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Article published In:
Diachronica
Vol. 34:1 (2017) ► pp.40–78

Language mixing and genetic similarity

The case of Tojol-ab’al

| University of Texas at Austin
Definitions of ‘mixed’ or ‘intertwined’ languages derive almost entirely from studies of languages that combine elements from genetically unrelated sources. The Mayan language Tojol-ab’al displays a mixture of linguistic features from two related Mayan languages, Chuj and Tseltal. The systematic similarities found in related languages not only make it methodologically difficult to identify the source of specific linguistic features but also mean that inherited similarity can alter the processes and outcomes of language mixing in ways that parallel observed patterns of code-switching between related languages. Tojol-ab’al, therefore, arguably represents a distinct type of mixed language, one that may only result from mixture involving related languages.
Keywords: Mayan languages, Tojol-ab’al, mixed language, code switching, language contact, similarity
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Mixed languages
  • 3.Tojol-ab’al and language contact
  • 4.Similarities with Chuj and Tseltalan
    • 4.1Shared phonological innovations
    • 4.2Shared morphosyntactic innovations
      • 4.2.1Person marking
      • 4.2.2Position of the absolutive
      • 4.2.3Plural
      • 4.2.4Aspectual system
        • 4.2.4.1Completive
        • 4.2.4.2Incompletive
        • 4.2.4.3Progressive and potential
        • 4.2.4.4Perfect
        • 4.2.4.5Irrealis and imperative
      • 4.2.5Category suffixes
      • 4.2.6Voice
      • 4.2.7Prepositions
      • 4.2.8Negation
    • 4.3Lexicon
      • 4.3.1Basic vocabulary
      • 4.3.2Extended vocabulary
      • 4.3.3Discussion of lexical similarity
  • 5.Historical context of Tojol-ab’al
  • 6.Tojol-ab’al in the context of Lowland language contact phenomena
  • 7.Code-switching, compartmentalization and processes
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References


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Published online: 25 April 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.34.1.02law
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