Table Of ContentSENRI ETHNOLoGIcAL STuDIEs No. 39
NATIVE MIDDLE
AMERICAN LANGUAGES
AN AREAL-TYPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
by
Yoshiho YASUGI
National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka
1995
Acknowledgments
I wish to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to Lyle Campbell for his
valuable comments and suggestions. This work is an outgrowth of my doctoral
dissertation, entitled "An Areal-Typological Study of Middle American Indian
Languages" (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, 1993). Chapters 2, 3
and 6 were written as part of the proj ect titled "A Comprehensive Study of the Func-
tion and Typology of Language" headed by Masayoshi Shibatani, with a grant-in-
aid from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the Japanese Govern-
ment. I would like to thank Tasaku Tsunoda, a member of my dissertation commit-
tee, for supplying numerous references as well as for his helpful comments and
criticisms on earlier versions of this study. I owe a considerable debt to him for
pointing out to me that the square proposed in Chapter 6 has a cyclic nature and
that this is a new type of relation. I would like to acknowledge the advice and sup-
port of the other members of my committee: Etsuko Kuroda, Osahito Miyaoka,
Hiroyasu Tomoeda, Osamu Sakiyama, and Yasuhiko Nagano. I am so much in-
debted to them that it is unlikely that I will be able to repay their kindness fully.
Since English is not my native language, I frequ'ently do not perceive subtle
differences in meaning and cannot always chOose the best possible phrasing. Even
worse, I feel that my logic significantly differs from that of native English speakers.
Although faced with these diMculties, I elected to write this monograph in English
given the predominance of English in the academic world, with the result that at
times I felt linguistically handicapped. Jaan Ingle aided me in bvercoming these
obstacles, and I wish to acknowledge her help in editing and proofreading the final
version of this monograph.
iii
Contents
page
Acknowledgments iii
Table of Contents v
List of Tables Vll
List of Maps Vll
List of Figures viii
Key to Abbreviations and Symbols Viii
PART I
1. Introduction 3
2. PhonologicalSystems 11
2.1. PhonologicalDescriptions 12
2.2. Consonant System Typology 14
2.2.1. Statistical Survey 15
2.2.2. StopSystems 21
2.2.3. Fricative Systems 30
2.2.4. Nasal Systems 36
2.2.5. Liquid Systems 40
2.2.6. GlideSystems 43
2.3. Vowel System Typology 45
2.3.1. Statistical Survey 47
2.3.2. Typological Survey 48
2.3.3. ToneSystems 54
2.4. Summary 57
3. Areal Features and Linguistic Universals 59
3.1. Areal Features of Phonological Systems 59
3.1.1. Possession of Rare Traits 59
3.1.2. LackofCommonTraits 64
3.2. Linguistic Universals 65
3.2.1. Stops and Fricatives 65
3.2.2. Nasals 69
3.2.3. Liquids 70
3.2.4. Vowels 71
3.3. Summary 75
4. NumeralSystems 77
4.1. Some Problems in the Description of Counting Methods 78
4.2. Materials and Their Analysis 81
4.3. Discussion 83
v
vi Native Middle American Languages
4.3.1. Uto-Aztecan 85
4.3.2. 0tomanguean 93
4.3.3. Mayan 97
4.3.4. Mixe-Zoquean 1OO
4.3.5. 0therLanguages 101
4.4. Summary 103
5. WordOrderTypology 107
5.1. Linguistic Materials and Their Analysis 107
5.2. Language Types and Language Classification 109
5.3. Discussion 115
5.3.1. S/O/VOrder 115
5.3.2. The Relative Order of S/O/V and Pr/Po 120
5.3.3. Coexistence of Po and Pr 123
5.3.4. GN/NG 125
5.3.5. AN/NA 126
5.3.6. PN/NP 128
5.3.7. DN/ND 129
5.3.8. QN/NQ 129
5.4. Summary 130
6. Toward a New Typology of Language: Typology of the Syntactic
Relations of Cross-Referencing Pronominals 133
6.1. PersonMarkingSystem 134
6.2. PronominalSquare 135
6.3. Types of Pronominal Square 137
6.4. Discussion 147
6.5. Summary 151
7. Conclusions 153
PART II
Database 1: Phonological Systems 167
Database 2: Numeral Systems 241
