CHOLTI PROJECT 1
This project is one of putting Spanish glosses online from Moran's Cholti [Manche Chol] dictionary and providing them with transcriptions and interpretations of the Cholti that accompanied them, along with information that may be pertinent to the transliteration or other aspects of the entry in Moran's Cholti dictionary. I'll be putting one or a few words on line each day or so, and hoping that I can get feedback from interested parties so that ultimately there will be a well done Cholti dictionary that can be used by all, online. Thanks are due Randa Marhenke for excellent editorial feedback. My source was a photocopy of 68 pages taken from William Gates' 1935 facsimile edition of what appears to be someone's handwritten copy of Francisco Moran's handwritten material on the language currently known as Cholti, but also referred to in the literature as Manche Chol.
It has been suggested in John Dienhart's annotation to Gates' work, that the letter l. found in the facsimile refers to forms in Lacandón added for comparison:
GATES, WILLIAM 1935 Arte
y diccionario en lengua cholti. Baltimore: The Maya Society, Publication No. 9.
(7 + 24 + 16 + 68 pp.) This is a
facsimile edition by Gates in 1935 of (Berendt's copy of?) a 1695 copy of
Francisco Moran's work, ca. 1635. The work opens with introductory notes by
Gates; then comes an "Arte en lengua cholti" (24 pp.); this is
followed by a "Confesionario en lengua cholti" (16 pp.); and last but
not least is a "Vocabulario en lengua cholti" (68 pp.). The final
page bears the following identification: "En este pueblo de Lacandones
llamado de la Señora de los Dolores, en 24 de Junio, dia de San Juan, de 1695
años." Gates (p. 5) rightly places this manuscript "in the very front
rank of importance for our historical and linguistic study of the whole Mayan
family." In addition to supplying a wealth of information on Chol(ti), it
appears to offer enticing clues to the nature of Lacandon at this time: many of
the Chol(ti) entries are followed by a linguistic form introduced by the letter
"l". It seems quite likely that these are Lacandon forms added for
comparative purposes.
(http://maya.hum.sdu.dk/mayabiblioauth.html Dienhart, John M. The Mayan Languages- A Comparative Vocabulary, electronic version, Odense University, 1997).
This is a valuable hypothesis, and may well be the case, but the Lacandón referenced does not necessarily refer to the Lacandón Maya that is closely related to Yucatec Maya. In some Colonial period manuscripts of Guatemalan provenience the term Lacandón was applied to any lowland speakers of a Mayan language who were considered to be "wild". To this day in Guatemala the name Lacandón is applied in the same way with "wild" referencing males having long hair. Thompson, in Maya History and Religion, discusses the "Lacandon" of the Colonial period (1970:27-32, 66-69) and the town renamed by the Spaniards Nuestra Señora de Los Dolores (1970:27-32) and discusses the Manche Chol in several places including pp. 61-64. Hellmuth also gives a useful bibliography bearing on the question of who the Lacandones were:
Hellmuth, Nicholas M. 1970 A bibliography of the 16th-20th century Maya of the Southern lowlands: Chol, Chol Lacandon, Yucatec Lacandon, Quejache, Itza, and Mopan, 1524-1969. Greeley, Museum of Anthropology, University of Northern Colorado. Occasional publications in anthropology. Archaeology series ; no. 2. [F 1346 .O25 no. 2]
Data in the Cholti dictionary itself are still
ambiguous on the question. Taking the
word for 'sleep' as an example we can see the hypothesis that l.
refers to a language of the Yucatecan family to be a plausible one. The meaning 'sleep' is realized in most
Mayan languages as a form built on the root
way or war / wir (with Mamean languages having wat
/ wit / wut ). The
Yucatecan languages Yucatec, Lacandón, and Itza have a different root wen. In the Cholti dictionary we find the entry
adormecer adormeser vaines l. vanes // waynes '(tv) make sleep, make sleepy'
(cf.
pCh *way 'sleep')
wanes '(tv) make sleepy, cause to sleep' (cf. pCh *way
'sleep';
YUC
wen 'dormir')
in which the form prefaced by l., <vanes>
transliterated here as wanes has
the final consonant n (though not the expected vowel e) that
conforms well to what would be expected from a Yucatecan language, i.e. the one
whose descendant of today is called Lacandón.
