ANT 389 (Stross) Fall 1998 Offc.Hrs.
TTH 11-12
(Language, Culture and Folklore)
This course has no
prerequisites apart from graduate standing and an interest in the Mayans. It does not presuppose a linguistic
background, though an introductory linguistics course can always be helpful.
The grade in this seminar will be based on 1) A term paper and an oral
presentation near the end of the semester on a project topic to be chosen
during the first half of the semester.
A team approach can be employed for such projects. 2) class participation 3) performance on
homework assignments.
Recommended books: Gaspar Pedro González, A Mayan Life. (La Otra Cara)
Week 1 Introduction: the Mayan
language family, its subgroups and
languages,
populations and locations. (In Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize)
Terminology. Newly discovered languages. Language maintenance and revival.
Maps. Abbreviations (TZE, TZO, HUA). Outline of
features of Mayan languages.
Outline
of Linguistic Archaeology / Linguistic Prehistory / Archaeolinguistics.
Bibliography:
discussion of Mayan questions; Class
Projects and potential topics.
Homework - 1) pick a Mayan language and find something
interesting about the
way
some aspect of the language reflects something about the speakers of the
language. Be prepared to share this information with
the class.
(*you
may substitute a Mixe-Zoquean language for a Mayan one)
2)
read Gaspar Pedro González, A Mayan Life. come prepared to discuss the book.
3)
read R. Wilk, "Mayan ethnicity in Belize"; B. Tedlock, "Quiché Maya dream
interpretation.";
4)
(optional) read L. Campbell and T. Kaufman, 1985. "Mayan linguistics: where are
we now?" (Ann. Rev.
Anthropol. 14:187-98)
5) (optional)
read one of the ethnographies listed in section III of the bibliography
and come prepared to discuss the book
and the people you chose.
Make
notes on questions you might have, and jot down other pertinent thoughts
concerning your reading. (optional) read
Gary Bevington, 1995. Maya for
Travelers
and Students.
6)
(optional) Pick one book from section II in the bibliography and read it from
cover to cover))
5)
(optional) If you have no linguistics background at all, then you may find it
interesting to read an
Introductory Linguistics text.
Week 2 Ethnographic: linguistic and cultural diversification of
the Mayans.
Archaeological, linguistic, and folkloric evidence on
Mayan origins and diversification. Slides.
Lexical-Grammatical analysis by segmentation (Chontal Mayan).
Homework- 1) read some
version of the Popol Vuh (preferably the Tedlock,
or
Edmonson, or Recinos version.
2)
read: G. Gossen, "To speak with a heated heart," (Bauman and Sherzer
(eds.)
Explorations in the Ethnography of
Speaking); M. Howard, "Kekchi
religious beliefs
and
lore regarding the jungle" National
Studies 3:34-49; (optional) W. Hanks,
"Deixis
and common sense in Yucatec Maya";
W. F. Hanks, 1984 "Sanctification,
structure, and experience in a Yucatec ritual
event." (Journal of American Folklore
97(384):131-166..
3)
Then read D.
Tedlock, 1993. Breath on the Mirror: Mythic Voices &
Visions
of
the Living Maya. or pick and read one
item from section IV of the bibliography
(Folklore),
taking notes, and come to class prepared to discuss and compare it with
the Popol Vuh (you may substitute a
Mixe-Zoquean text here,
such
as the Sierra Popoluca story of Homshuk).
Week 3 Folklore I : Origins
(the world, maize, people, animals, customs),
demons and monsters, gods; Popol Vuh, Chilam Balam, Book of Chan Kin.
Homework
-
1) Look over L. Schele and M.
Miller, The Blood of Kings;
Schele
and Freidel, A Forest of Kings;
2)
(Optional) read the following: M.D. Coe, Breaking the Maya Code; D. Freidel
and
L. Schele, Maya Cosmos; B.
Stross, "The
burden of office: a reading",
MEXICON
fall 1988.
Week 4 Maya Hieroglyphs
Homework- 1) read T.
Kaufman, "Archaeological and Linguistic Correlations
in Mayaland" World Archaeology 8:lOl-l8 (913.O5, W893). Some of this
article
may appear too unfamiliar to be read carefully. At least get an idea of the subjects
treated in this article. Then outline or otherwise write down the
major ideas and most
useful facts/statements that you have gained
from the article.
