Mam language

Mam
Qyol Mam
Spoken in	Guatemala Mexico
Region	Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, San Marcos Chiapas
Ethnicity	Mam
Native speakers	478,000[1]  (2002)
Language family	Mayan Quichean–Mamean Greater Mamean Mamean Mam
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mam
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Mam is a Mayan language with almost 480,000 speakers as of 2002, spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas and the Guatemalan departments of Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango and San Marcos.

Linguists distinguish between three major divisions of the language, based somewhat on the geographical area where they are spoken: Northern Mam in Huehuetenango, Southern Mam in Quetzaltenango and Central Mam in San Marcos. Because of a lack of literacy skills and interaction, spurred by the country's mountainous terrain, the language can vary widely from village to village, even though the villages may be separated by just a few miles. Nonetheless, all native speakers of the Mam language are typically able to understand one another, though perhaps with some difficulty.^{[citation needed]}

Mam is closely related to the Tektitek language, and the two languages together form the Mamean sub-branch, which together with the Ixilean languages, Awakatek and Ixil, form the Greater-Mamean sub-branch, which again, together with the Greater-Quichean languages, ten Mayan languages, including K'iche', form the branch Quichean–Mamean.

Location

Mam is spoken mostly in the municipalities of San Miguel Sigüilá, Concepción Chiquirichapa, Génova, El Palmar, San Juan Ostuncalco, Cajolá, San Martín Sacatepéquez, Colomba, Flores Costa Cuca, Huitán, Palestina de Los Altos, Cabricán, San Ildefonso, Ixtahuacán, Cuilco, Tectitán, San Pedro Necta, San Sebastián Huehuetenango, Malacatancito, Todos Santos Cuchumatán, San Rafael Petzal, Colotenango, Santa Bárbara, San Juan Atitán, Aguacatán, San Gaspar Ixchil, La Libertad, La Democracia, Huehuetenango, Chiantla, Santiago Chimaltenango, San Juan Ixcoy, San Antonio Sacatepéquez, San Lorenzo, Tejutla, San Rafael Pie de La Cuesta, San Pedro Sacatepéquez, La Reforma, El Quetzal, Sibinal, San José Ojetenam, Pajapita, San Cristobal Cucho, Nuevo Progreso, San Marcos, Concepción Tutuapa, San Pablo, Ixchiguan, San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Tacaná, Tajumulco, Catarina, Esquipulas Palo Gordo, Malacatán, Río Blanco and Comitancillo.^[2]

Phonology

Vowels

Mam has 5 vowels:

	Front	Back
	Unrounded	Rounded
Close	i	u
Close-mid	e	o
Open	a

Vowel length is distinctive, so one can say that the total number of vowels is 10. 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/ and short /i/ has become /ɪ/, an audio example of this can be heard here:^[3]

. 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 /ɑ/, long /oː/ has become /ø/ and long /uː/ has become /y/. Interestingly while short /e/ and /i/ merged into /ɛi/ and /ɪ/, long /eː/ and long /iː/ have remained the same as in the other Mam varieties.

In some dialects vowels interrupted by stop have evolved into individual phomemes themselves, for example in Todos Santos dialect /oʔ/ represented by o' has evolved into /ɵˀ/ and /oʔo/ represented by o'o has evolved into /ɵ'ʉ/. Unstressed /o/ and /u/ may be pronounced as /ɤ/ and /ɯ/ respectively; this rounding of unstressed /o/ and /u/ is a common trait found in several Mayan languages such as Tsotsil.