On the other hand, the Cholti dictionary entry for avocado suggests the l. could refer to a Cholan language.
aguacate vn
l. hun; hun es papel tambien // un 'avocado'
(cf. CHR un 'avocado'; pCh *un 'avocado'; YUC, CHL on 'avocado';
pM
*ooN 'avocado');
jun 'paper' (cf. pCh
*hun 'paper, book')
The vowel /u/ in the word for 'avocado' is characteristic of the Cholan languages and for the most part restricted to them, whereas most of the other Mayan languages employ the vowel /o/ coming from a proto-Mayan word reconstructed to have a long vowel / o: / written here as / oo /. This suggests that the word following the l. (as well as that preceding it) is from a Cholan language.
Robert Wald appears to have neatly answered the question of what l. intends: "This is an abbreviation used in most of the Colonial dictionaries and stands for the Latin word licit, literally 'it is allowed' (Simpson 1960:345). This abbreviation is used to present an alternative form or variant of the same word" (unpublished dissertation draft 2007:263). The reason for the variation, and where it came from is of course not given by this explanation, so I have let the preceding paragraphs stand for whatever light they might shed on the possible sources of the variation.
WEB VERSION
For the web version, at the far left the modern Spanish version of the Moran's
Spanish entry is in Bold type, then follows Moran's original entry for the
Cholti, and if the Spanish differs from the modern in orthography that is
included also. This is followed by
double slashes // which are directly followed by a suggested transliteration in
bold type of the Cholti word and then an English gloss. After that in parentheses, and in red type, comes comparative notes from other
Mayan languages suggesting the basis for transcription and transliteration
decisions that I've made, along with some other notes deemed pertinent. In blue type related entries in this Cholti dictionary are
referenced. For the web version, the
sound given the letter <h> by
Moran will be represented by j .
Proto-Cholan *j and *h merged as
j in the daughter languages Chorti, Cholti, Chol, and Chontal.
abajar
abajar la cabesa chincun;
inclinasion // chinkun
'(iv) lower the head, bow
the head; lower self, bend over'
(cf. YUC chinkunah 'abajar la cabeza o humillarse'
(bv:);
chin
'(pv) bow, grovel' [br:71];
ITZ
chinkuna'an 'bent over/agachado'
[ho:206])
[Cholan
cognate forms appear to be absent.]
(cf. boca
abajo)
abanico u calh. pictalca u ut // wajl 'fan'
[it is likely that ucalh on
the
m.s. is a miscopying of *< uaalh
>, representing the
word wajl 'abanico/fan'; n.b. consonant-h sequence
is elsewhere in
the ms seen to represent h-consonant
sequence]
(cf. YUC wal
'abanico'; pCh *wehl-A '(tv) fan')
CHR
wajri '(tv) fan, winnow, sweep' (wi:752)]); [Randa Marhenke
has
confirmed from Berendt's copy that the Gates copyist erred in
writing
ucalh for uaalh]
pik-tal
ka-wut 'fan [fan (for) our face]' (cf. LAC pikit k'ak'
'fan
for fire' (bruce:264); YUC pikit
'abanico, aventar',
MOP
piiktik 'mover, soplar, abanicar'; TZO
pik-bail
'caressing
(illicit)'; pCh *(h)ut 'eye, face';
(cf. soplar fuego)
abarcar locho // loch'o 'to encompass, embrace, take in'
(cf. pCh *loch' 'take
in the hand'; CHL loch'
'(adv.)
en los brazos; (vt) sacar liquido con
las
manos'; TZO loch'ol '(aj) encircling object,
perched';
loch' tomar agua con las manos'; [but cf.