2)
Huastec segmentation problem. Take the
corpus of linguistic data and segment it
as we did with Chontal.
3)
Using Sections V and or VI of the Mayan Bibliography, take any two different
Mayan languages and compare their sound unit
inventories (this can be done easily
in a few minutes). You may extend this exercise to other aspects of the sound system
if you like and have the time
Week 5 Sound Systems of Mayan Languages: sound
inventories,
sound contrasts, the phoneme, sound changes. Tzeltal /r/; Problems in phonology
(Tojolabal),
morphophonemic (Tzeltal, Tzotzil);
Tzotzil pronouns (Huisteco)
Homework- 1) Solve two
problems in phonology to be distributed in class.
2)
using word lists (e.g. M. Swadesh, "Interrelaciones de las lenguas
Mayanses."
Anales del Instituto Nacional de
Antropología e Historia, México.
13:231-267.
(qF 1219, M 6O5 Z, LAC)), classify the
meanings (e.g. hair/cabello) according
to the degree of variation that their Mayan
translations exhibit). or using the wordlist
from Languages of Guatemala (in the
packet), posit by inspection which languages
are more closely related to each other and
which are less.
Week 6 Glottochronology and Subgrouping: Classifying
the Mayan languages,
dating their separations, following their migrations.
Cholan
glottochronology problem.
Homework- 1) time-depth problem (Tzeltal-Tojolabal).
2) read P.
Thieme, "The comparative method for reconstruction in linguistics"
3)
read C.H. Brown and S. Witkowsky's "Aspects of the phonological history of
Mayan-Zoquean"
(IJAL 45:34-47 (l979)) (497.O5, IN 8, PCL); Campbell, Lyle
and Terrence Kaufman, "On Mesoamerican
linguistics." and Witkowski, Stanley and
Cecil Brown, "Mesoamerican historical
linguistics and distant genetic relationship.";
and Campbell, Lyle and Terrence Kaufman,
"Mesoamerican historical linguistics
and distant genetic relationship: getting it
straight." - then write a two or three page
statement of what you got from the exchange
and which side you would take, and why.
4) (optional)
read T. Kaufman, "Teco - a new Mayan language."; T. Kaufman,
"Materiales
linguisticos para el estudio de las relaciones internas y externas de
la
familia de idiomas mayanos.
5) (optional)
read L. Campbell, 1977 Quichean Linguistic Prehistory, Chs. I –
IV
(PM 4232, C35) and come to class prepared with notes,
to discuss it, ask questions
about it, etc.
Week 7 Comparative Reconstruction of Language
and Culture:
Proto-Mayan, linguistic and cultural content. Problems in Comparative Method.
The Tzeltal a-o problem.
Homework -
1) comparative method problem to be distributed in class.
1) read and come prepared to discuss J. Robertson's
"The origins of the Mamean
pronominals"; J.
Robertson, "A re-reconstruction of the ergative 1sg for common
Tzeltal-Tzotzil based on colonial documents.".
2) (optional) read one or more of the following: J. Du Bois, "The Discourse Basis
of Ergativity" in LANGUAGE; V.R.
Bricker, Pronominal Inflection In The Mayan Languages. (Occasional Paper
no. 1, M.A.R.I.). (PM 3963, B72, LAC); J.S. Robertson, The Structure of
Pronoun Incorporation in the Maya Verbal Complex.; Brent Berlin, 1963, "A possible
paradigmatic structure for Tzeltal pronominals," AL 5:1-5 (4O5 AN 89, PCL); E. Nida & M. Romero Castillo, l95O, "The pronominal
series in Maya (Yucatec)," IJAL
l6:l93-l97. (497.O5, IN 8, PCL).
Week 8 Pronouns: pronominal
affixation; ergativity, split ergativity.
Homework - do problem to be distributed in class.
Read,
take notes, and come prepared to discuss one of the following:
K.C. Keller, l955, "The Chontal (Mayan) numeral
system," IJAL 2l:258-275 (497.O5,
IN 8, PCL);
B.Berlin & A.K. Romney, l964, "Descriptive semantics of Tzeltal
numeral
classifiers,"
AA 66(2), part 2:79-98 (572.O5, AM 35 NS, PCL; B. Berlin,
"Categories of eating in Tzeltal and Navajo",
IJAL 33:1-6.; J.S. Robertson, 1986,
"A Reconstruction and evolutionary statement of
the Mayan numerals from twenty to
four-hundred."
