126 Nora C. England
proclitics, except several status suffixes on verbs and the person/number marking
on non-verbal predicates, which are enclitics in this context only. There are two dif-
ferent sets of person/number markers (usually called Set A and Set B by Mayanists).
The Set A or ergative markers indicate possessors of nouns, subjects of transitive
verbs (A function), and complements of relational nouns; while the Set B or absol-
utive markers indicate objects of transitive verbs (O function), subjects of intransi-
tive verbs (S function), and subjects of non-verbal predicates.
Mam is both morphologically and syntactically an ergative language, and under
conditions which trigger split ergativity it marks all verbal arguments (transitive
and intransitive subjects, transitive objects) with the Set A or ergative markers.
Two rules that show ergative syntax are that only absolutive direct arguments can
be contrastively emphasized and only absolutive arguments trigger the deletion of
a same subject in a subordinate clause (England 1983).
Derivation of stems from roots is morphologically marked. Adjectives and pos-
itionals, which have no characteristic inflection unless they function as the heads
of non-verbal predicates, have characteristic derivations that clearly define roots
(and stems, in the case of adjectives) as belonging to that class and no other. All
derivational affixes except a/-, which derives agentives from nouns and terms for
inhabitants from toponyms, and ch-ls-lx-lxh-, which derives all sorts of lexemes
from stems of many different classes with slight (or no) changes in meaning, are
suffixes.
Verbs function as the heads of verbal predicates. Verbs are unequivocally tran-
sitive or intransitive, as are the respective predicates in which they function.
Valence-changing voices include both the antipassive, with several different func-
tions (absolutive, agent focus, and incorporative), and passive, with five differ-
ent forms, several of which are lexical as well as syntactic. Nouns function as the
heads of NPs, which in turn function as direct arguments of verbs (subjects and
objects), the complements of adjuncts (relational noun phrases), or the heads of
stative non-verbal predicates. The heads of stative non-verbal predicates can also
be adjectives, positional, demonstratives, or numbers. Non-verbal predicates are
stative, locative, or existential. They are not inflected for tense/aspect/mood, unlike
verbs. They may, however, take the (im)perfect marker -taq. The locative/existen-
tial predicates can take adjectives as complements.
The lexical expansion of nominal arguments is optional. All NPs are cross-refer-
enced on the verb, non-verbal predicate, or relational noun, and independent pro-
nouns are used for contrastive emphasis. Some dialects of Mam, including Ixta-
huacan, have a fairly well developed noun classifier system for human nouns (and
one classifier for non-humans). Classifiers are used pronominally in non-emphatic
contexts to further specify a deleted noun, but are in no context obligatory.
Mam has relatively fixed VAO/VS constituent order. Intransitive subjects and
transitive objects can precede the verb for focus (contrastive emphasis), and both
transitive and intransitive subjects can precede the verb for a restricted kind of
topic-changing emphasis; other than these two contexts order is always VAO/VS.