YUC loch
'tener, sostener, abrazar']) (cf.
apretar con..)
abatir
cahtez // k'ajtes '(tv) bring down, fell, demolish'
(cf. YUC k'ah 'quebrar cosas largas'; pCh *k'Aj
'(tv)
harvest corn')
abeja
yalquijl // yalk'il (chab) 'bee (lit. "domestic animal
(honey/bee)")'
(cf. CHR u yark'ir chab
'bee' (wi:1O43)); YUC
aal-ak' animal
domestico;
compañero'; CHL alAk'Al, alAk'il 'animal domestico');
(cf. animal
manso, caballo, abejas grandes)
abejas grandes avejas grandes alchab // al chab 'large bee' (cf.
pCh
*al 'female's offspring'; *chab 'honey')
abierto patzal // pasal 'open' (cf. CHR pasar 'excreting,
opening up', pasi 'open open up,
break open'
(wi:558);
CHN pas- '(iv) leave, go out, give birth
(kn:447);
CHL pasel '(iv) salir (sol); brotar (planta)'
[cf.
Kaufman and Norman's "pCh *pAtz' '(p)
ancho, abierto /
wide
open' (CHL,CHT, no outside cognates)", if we
take
away the CHT, then this is not reconstructible,
but
*pas '(iv) sprout, open up, break out'
is
reconstructible and should be added to pCh ])
ablandar biti, cunlez, yoto //
bit'i '(tv) soften'
(cf. YUC bit' 'magullar u oprimir con los dedos');
k'unles '(tv) soften' (cf.
pCh *k'un '(aj)
soft, mild') (cf. maduro;
acallar; sosegar);
yot'o '(tv) soften' (cf.
pCh *yot' '(tv) press on belly, massage')
aborrecer aborreser illi; lugar de destierro tambien // ili
'(tv)
abhor' (cf. pCh *ihl-i '(tv) aborrecer,
odiar
/ hate'; YUC il 'enojarse, desgracia', ilil
'perversion,
vicio, ilicito, vedado'; TZO ila'al
'(female speech) disgustingness, looseness'; TZE
ilin
'se enojo');
ili[b]
'place of exile, abhorred place'
(cf.
aborrecido; lugar de destierro; agrio)
aborrecido illinbil; desterrado tambien // ilinbil 'abhorred;
exiled'
(cf. aborrecer)
abrazado abrasado mequel // mek'el '(aj) embraced /abrazado'
(cf. CHL mek'
'(tv) abrazar') (cf. abrazar)
abrazar meque // mek'e '(tv) embrace / abrazar' (cf. YUC mek'
'(tv)
abrazar, llevar o traer en los brazos';
pCh
*mek'
'embrace, hug'; CHL mek' 'abrazar') (cf.
abrazado)
abrir
patza. hebe,
vo activo // pasa
'(tv) open' (cf.
CHR
pasar 'excreting, opening up', pasi 'open
open
up, break open' (wi:558); CHN pas- '(iv) leave,
go out, give birth (kn:447); CHL
pasel '(iv)
salir
(sol); brotar (planta)'; cf. pCh *pAs
'(tv)
show, uproot, uncover') (cf. abierto);
jebe '(tv) open' (cf. YUC
heb 'abrir' (bv:193);
MOP
hebik '(tv) abrir'; ITZ hebik 'abrirlo'
(sch:95);
pCh *jAb '(tv) open; uncover; empty')
abrirse las orejas
hocho
// joch'o '(tv) abrirse
las orejas / to pierce one's ears'
(cf. YUC hoch'
'barrenar, horadar, agujerear
como
con barrena'; CHL hoch'
'inyectar'; TZE (bach) joch'
carcoma') (cf. agujerear; embutir)
abuela
mim; chich
// mim 'grandmother (paterna, o bisabuela
materna)'
(cf. pCh *mim 'grandmother');
chich 'abuela maternal / maternal
grandmother'
(cf.
pCh *chich 'grand-mother; elder sister';
YUC chich
'abuela
materna, esposa del nieto del abuelo, hijo de su
hijo,
concuña del hombre')
abuelo
mam // mam 'grandfather' (cf.
pCh *mam 'grandson;
grandfather;
nephew') (cf. idolo, nieto)
[abujar] (cf. abajar)
abundancia abundansia vy onil - de oro // uy-onil '(its) abundance
(e.g.
of gold)' (cf. YUC on 'muchos, mucho', uy '3rd sing
possessive
pronominal prefix'; CHL on 'bastante') (cf. multiplicar)
acabar acabar, desistir mayilez;
guerra o plaga; lacael, neuo,
idem
// mayiles
'(tv) stop (war or plague)';
(cf.