Database 3: Word Order Typology 345
Notes 407
Appendices
1. PhonemeCharts 411
2. Distribution of Number of Consonants in Native Middle
American Languages 412
3. Vowel Inventories of Native Middle American Languages 418
Maps 429
Bibliography 447
Language Index 475
Subject Index 480
Contents vii
Tables
1. Classification of Native Middle American languages
2. Distribution in terms of number of consonants in the system
3. Number of stop series
4. Manner contrasts in stops
5. Manner contrasts in fricatives
6. Voiceless stops: number of places of articulation and number of languages
7. Voiced stops: number of places of articulation and number of languages
8. Prenasalized stops: number of places of articulation and number of languages
9. Lenis stops: number of places of articulation and number of languages
10. Fricatives: number of places of articulation and number of languages
11. Nasals: number of places of articulation and number of languages
12. Number of phonemes and variations
13. Number of phonemes and languages in regards to voiceless stops
14. Number of voiceless and voiced stops and number of languages
15. Number of voiceless and prenasal stops and number of languages
16. Number of fortis and lenis stops and number of languages
17. Types of afuicate and sibilant combinations
18. Nasal types
19. Number of nasals and number of languages
20. Distribution of /y/ and /w/
21. Distribution in terms of number of vowels in the system
22. Symmetrical and asymmetrical systems
23. Number of oral stops and number of languages
24. Number of fricatives and number of languages
25. Number of nasals and number of languages
26. Number of normal length vowels and number of languages
27. The numerals from 1 to 10 in Northern Uto-Aztecan
28. Numeral systems in Northern Uto-Aztecan
29. Distribution of word-order types'
30. Connection between s/v/o and S/V/O
31. Distribution of word order type by type
Maps
1. Distribution of Native Middle American languages
2. Distribution ofvowel systems
3. Distribution of vowel quantity and nasality
4. Distribution of glottalized, prenasalized, and fortis-lenis consonants
5. Distribution of /kW/, /q/ and retroflexed consonants
6. Distribution of methods of counting from 1 to 10
7. Distribution of methods of counting from 10 to 20
8. Distribution of methods of counting from 20 on
9. Distribution of methods of forming the word for 100
viii Native Middle American Languages
10. Distribution of methods of counting from 10 to 20 in Mayan languages
11. Distribution of methods of counting from 20 on in Mayan languages
12. Distribution of different words for 20
13. Distribution of methods of counting from 20/21 to 39/40
14. Distribution of methods of counting from 40/41/ to 59/60
15. Distribution of methods of counting from 60/61 to 79/80
16. Distribution of methods of counting from 80/81 to 99
17. Distribution of SOV, SVO, VOS, and VSO
Figures
1. Stela 2, Chiapa de Corzo
2-14. Pronominalsquares
Key to Abbreviations and Symbols
ABS absolutive
:
ACC : ac c u sa t.lve
ACT active
:
AG : agent
ART : article
AUX auxiliary
:
C consonant(s)
:
CL : clitic
COMP completive
:
CONJ : conJunctlon
DEF : definite article
DEM demonstrative
:
DEP dependency marking
:
DIMIN diminutive
:
DIR directional
:
DIS distal
:
DISTR distributor
:
ERG : ergatlve
EXP : ex p e r.lencer
FEM feminine
:
FUT future
:
G geminated vowel(s)
:
GEN : gemtlve
HAB habitual
:
IMPERF imperfect
:
INCOMP incompletive
:
L long vowel(s)
:
LOC locative
:
Contents iX
MASC masculine
MOOD mood
N nasalized vowel(s)
NCL noun classifier
NUCL numeral classifier
NONREFL non-reflexive
OBJ object
PASS
passlve
PAST past
PERF perfective
PL plural
POSS
possesslve
POSSD possessed
PRON
pronoun
PROX proximate (past, future)
:
REALIZED realized
REC recent past
REF reflexive
SG singular
SUBJ subj ect
TP topicalization
V vowel(s)
:
// phonemic transcription
[] phonetic transcription
