Itzaj Maya Grammar

Book excerpt: The Itzaj Maya language is member of a the Yukatekan Maya language family spoken in the lands of Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize, a family that includes Maya, Mopan, and Lakantun. Many Classic Maya hieroglyphic texts were written in an earlier form of these languages, as were many important colonial documents. In addition to being a valuable record of an ancient language, Andrew Hofling's Itzaj Maya Grammar contributes greatly to the study of these older documents. This exemplary grammar completes a basic documentation that began with Itzaj Maya Texts and Itzaj Maya-Spanish-English Dictionary. Its coverage of the linguistic structures of Itzaj includes the phonological, morphophonological, and syntactic structures. Each morphological and grammatical construction is carefully explained, with additional examples of each construction included. Itzaj Maya Grammar is a landmark contribution to the study of discourse in Maya languages. When used with Hofling's previous texts, it provides a thoroughly dynamic documentation of the language, useful to all interested in the study of Yukatekan languages or linguistics.