KEK may '2O (= a
"completion")'
laj-kael
'(iv) be stopped, stop' (cf. pCh *laj 'acabar';
KEK
lajk 'acabarse, terminarse, gastarse');
acabar2 capez; capael. acabar de aser alguna cosa // k'ap'es '(tv) finish';
(CHR k'ab'es '(tv) finish anything, bring to an end,
complete');
k'ap'ael 'be finished (doing something)' (CHR k'ab'aj '(iv)
come to an
end,
finish, stop doing something') (cf. KEK
q'apliik 'llegar a la cumbre')
[the Chorti is most clearly and closely
cognate, and Chorti does not distinguish p' from b, so Cholti p here should
likely be a p' since it is
written with a p and corresponds to a
Chorti b']
acabarse capez
// k'ap'es 'finish' (cf. acabar2)
acabarse una cosa capael
vono // k'ap'ael 'be finished doing something' (cf. acabar2)
[vono refers to
'intransitive verb']
acallar acallar, halagar cunu
// k'unu '(tv) to quiet down,
calm
down; treat tenderly' (cf. pCh *k'un '(aj)
soft, mild'; CHR k'uni '(tv) pacify,
mollify, placate',
k'un 'softness, tenderness, calm,
serenity')
(cf.
maduro; ablandar; sosegar)
acedia
asedias pa. inti; chaic inti
ticav in pucsical //
paj in-ti' 'I have heartburn, I have acid' (cf. pCh *paj '(aj) rancio,
agrio', *in-
'1st person singular pronoun', *ti' 'mouth');
ch'ahik in-ti' 'I have heartburn, I have acid'
(cf. pCh *ch'ah '(aj) amargo/bitter', *ti' 'mouth');
tikaw in-puksik'al 'I have heartburn, I have acid'
(cf.
pCh *tikAw 'hot/caliente', *puksik'al 'heart')
acepillar asepillar, agusar huca
// huk'a '(tv) brush (wood,
teeth), sharpen, whet, plane, shave' (cf. pCh *huk'
'whittle, sharpen, rub'; CHR juk'i
'file, sharpen, scrape, rub';
CHL
huk' '(tv) cepillar, afilar') (cf. aguzar)
acercar asercar natz tez
// natz'tes '(tv) bring near' (cf. pCh
*natz'
'(p) nearby';
YUC netz' 'acercar')
achicar tzeclez -- disminuir. apocar // sek'les
'(tv) diminish,
reduce,
make smaller' (cf. CHL sek' '(tv) tumbar',
sek'el '(aj) tumbado'; CHN sek' '(nc) pieces of
cut off wood or cloth', sek' '(tv)
cut with a machete')
(cf.
disminuir)
achiote quivi quimuzan // kiwi' 'achiote, anatto' (cf. CHR kiwi' 'achiote';
YUC
kiwi 'achiote en panecillos', ITZ
kiwi', 'achiote');
k'i[n]-musan
kiwi' 'winter anatto, Christmas
anatto'
(cf. CHL musmusna 'lloviznando /drizzling';
TZE
k'in ha'al 'drizzling rain, light rain')
(cf. achiote de navidad)
achiote de navidad
zutzil quivi; de invierno. yaxquinil // sutz'il
kiwi' 'Christmas anatto, winter anatto' (cf. CHR sutz' 'bat',
kiwi' 'achiote'; CHL sutz'
'murcielago');
yax-k'inil kiwi' 'dry season anatto, spring anatto'
(cf.
CHR yax k'in 'dry season')
(cf. achiote de resurcion; achiote)
achiote de resurcion yaxquinil quivi,
berano // yax-k'inil kiwi'
'spring anatto, dry season
anatto'
(cf.
achiote de navidad; achiote)
aclarar tuchcael. patzael; desir o
descubrir. ala //
tuch'k'ael 'clarify, clear up'
(cf. pCh *tuch'
'(tv) point out, show');
CHR tuch'i 'point out, point at', pask'aj '(iv) clear
up, open itself');
(cf.
declarar)
pasael '(tv) clarify, make clear, clear up' (cf. CHR pasi '(tv) open,
open
up, apask'ah u'ut e k'in 'the sky becomes clear';
pCh
*pAs '(tv) show; uproot; uncover');
ala 'discover, uncover, say, tell' (cf. pCh *Al (-*hAl ) '(tv) say')
acompañar etoqui.
achoquin // et'oki '(tv) accompany' (cf.
