Mam is a Mayan language spoken by about half a million Mam people in the Guatemalan departments of Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Retalhuleu, and the Mexican states of Campeche and Chiapas. Thousands more make up a Mam diaspora throughout the United States and Mexico, with notable populations living in Oakland, California[3][4] and Washington, D.C.

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Mam
Qyool Mam, Ta yol Mam
Native to	Guatemala, Mexico
Region	Chiapas and Campeche, Mexico Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Retalhuleu, Guatemala;
Ethnicity	Mam
Native speakers	600,000 in Guatemala (2019 census)[1] 10,000 in Mexico (2020 census)[2]
Language family	Mayan Eastern Mayan Greater Mamean Mamean Mam
Dialects	Northern Mam Central Mam Soconusco Mam Western Mam Southern Mam
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Mexico  Guatemala
Regulated by	Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas Comunidad Lingüística Mam (COLIMAM)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mam
Glottolog	mamm1241
ELP	Mam
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Classification

Mam is closely related to the Tektitek language, and the two languages together form the Mamean sub-branch of the Mayan language family. Along with the Ixilan languages, Awakatek and Ixil, these make up the Greater Mamean sub-branch, one of the two branches of the Eastern Mayan languages (the other being the Greater Quichean sub-branch, which consists of 10 Mayan languages, including Kʼicheʼ).

Dialects

Because contact between members of different Mam communities is somewhat limited, the language varies considerably even from village to village. Nevertheless, mutual intelligibility, though difficult, is possible through practice.[5]

Mam varieties within Mexico and Guatemala are divided into five dialect groups:[6]

• Northern Mam in Campeche, Mexico and southern Huehuetenango Department, Guatemala.[7] Northern Mam is the least conservative group according to Terrence Kaufman.[5]
• Southern Mam in southern Campeche, Mexico and Quetzaltenango Department, San Marcos Department, and Retalhuleu Department, Guatemala.[8]
• Central Mam in Chiapas, Mexico and San Marcos Department, Guatemala.
• Western Mam in eastern Chiapas, Mexico and northwestern San Marcos Department, Guatemala.[9] The Tektitek language may be mutually intelligible with Western Mam dialects.
• Soconusco Mam in the Soconusco region, Chiapas, Mexico[10]

In addition to these, the dialects of Chiapas, Mexico are characterised by significant grammatical as well as lexical differences from the Guatemalan varieties.[11]

Distribution

Mam is spoken in 64 communities in four Guatemalan departments[12] and numerous communities in Campeche and Chiapas, Mexico.[11] Neighboring languages include Jakaltek and Qʼanjobʼal to the north, Tektitek and Qato'k to the west, and Ixil, Awakatek, Sipacapense, and Kʼicheʼ to the east.

Phonology

Vowels

Mam has 10 vowels, 5 short and 5 long:[13]

• 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 back vowels, /o/, /u/, /ɑ/ vowels, transcribed as [oo], [uu], and [aa] are slightly compressed and pronounced as /o͍ː/, /u͍ː/, and /ɑ͍ː/ respectively, being partially rounded.

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:[14]

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/.[15]

/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: tzebʼ [tsɛβʼ] goat, kbon [kβʼɤŋ] small table. In the Todos Santos dialect, tsebʼ 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, chʼuut [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, aveolar 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.

Grammar

The most extensive Mam grammar is that of Nora C. England's A grammar of Mam, a Mayan language (1983), which is based on the San Ildefonso Ixtahuacán dialect of Huehuetenango Department.

The basic word order of Mam is VSO (Verb-Subject-Object, Verb-Ergative-Absolutive, or Verb-Agent-Patient). Most roots take the morphological shape CVC (England 1983:93). The only possible root final consonant cluster is -nC.

Pronouns

Mam has no independent pronouns (England 1983:155). Rather, pronouns in Mam always exist as bound morphemes.

Below is a table of Set A (ergative) and Set B (absolutive) prefixes from England (1983:56). (Note: The terms "Set A" and "Set B" are frequently used by Mayanists to describe the ergative systems typical of Mayan languages.)

Phonologically conditioned allomorphs are as follows.

• n- ~ w-
  • n- /__C
  • w- /__V
• Ø ~ tz- ~ tzʼ- ~ k-
  • k- /potential
  • tzʼ- /__V initial root, non-potential
  • tz- /__uul 'arrive here', iky' 'pass by', non-potential
  • Ø- /__C, non-potential
• -a ~ -ya
  • -ya /V__ ; In the first person in post-vowel environments, -ya varies freely with -kyʼa and -y'.
  • -a /C__

Set A prefixes can also be used with nouns. In this context, the Set A prefixes become possessives.

• n- 'my'
• t- 'your (sg.)'
• t- 'his, her, its'
• q- 'our (exclusive)'
• q- 'our (inclusive)'
• ky- 'your (pl.)'
• ky- 'their'

Some paradigmatic examples from England (1983) are given below. Note that "Ø-" designates a null prefix. Additionally, ma is an aspectual word meaning 'recent past'.

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 from England (1983:76) are given below.

Nouns

The Mam language displays inalienable possession. Certain Mam nouns cannot be possessed, such as kya'j 'sky' and che'w 'star' (England 1983:69). 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 (England 1983:140).

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 (England 1983:84). 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

Verbs

Like all other Mayan languages, Mam is an ergative language.

Further reading

• Bʼaayil, Eduardo Pérez, et al. Variación dialectal en mam = Txʼixpubʼente tiibʼ qyool / Proyecto de Investigación Lingüística de Oxlajuuj Keej Mayaʼ Ajtzʼiibʼ. Guatemala, Guatemala: Cholsamaj, 2000.
• England, Nora C. A grammar of Mam, a Mayan language. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983.
• Pujbʼil yol mam / Kʼulbʼil Yol Twitz Paxil; Kʼulbʼil Yol Mam = Vocabulario mam / Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala; Comunidad Lingüística Mam. Guatemala, Guatemala: Kʼulbʼil Yol Twitz Paxil, 2003.
• Rojas Ramírez, Maximiliano. Gramática del idioma Mam. La Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala: Proyecto Lingüístico Francisco Marroquín, 1993.

References

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.

External links

Mam language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

• A simple Mam – Spanish dictionary
• Robert Sitler's Mam – English dictionary (DOC) (PDF)
• Key phrases in Mam vs Spanish
• Books from Cholsamaj
• Mayan Languages Collection of Nora England at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America, containing recordings and transcriptions of narratives and conversations in Mam.

На других языках

[de] Mam-Sprache

[es] Idioma mam

[fr] Mam

[ru] Мамский язык