Consonants

Mam has 27 consonants, including the glottal stop:

			Bilabial	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar		Uvular	Glottal
								Normal	Palatalized
Plosive	Normal		p /pʰ~ɸ/	t /tʰ/				k /kʰ/	ky /kʲ/	q /qʰ/	' /ʔ/
	Ejective			t' /tʼ~ɗ/				k' /kʼ/	ky'/kʲʼ/	q' /qʼ~ɠ/
	Implosive		b' /ɓ/
Nasal			m /m/	n /n/			ny/ɲ/	n /ŋ/
Fricative			w /v/	s /s/	xh /ʃ/	x /ʂ/				j /χ/
Affricate	Normal		b /β/	tz /t͡s/	ch /t͡ʃ/	tx /ʈ͡ʂ/
	Ejective			tz' /t͡sʼ/	ch' /t͡ʃʼ/	tx' /ʈ͡ʂʼ/
Trill				r /r/
Approximant				l /l/			y /j/	w /w/

/ɓ/ is realized as [β] 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: tseb' [tseβ] goat, kbon [kβoŋ] small table. In the Todos Santos dialect, tseb' is [tsɛiβv̻] and kbon is [kvoŋ] small table.

/p/ is realized as [pʰ] word-finally and before another consonant, [p] elsewhere. In the Todos Santos dialect it is pronounced [f] before ong vowels and [ɸ] before short [i], [o], and [u]. It is always pronounced [ɸʰ] word finally and is always prnounced [f] in a consonant cluster.

Examples: piich [piːt͡ʃ] bird ([fiːt͡ʃ] in Todos Santos dialect), txkup [ʈ͡ʂkupʰ] animal ([ʈ͡ʂkuɸʰ] in Todos Santos dialect), ptz'an [pʰt͡sʼaŋ] sugarcane, ([ft͡sʼaŋ] in Todos Santos dialect)

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

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

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

Examples: ta'l [taʔl̥] juice, soup, ch'it [t͡ʃʼitʰ] bird, q'ootj [qʼoːtʰχ] dough

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

Examples: paaki'l [paːkiʔl̥] butterfly, xtook [ʂtoːk] staff, kjo'n [kʰχoʔŋ] cornfield

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

Examples: waaj [vɑχ] or [ʋaːχ] tortilla, kaytsawi [kai'tsaʋi] fidgeting, twon [twoŋ] introversion, lew [lɛiv̥] love (modern slang term)

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

Examples: muuqin' [muːqiŋ] tortilla, aaq [aːqʰ] honeycomb, qloolj [qʰloːlχ] obscurity

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

Examples: t'rikpuul [tʼrikʰpuːl̥] ~ [ɗrikʰpuːl̥] to jump, ch'uut [t͡ʃʼuːtʼ] ~ [t͡ʃʼuːɗ] something sharp-pointed

Examples: t'ut'n [tʼutʼŋ] ~ [ɗuɗŋ] to make noise, wit'li [witʼli] ~ [wiɗli] 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 [nim] much, jun [χuŋ] one, q'ankyoq [qʼaŋkʲoqʰ] thunder

Examples: saajel [saːŋχel̥] sent, nyuxh [ɲuʃ] my godfather

Examples: qamb'ax [qamɓaχ] foot, npwaaqe [mpwaːqe] my money

/l/ is realized as [l̥] word-finally, [l] elsewhere. In the Todos Santos dialect /l/ is interchangeble with /ɽ/ in all positions except before /k/, /kʼ/, /q/, or /qʼ/

Examples: luux [luːʂ] cricket, lo'l [loʔl̥] to eat fruits. In the Todos Santos dialect luux may be pronounced as [ɽyːʂ] and lo'l may be pronounced as [ɽoʔl̥], [loʔɽ] or [ɽoʔɽ].

References

Notes

1. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Guatemala
2. ^ Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (2003). Pujb'il Yol Mam: Vocabulario Mam. 
3. ^ Speaking in MAM (streaming video). Todos Santos, Guatemala: YouTube. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2WZsDB2LHM. 

Bibliography

• Pérez, Eduardo and 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. 

External links

• A simple Mam - Spanish dictionary
• Robert Sitler's Mam - English dictionary (DOC) (PDF)
• Key phrases in Mam vs Spanish