MOP
et'ok 'compañero'; pCh *et'ok 'compañero, con/with');
a'chokin '(tv) accompany' (cf.
CHL wa'chokon 'edificar,
levantar (persona, palo), nombrar a
un puesto'; CHR wa' '(tv) being,
being in a place
or condition') (but cf. pM *ety- ~ *aty-
'fellow-'; and
if the *aty- were
related, then the CHT should be achokin, but
the entry for
acompañar2 seems to decide the issue)
(cf.
acompañar2; amigo; levantar; parar)
acompañar2 vachoquin l. achoquin; vabun.
parar // wa'chokin
'(tv)
accompany' (cf. CHL wa'chokon 'edificar,
levantar (persona, palo), nombrar a
un puesto'; CHR wa' '(tv) being,
being
in a place or condition')
(cf. acompañar; levantar; presentar);
a'chokin
'(tv) accompany' (cf. CHL wa'chokon 'edificar,
levantar (persona, palo), nombrar a
un puesto'; CHR wa' '(tv) being,
being
in a place or condition')
wa'bun
'stand up' (cf. CHR wa'bu [wa'p'u]
'accost,
stop or halt anything, set aside, put in
place') (cf.
compañero; amigo; levantar, parar)
acobardar [acorbardar] tzepael, 1o neuo // sep'ael
'(tv) intimidate' (cf. pCH *sep' '(tv)
pinch'; ; ITZ sep' 'cut with
scissors'; but cf.
YUC sep 'carve wood', se 'maltratar
con golpes,
azotes
o coces')
acordarse cahal.
cahpael. cahpez // k'ahal 'remember';
k'ahp'ael
'(iv) be remembered';
k'ahp'es '(tv) remember' (cf.
CHR k'aj, k'ajyar 'remembrance,
remembering',
k'ajbu 'remember, recognize, recollect';
CHL
k'ahtesan 'acordarse'; TZE (bach)
k'ahyel 'acostumbrarse';
YUC
k'ah 'acordar, recordar; k'ahlay '(n)
historia, relato')
acortar comlez // komles 'to shorten' (cf. CHR kom [kohm] 'short, low' (wi:);
pCh
*kom 'short')
acostar al niño chopin.
chopes // chopin '(tv) lay (child) down';
chopes '(tv) lay (child) down' (cf. pCh *chop
'lying
on the ground')
(cf. acostarse)
acostar
a otro chopin. coilez
// chopin '(tv) lay s.o. down'; (cf. pCh *chop
'lying
on the ground');
koyles '(tv) lay s.o. down' (cf. TZO koyol '(aj)
sitting
close to ground w/ legs spread apart';
YUC
koy 'sesgado, sereno, sosegado, manso,
tranquilo'); (cf. acostarse)
acostarse chop.
coital; acostar, choptez // chop '(iv) lie
down'
(cf. pCh *chop 'lying on the ground');
koytal '(iv) lie down' (cf.
TZO koyol '(aj)
sitting
close to ground w/ legs spread apart';
YUC
koy 'sesgado, sereno, sosegado, manso,
tranquilo');
choptes
'(tv) lay down' (cf. acostar a otro)
acostumbrado cahinahel
// k'ahynahel 'being
accustomed, habituated''
(cf. pCh *k'ahy '(iv) get used to/acostumbrarse')
(cf. acostumbrar)
acostumbrado2 estoi acostumbrado cahii en l. cahiih
en //
k'ahy-en, k'ahyij-en 'I am
accustomed, habituated'
(cf. pCh *k'ahy '(iv) get used to/acostumbrarse', *-en
'1st
person sing. absolutive pronoun);
(cf. acostumbrado; acostumbrar)
acostumbrar cayez
// k'ahyes '(tv)
habituate, accustom' (cf.