IJAL 52:227-241.
Week 9 Numbers and Numeral Classifiers: numbers,
classifiers, plurals,
Highland vs. lowland systems of numeration,
borrowings. "count" glyph;
the
"counting" crocodile; Tzeltal numerals.
Homework- 1) do numeral problem to be distributed in class.
Read, take notes, and come prepared to discuss: B. Stross, l973, "Reconstructed
humor in a Tzeltal ritual formula," IJAL
39:32-4l (497.O5, IN 8, PCL);
(optional) read, take notes, and come prepared to discuss: N. A.
Hopkins, l977, "Historical and sociocultural aspects of the distribution
of linguistic variants in highland Chiapas, Mexico," In B. Blount and M. Sanches
(eds.) Sociocultural Dimensions of
Language Change. (P4O, S55, PCL)
Week 10 Internal Reconstruction of Language and
Culture:
methods and inferences; Problems in reconstruction
(Tzotzil)
Homework- 1) do internal reconstruction problem distributed in
class.
read
and come prepared to discuss: L. Campbell and T. Kaufman "A Linguistic
look
at the Olmecs" AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
41(1):8O-89 (E51, A51, PCL); and B.
Stross, "The Language of Zuyua" AMER. ETHNOL. 1O:15O-164 (GN 1, A53,
PCL); and C. Brown and S. Witkowski, "Aspects of the Phonological History
of Mayan-Zoquean" IJAL
45:34-47.
(optional) read Ch. V of L. Campbell, l977, Quichean
Linguistic Prehistory;
B.
Stross, "Oppositional pairing in Mesoamerican divinatory day names"
AL 25:273. (4O5, AN 89, PCL); T. Kaufman, "Pre-Columbian borrowing
involving Huastec."
Week 11 Diffusion / Borrowing: a. loanwords - internal, external; body parts, fauna
b. wave phenomena,
c. areal influence. d. Olmec
paper of Campbell and Kaufman.
Homework- 1) Read De
Cormier, C. "Kekchi particle CAQ:
relations in time and
space."; Freeze, R. "Possession in K'ekchi'
(Maya)."; England, N.
"Space
as a Mam Grammatical theme."
2)read
one of the following and briefly outline it so the grammatical pattern stands
out: M.M. Cowan, l969, Tzotzil Grammar.
(G 498, C838T, LAC);
V.
Warkentin & R. Scott, 198O, Gramatica Ch'ol (S.I.L);
or Take Warkentin and Whittaker's Chol Texts of the Supernatural. (PM 3649, W 5, LAC)
and
analyze the morphology. (This may be done with any other body of Mayan
or Mixe-Zoquean texts that have interlinear
or similar translations)
Week l2 Grammatical Particles and Affixes: yes-no,
wh-Q, neg; major categories
of derivation and inflection. Mam segmentation (vocab, grammar); Highland Tzeltal
(future, perfect)
Homework 1) finish Mam
problem.
2) read Penelope Brown, 1998. How and why are
women more polite:
some
evidence from a Mayan community. in J. Coates (ed.) Language and Gender
(pp. 81-100); J. DuBois, "The Discourse Basis of Ergativity" in Language
3)
work on a two page progress report on project of oral presentation.
