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Linglib.Fragments.Mayan.Kiche.Agreement

K'iche' Agreement Fragment @cite{mondloch-2017} #

Agreement morphology for K'iche' (K'ichean Mayan), following @cite{mondloch-2017} Lessons 4, 7–8, 9, 15.

The System #

K'iche' has an ergative-absolutive alignment system realized through two agreement paradigms on the verb:

Paradigms #

Set B (Absolutive) — Lesson 9 #

PersonSingularPlural
1in-oj-
2at-ix-
3Ø-ee-
2.FORMla (postverbal)alaq (postverbal)

Set A (Ergative, preconsonantal) — Lessons 7, 15 #

PersonSingularPlural
1nu‑ / in‑qa-
2a-i-
3u-ki-
2.FORMla (postverbal)alaq (postverbal)

Set A (Ergative, prevocalic) — Lesson 8 #

PersonSingularPlural
1w-q-
2aw-iw-
3r-k-
2.FORMla (postverbal)alaq (postverbal)

Alignment #

The alignment is ergative-absolutive: Set B groups S and P together (both trigger the same paradigm), while A triggers a distinct paradigm (Set A). This contrasts with Mam, which shows morphologically tripartite alignment (S, A, and P each trigger distinct patterns; @cite{scott-2023}).

Formal address #

K'iche' has two levels of formality for 2nd person: informal and formal. The formal forms (laal SG, alaq PL) are syntactically postverbal and do not participate in the prefix paradigm.

Grammatical person in K'iche'.

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      Formality level for 2nd person.

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          A person/number/formality specification.

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                  @[reducible, inline]

                  Shorthand for informal phi features.

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                    Set B (absolutive) agreement markers. These are verbal prefixes (or postverbal particles for formal forms) that cross-reference S (intransitive subject) and P (transitive object). @cite{mondloch-2017}, Lessons 9, 15.

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                      Set A (ergative) markers before consonant-initial roots. These cross-reference A (transitive subject) and are identical to possessive pronouns before consonant-initial nouns. @cite{mondloch-2017}, Lessons 7, 15.

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                        Set A (ergative) markers before vowel-initial roots. @cite{mondloch-2017}, Lesson 8.

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                          Is a Set B marker a prefix (appearing before the root) or a postverbal particle? Formal forms are postverbal; all others are prefixes. @cite{mondloch-2017}, Lesson 9.

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                            Is a Set A marker a prefix or postverbal? Same distribution as Set B: formal forms are postverbal.

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                              Argument positions in a K'iche' clause.

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                                  Which agreement set cross-references each argument position?

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                                      K'iche' alignment contrast with Mam: K'iche' is ergative-absolutive (S = P ≠ A), while Mam is tripartite (S ≠ A ≠ P, all three receive distinct cases). In K'iche', both P and S trigger Set B; in Mam, P triggers no agreement at all.

                                      2SG.FORM: la (postverbal)

                                      theorem Fragments.Mayan.Kiche.setB_2pl_form :
                                      setBMarker { person := Person.second, number := Number.pl, formality := Formality.formal } = "alaq"

                                      2PL.FORM: alaq (postverbal)

                                      1SG ergative (preC): nu‑ or in‑

                                      1PL ergative (preC): qa-

                                      3PL ergative (preC): ki-

                                      Set A markers are identical to possessive pronouns: the transitive subject markers (Lesson 15) are the same forms as the possessive prefixes (Lessons 7–8). This is a hallmark of ergative-absolutive languages, where ERG agreement and possession share the same morphological paradigm. @cite{mondloch-2017}, Lesson 15 explicitly notes this identity.

                                      Formal Set B markers are NOT prefixes (they're postverbal).

                                      Independent (free) personal pronouns. These are used in nonverbal sentences and as emphatic/contrastive pronouns in verbal sentences. @cite{mondloch-2017}, Lesson 4.

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                                        Independent pronouns correspond to Set B (absolutive) markers in form: 1SG in = Set B in-, 2SG at = Set B at-, etc. This is expected for an ergative language where the independent pronouns pattern with absolutive agreement.