acostumbrado,
acostumbrado2)
actualidad yual
// iwal '(p) now, actuality' (cf. pCh
*wAl 'ahora,
hoy
/ now, today ; progressive aspect marker')
Adán
adan baxan mi, hoc est, primer
padre // baxan mi
'Adán/Adam
(the first father)' (cf. CHT baxan
'primero', mi 'padre') (cf. primero;
padre)
adelgazar adelgasar hailes // jayles '(tv) thin, cause to
get
thin' (cf. pCh *jay
'(aj) thin') (cf. ralo;
cosa
delgada; adelgazar)
adiestrar hueban; mas proprio. zantez // jueb'an 'instruct, train,
guide, lead' (cf. CHN ye'b'en '(tv)
teach, train', ye'e' '(tv)
show,
demonstrate'; pM *ye' 'show'; YUC
wesah '(tv) mostrar';
santes 'teach, train' (cf. CHR
san 'increase, swelling, spreading
out' [wi:627])
(cf. agudo,
agudo2, templar, tender)
adobe xan // xan 'adobe' (cf. Nahuatl
xami:tl 'adobe';
CopZOQ samit 'adobe')
adonde,
por donde tuba
// tu-b'a 'where to, where at''
(cf. pCh *b'a
'interrogative morpheme', *tA 'to, in, at',
*u-
'3rd sing ERG',)
adorar aulu // awlu '(tv) worship' (cf. p-Mayan *aaw 'shout';
pCh *aw 'grito /
shouting'; Tz'n *aw; p-Mixean *Aw
'sing';
YUC
awat 'grito';) (cf.
dar voces, llamar dando voces, adorar)
adormecer adormeser vaines l. vanes // waynes '(tv) make
sleep, make sleepy' (cf. pCh *way
'sleep')
wanes '(tv) make sleepy, cause to
sleep' (cf. pCh
*way
'sleep'; YUC wen 'dormir')
adornar
(cf.
afeitar, adornar)
a
duras penas tama
ya: frase // tama ya 'barely, just barely, hardly'
(cf. CHR tama
'inside, in, within, at';
pCh
*tamal '(adv) in(side)', CHR ya'r 'a
bit, little bit')
afear
lobtez; loblauel. neuo // lobtes '(tv) to make ugly, ruin'
(cf. YUC
lob 'cosa mala, ruin')
loblawel
'(iv) be ugly' (cf. malo; feo; fea cosa)
afeitar çuçu // susu 'to smooth, to shave, to scrape'
(cf. pCh *sus
'(tv) raspar, pelar, rebanar/peel, scrape,slice;
CHR susi 'peel off, smooth down [by shaving or
paring]';
CHL susun '(tv)
raspar', susubil 'raspado/scraped')
(cf. afeitar,
adornar)
afeitar, adornar nauali;
zuznael. razurar // nawali [or nabali]
'(iv)
beautify' (cf. QUI nabah 'anoint oneself,
shave
w/ ointment, nab 'women's toilette') [but
n.b. that CHT has nabi
'tiznar/ to soil with soot'
suggesting b
can be written as b in this context,
so w
is probably indicated for CHT];
susnael '(iv) be shaved' (cf.
pCh *sus '(tv) peel,
scrape';
CHL susun '(tv) raspar'; YUC sas-ba
'afeitarse')
(cf.
navaja; afeitar)
afeite naual;
adornar, hermosear alguna cosa // nawal [or possibly
nabal
] '(n) cosmetics, makeup, adornment' (cf. QUI
nabah
'anoint oneself, shave w/ ointment, nab
'women's
toilette' (ed:76) [but cf. also YUC nawal
'un
baile prohibido'; QUI nawal 'linked spirit,
power, evil spirits, knower' <
Nahuatl (ed:78)])
(cf afeitar;
afeitar, adornar)
afligirse ayalnagel; otro ayototnagel
// ay-al-najel '(iv) grieve'
(cf.
CHT aya 'haber, tener', al 'niño';
YUC
nahel 'de balde, en vano; cosa
miserable y desdichada de
quien
se ha de tener lastima'; pCh *al 'woman's child';
CHL y-al 'su niño);
ay-otot-najel '(iv) grieve' (*pCh *otot 'house')
(cf.
haber, tener)
agradecer agradeser mala, retornar l.
coteznahel //
mala 'to return (a favor); thank' (