Week l3 Syntax and Discourse
Homework
Week l4 Projects
WEB RESOURCES
http://www.ebiguatemala.org/link/category/33 downloadable Maya
dictionaries
and other useful things Educación Bilingue Guatemala
http://www.okma.org/ Oxlajuuj Keej Maya' Ajtz'iib'
http://www.langlink.com/plfm/publicaciones_es.htm Proyeco Lingüistico Francisco
Marroquin
Kinal Winik Cultural Center http://www.csuohio.edu/kinalwinik/
Yaxte Books http://www.csuohio.edu/yaxte/
Contents
of PACKET Mayan Languages 1998
SYLLABUS
LANGUAGE FAMILY, COMMUNITIES,
DIVERSIFICATION
Language Family w/
populations and min cent. of diversification
Kaufman's diversification
scheme
branching diagram (Campbell)
MAPS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WORDLIST / VOCABULARY
Guatemala SIL
*Proto-Mayan
SOUND SYSTEMS
Sample systems
Correspondence sets
Etyma with Traditional *k or
*q
GRAMMAR
Mayan Language Survey
Questionnaire
Tzeltal
Markedness
GLOTTOCHRONOLOGY
Lexicostatistic word list
Tze-Tzo Comparison
Tze-Tzo Time Depth
PRONOUNS
Yucatec
Huastec
Kekchi
Ergativity
Proto-Mayan Pronouns
NUMBERS
Tzeltal
Huastec
Quiche
Ixil
Mam
Thompson's number comparisons
Glyphic numbers
PROBLEMS
IPA symbols
Morphology Phonemicisation
Problems I
Morphology (Problems,
general)
Comparative Reconstruction I
and II (general)
Internal Reconstruction
(general)
Chontal 1 segment
Huastec 1 segment
Tzeltal 1 glide insertion
Tzeltal 2 suffix morphophonology
Tzeltal 3 highland Tzeltal
Tzotzil 1 a-o
Tzotzil 2 suffix morphophonology
Tzotzil Huistan pronouns, noun classes
Kekchi 1 phonology
Kekchi 2 pronoun allomorphy
Kekchi 3 possession
Pocomchi 1
Mam Problem
Coatlan Mixe
GLYPHS
glyph information
definitions
Landa's syllabary
Day Names
Lounsbury's dating of
calendrical developments
* = optional
BOOKS
Gaspar
Pedro González, A Mayan Life. (La Otra Cara) (Yaxte Press)
* L. Schele and M. Miller, The Blood
of Kings
* Schele and Freidel, A Forest of
Kings
* D. Tedlock, The Popol Vuh
* Bevington, Gary 1995.
Maya for Travelers and Students.
* M.D. Coe, Breaking the Maya Code
* M.M. Cowan, l969, Tzotzil Grammar.
(G 498, C838T, LAC);
* Dienhart, John M. 1989.
The Mayan Languges: a Comparative Vocabulary. (3 Volumes). Odense: Odense University Press.
* E.F. Fischer and R. McKenna Brown
(eds.) 1996. Maya Cultural Acivism in Guatemala. U.T. Press
* D.
Freidel and L. Schele, Maya Cosmos
* Susan Garzon, R. McKenna Brown, Julia
Becker Richards, and Wuqu' Ajpub' (eds.) 1998.
The Life of the Kaqchikel Lanaguage:
Maintenance, Shift and Revitalization. U.T. Press.
* Justeson, John S., Norman, William M.,
Campbell, Lyle and Terrence Kaufman. 1985. The Foreign
Impact on Lowland Mayan Language and Script. M.A.R.I. Pub. # 53,
Tulane University, New Orleans.
* Kaufman, Terrence and William M.
Norman. 1984. "An outline of
Proto-Cholan phonology, morphology, and vocabulary". in Phoneticism in
Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing, ed. by John S. Justeson and Lyle Campbell. I.M.S. Pub. # 9, S.U.N.Y. Albany.
* L. Campbell, 1977. Quichean Linguistic Prehistory, (PM 4232, C35)
* V.R. Bricker, Pronominal Inflection
In The Mayan Languages. (Occasional Paper no. 1, M.A.R.I.). (PM 3963, B72,
LAC);
* J.S. Robertson, The Structure of
Pronoun Incorporation in the Maya Verbal Complex.
* Tedlock, Dennis. 1993.
Breath on the Mirror: Mythic Voices & Visions of the Living Maya. Harper Collins Paperback, edition 1994
* V. Warkentin & R. Scott, 198O, Gramatica
Ch'ol. (S.I.L);
* A Whittaker and V. Warkentin 1965.
Chol Texts of the Supernatural. (PM 3649, W 5, LAC)
ARTICLES
B.
Berlin, "Categories of eating in Tzeltal and Navajo", IJAL
33:1-6.;
Brent
Berlin, 1963, "A possible paradigmatic structure for Tzeltal
pronominals," AL 5:1-5 (4O5 AN 89,
PCL);
B.Berlin
& A.K. Romney, l964, "Descriptive semantics of Tzeltal numeral
classifiers," AA 66(2), part 2:79-98
(572.O5, AM 35 NS, PCL;
C.H.
