Perception verb complements in Akatek, a Mayan language

2. LEXICALIZATION OF PERCEPTION VERBS 141
In Akatek, there is a class of lexical roots that has traditionally been
termed positionals. 3 Positionals express the position, condition, state
or form of the noun they occur with. A subgroup of the positional roots
can take the su x -an. Su xed with -an, these positional roots can
function as non-verbal predicates, nominals, adjectives, or independent
numeral classi ers. Typical examples are k'it-an `separate, isolated',
k'ol-an `round in three dimensions', b'il-an `round in three dimensions,
but small'. 4 One positional root, t'an, expresses the condition of looking
or staring, i.e. active perception. With the -an su x, t'anan occurs
either as a non-verbal predicate like in example (12) or in combination
with the motion verb ok `enter, begin' as illustrated in example (13).
(12) t'an-an-k'al-;
ok-toj jun mij tu'
looking-POSIT-DUR-B3 DIR-DIR one buzzard DEM
y-uul naa tu'
A3-inside house DEM
` ::: the buzzard continued looking in that house'
Penalosa & Say (1992)
(13) max ;-ok t'an-an eb' y-iin s-ti' naj
PERF B3-begin look-POSIT they A3-in A3-mouth he
`They began staring at his mouth.'
Penalosa & Say (1992)
Ihave shown that even though basic PVs in Akatek do not have separate
lexicalizations for active PVs and passive PVs, there are distinct
active perception predicates like t'anan. However, t'anan either functions
as a non-verbal predicate or it needs a matrix verb. Therefore,
it was excluded from the investigation of PVCs in sections 3 and 4 of
this chapter.
2.3. