000 in Guatemala (2015 – 2019 census); 10,000 in Mexico (2020 census)
Language family	Mayan Western Mayan Qʼanjobalan Qʼanjobalan Kanjobal–Jacaltec Qʼanjobʼal; ; ; ; ;
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	Mexico
Regulated by	Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kjb
Glottolog	qanj1241
ELP	Q'anjob'al

Qʼanjobʼal (IPA: [qʼanxoɓal]) (also Kanjobal)^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] In Huehuetenango, the municipalities where the language is spoken are San Juan Ixcoy (Yich Kʼox), San Pedro Soloma (Tzʼulumaʼ ), Santa Eulalia (Jolom Konobʼ ), Santa Cruz Barillas (Yalmotx), San Rafael La Independencia, and San Miguel Acatán (Pedro Mateo Pedro 2010). 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.^[6]

Phonology

Qʼanjobʼal consists of 26 consonant sounds and 5 vowel sounds. The letters of the alphabet are as follows:

a, bʼ, ch, chʼ, e, h, i, j, k, kʼ, l, m, n, o, p, q, qʼ, r, s, t, tʼ, tx, txʼ, tz, tzʼ, u, w, x, xh, y, and ʼ (glottal stop).

The ʼ in chʼ, kʼ, qʼ, tʼ, txʼ, and tzʼ represents an ejective or glottalic egressive, i.e., the consonant is accompanied by a puff of air from the glottis. The letter r 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'. The letters tx and x represent retroflex consonants, pronounced with the tongue curled backward in the mouth. It is believed such retroflection in Qʼanjobʼal is an influence from the Mamean Mayan languages.^[7]^{[failed verification]}

Vowels
	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Mid	e	o
Open	a

Consonants^[8]
		Bilabial	Alveolar		Post- alveolar	Retroflex	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		⟨m⟩ m	⟨n⟩ n
Plosive/ Affricate	plain	⟨p⟩ p	⟨t⟩ t	⟨tz⟩ ts	⟨ch⟩ tʃ	⟨tx⟩ ʈʂ	⟨k⟩ k	⟨q⟩ q	⟨ʼ⟩ ʔ
	ejective		⟨tʼ⟩ tʼ	⟨tzʼ⟩ tsʼ	⟨chʼ⟩ tʃʼ	⟨txʼ⟩ ʈʂʼ	⟨kʼ⟩ kʼ	⟨qʼ⟩ qʼ
	implosive	⟨bʼ⟩ ɓ
Fricative			⟨s⟩ s		⟨xh⟩ ʃ	⟨x⟩ ʂ	⟨j⟩ x
Approximant		(⟨w⟩ v)	⟨l⟩ l		⟨y⟩ j		⟨w⟩ w
Flap			⟨r⟩ ɾ

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 (not in final phrase boundary) bear stress on their first syllable.

Morphology and syntax

Verbs

As in all Mayan languages, Qʼanjobʼal classifies all verbs as either inherently intransitive (calling up only one argument) or as inherently transitive (calling up two arguments).^[9] 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 prefixes
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
	verbal roots beginning with a consonant		verbal roots beginning with a vowel
1st person	hin-	ko-	w-	j-
2nd person	ha-	he-	h-	hey-
3rd person	s-/Ø-	s-/Ø-	y-	y-

ex:

X-Ø-inmaqʼ

COMP-A3S-E1S-hit

naq

CL:masc

winaq.

man

'I hit the man.' (Mateo 2008: p.c.)

Ergative affixes are also used for possession.

ex:

w-aqan

E1S-foot

'my foot'

ex:

s-qʼab

E3S-hand

'his/her hand'

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.

Absolutive affixes
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
	when attached to preceding sounds		not attached to a preceding sound
1st person	-in	-on	hin	hon
2nd person	-ach	-ex	hach	hex
3rd person	-Ø	-Ø...(hebʼ)	Ø	Ø...(hebʼ)

ex:

X-in

COMP-A1S

way-i.

sleep-STAT

'I slept.' (Mateo 2008: p.c.)

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:

ex:

Ch-in

INC-A1S

kuy-w-i.

study-SFX-STAT

'I study'.^[10]

but,

ex:

Ipan

PROG

hin-kuy-w-i.

E1S-study-SFX-STAT

'I am studying'.^[11]

Aspect

In Qʼanjobʼal, aspect (whether an action has been completed or not) 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(i) is used to indicate that an event is incomplete or ongoing at some time:

ex:

Chi-Ø

INC-A3S

toj

go

naq

CL:masc

unin

child

bʼay

to

y-atut-al

E3S-house-ABS

kuy-oj.

study-NZR

'The boy goes to school'.^[12]

Completive

Max or x- (both forms are used in free variation) are used to indicate that an event is complete:

ex:

Max-ex

COM-A2P

mulnaj-i.

work-STAT

'You (pl.) worked.'^[13]

ex:

X-Ø

COM-A3S

way-i.

sleep-STAT

'He/she slept.'^[14]

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:

ex:

Hoq-Ø

IRR-A3

saqch-oq

play-IRR

heb'.

A3P

'They will play.'^[15]

Negative

Negative particles include kʼam and manaq:

ex:

Kʼam

NEG

chi-Ø

INC-A3S

y-oche-j.

E3S-want-SFX

'He/she doesn't want it.'^[16]

ex:

Manaq

NEG

ix

she

chi-Ø

INC-A3S

toj

go

kuy-oj.

study-NOM

'It is not she who goes to study.'^[17]

Interrogative

Questions can be formed simply by using rising intonation with declarative syntax:

ex:

Ch-Ø-oche-j

INC-A3S-E2S-SFX

cha-ch

INC-A2S

kanal-w-i

dance-SFX-STAT

w-etoq?

E1S-with

'Do you want to dance with me?'^[18]

There is also a question particle, mi:

ex:

Watxʼ

good

mi

INTER

ha-kul?

E2S-stomach

'Is your stomach good?'

(Used as common form of greeting, like English 'How are you?')

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 (< tzʼibʼ 'write'), ajbʼe, 'spiritual guide' (< bʼe 'road'); -bʼal, used to indicate the location where something happens: tzombʼal 'market' (< tzon 'buy'); -al, -alil, -il, used to derive abstract nouns from adjectives, adverbs, numerals, transitive verb roots, and nouns: syalixhal 'his/her smallness' (< yalixh 'small'); swinaqil 'husband' (< winaq 'man'); -kʼulal, to derive nouns from intransitive verbs, adjectives, other nouns, etc.: watxkʼulal 'friendliness'; -oj, nominalizer, turning verbs into nouns: kuyoj 'studying' (< kuy 'study').

Word order

Qʼanjobʼal has a fixed word order. It follows a verb–subject–object (VSO) 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 (focus, negation, etc.). This results in some possible subject–verb (SV), object–verb–subject (OVS) orders. However SVO, SOV and OSV are not possible (or, at least, not attested in any known corpus). The apparent exception is in reflexives and reflexive possessives, where the reflexive phrase ERG-bʼa (noun) or reflexive possessive ERG-noun appears directly following the verb.^[19]

Classifiers

Some Qʼanjobʼal nouns require that certain classifiers be used with them. Among these are no' (animals), te (trees/wood), ix (female), naq (male), chʼen (stone/metal), xim (corn), and an (plants).

noʼ

CL:animal

jun

one

chej

horse

'the horse'

teʼ

CL:wood

na

house

'the house'

ix

CL:fem

unin

child

'the girl'

naq

CL:masc

unin

child

'the boy'

chʼen

CL:metal

tumin

money

'the money'

an

CL:plant

kaq

flower

'the flower'

Reduplication

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

pux-pux

'belly of animal'

txʼa-txʼa

'chewing gum'

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

Common words

anima	person
chʼenej	rock/stone
aʼ ej	water/river
ix	woman
chikay	grandmother
mamin	grandfather
ixim	corn
kaq	red/hot
kʼu	sun/day
mam	father
mis	cat
na	house (also atut)
patej	tortilla
sat kan	sky (lit. snake's eye)
son	marimba
te'	tree
txʼi'	dog
txʼotxʼej	land
txutx	mother
unin	child
waykan	star
winaq	man
witz	mountain
xajaw	moon/month
yibʼan qʼinal	Earth/world
xumak	flower

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

Notes

^ Qʼanjobʼal at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021)
^ Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.
^ Other variant names include Santa Eulalia Kanjobal, Kanhobal, Qanjobal, Conob, and Eastern Kanjobal.
^ Centered around the municipio of Santa Eulalia; owing to recent emigrations there are communities of Qʼanjobʼal speakers in the United States (see Gordon (2005).
^ "Catálogo de las lenguas indígenas nacionales: Variantes lingüísticas de México con sus autodenominaciones y referencias geoestadísticas. Q'anjob'al".
^ Robertson (1992), p.154.
^ Robertson (1992), p.58.
^ Acker 2016, p. 12.
^ Robertson (1992), p.50.
^ Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.76.
^ Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.76.
^ Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.154.
^ Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.78.
^ OKMA (2000), p.77.
^ Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.76.
^ Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.205.
^ Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.203.
^ Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.202.
^ Mateo Toledo, Eladio (2008). The Family of Complex Predicates in Qʼanjobʼal (Maya); Their Syntax and Meaning.

References

Acker, An Michelle (2016). Voice and Valence in Qʼanjobʼal (PhD dissertation). Los Angeles: University of California. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005). Gramática descriptiva qʼanjobʼal = Yaqʼbʼanil stxolilal tiʼ qʼanjobʼal (in Spanish). Guatemala City: Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (ALMG), Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal. OCLC 70631325.
Oxlajuuj Keej Mayaʼ Ajtzʼiibʼ [OKMA] (2000). Variación dialectal en qʼanjobʼal = Skʼexkixhtaqil yallay koqʼanej. Informes de variación dialectal series (in Spanish). Saaqjumay [Sonia Raymundo González], Adán Francisco Pascual, Pedro Mateo Pedro, and Bʼalam Qʼuqʼ [Eladio Mateo Toledo] (authors/contribs.), Nora C. England (advisor), Guisela Ascensio Lueg (Spanish revision). Guatemala City: Cholsamaj. ISBN 99922-53-08-8. OCLC 49332799.
Lichtman, Karen (2010). IPA illustration of Q’anjob’al. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Mateo Pedro, Pedro (2010). The acquisition of verb inflection in Qʼanjobʼal Maya: a longitudinal study. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Kansas.
Robertson, John S. (1992). The History of Tense/Aspect/Mood/Voice in the Mayan Verbal Complex. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-72075-0. OCLC 26160695.

External links

Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal, community/sub-committee for Qʼanjobʼal at Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala [ALMG]
ELAR archive of Qʼanjobʼal (Maya)

[e24-1] Qʼanjobʼal at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021)

[inegi2020-2] Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.

[3] Other variant names include Santa Eulalia Kanjobal, Kanhobal, Qanjobal, Conob, and Eastern Kanjobal.

[4] Centered around the municipio of Santa Eulalia; owing to recent emigrations there are communities of Qʼanjobʼal speakers in the United States (see Gordon (2005).

[5] "Catálogo de las lenguas indígenas nacionales: Variantes lingüísticas de México con sus autodenominaciones y referencias geoestadísticas. Q'anjob'al".

[6] Robertson (1992), p.154.

[7] Robertson (1992), p.58.

[FOOTNOTEAcker201612-8] Acker 2016, p. 12.

[9] Robertson (1992), p.50.

[10] Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.76.

[11] Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.76.

[12] Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.154.

[13] Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.78.

[14] OKMA (2000), p.77.

[15] Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.76.

[16] Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.205.

[17] Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.203.

[18] Comunidad Lingüística Qʼanjobʼal (2005), p.202.

[19] Mateo Toledo, Eladio (2008). The Family of Complex Predicates in Qʼanjobʼal (Maya); Their Syntax and Meaning.

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