Brown and S. Witkowsky "Aspects of the phonological history of
Mayan-Zoquean" (IJAL 45:34-47 (l979)) (497.O5, IN 8, PCL)
Brown,
Penelope. 1998. How and why are women
more polite: some evidence from a Mayan community. in J. Coates (ed.)
Language and Gender (pp. 81-100)
L.
Campbell and T. Kaufman, l976, "A linguistic look at the
Olmecs." American Antiquity. 4l(l):8O-89. E 51, A 51 PCL
L.
Campbell and T. Kaufman, 1985.
"Mayan linguistics: where are we now?"
L.
Campbell and T. Kaufman, "On Mesoamerican linguistics." and
Witkowski, Stanley and Cecil Brown, "Mesoamerican historical linguistics
and distant genetic relationship."; and
Campbell, Lyle and Terrence Kaufman, "Mesoamerican historical
linguistics and distant genetic relationship: getting it straight."
C.
de Cormier, "Kekchi particle CAQ:
relations in time and space.";
J.
DuBois, "The Discourse Basis of Ergativity" in Language;
Earle, Duncan M.
1986. The metaphor of the day in
Quiché: notes on the nature of everyday
life. in G.H. Gossen (ed.) Symbol
and Meaning Beyond the Closed Community.
N.
England, "Space as a Mam grammatical theme."
R.
Freeze, "Possession in K'ekchi'(Maya)."
R.
Freeze, "Whence the future in K'ekchi'(Maya)"
G.
Gossen, "Temporal and spatial equivalents in Chamula ritual
symbolism."
(G.
Gossen, "To speak with a heated heart.")
* N.A. Hopkins, l977, "Historical
and sociocultural aspects of the distribution of linguistic variants in
highland Chiapas, Mexico," In
B. Blount and M. Sanches (eds.) Sociocultural
Dimensions of Language Change. (P4O, S55, PCL)
(M.
Howard, "Kekchi religious beliefs and lore regarding the jungle.")
(W.
Hanks, "Deixis and common sense.")
* W. F. Hanks, 1984 "Sanctification,
structure, and experience in a Yucatec ritual event." (Journal of American
Folklore 97(384):131-166.
* T. Kaufman, 1964. "Materiales linguisticos para el
estudio de las relaciones internas y externas de la familia de idiomas
mayanos."
* T. Kaufman, 1968. "Teco-a new Mayan language."
T.
Kaufman, l976, "Archaeological and
linguistic correlations in Mayaland and associated areas of
Mesoamerica." World
Archaeology. 8(l):lOl-ll. (PCL)
913.O5, W 893. wk 3
T.
Kaufman, "Pre-Columbian borrowing involving Huastec."
K.C.
Keller, l955, "The Chontal (Mayan) numeral system," IJAL 2l:258-275 (497.O5, IN 8, PCL);
E.
Nida & M. Romero Castillo, l95O, "The pronominal series in Maya
(Yucatec)," IJAL l6:l93-l97.
(497.O5, IN 8, PCL).
J.
Robertson, "The origins of the Mamean pronominals: a Mayan / Indo-European
typological comparison."
J.S.
Robertson, "A re-reconstruction of the ergative 1sg for common
Tzeltal-Tzotzil based on colonial documents"
J.S.
Robertson, 1986, "A Reconstruction and evolutionary statement of the Mayan
numerals from twenty to four-hundred."
IJAL 52:227-241.
B.
Stross, l973, "Reconstructed humor in a Tzeltal ritual formula," IJAL
39:32-4l (497.O5, IN 8, PCL);
B.
Stross, "The Language of Zuyua" Amer. Ethnol. 1O:15O-164 (GN
1, A53, PCL);
B.
Stross, "Oppositional pairing in Mesoamerican divinatory day names" Anthropological
Linguistics 25:273 (4O5, AN 89, PCL);
* M. Swadesh, "Interrelaciones de
las lenguas Mayanses." Anales
del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México. 13:231-267. (qF 1219, M 6O5 Z, LAC))
B.
Tedlock, "Quiché Maya dream interpretation."
P.
Thieme, "The comparative method for reconstruction in
linguistics"
R.
Wilk, "Mayan ethnicity in Belize."
comments: mailto:bstross@mail.utexas.eduail
01/29/2000
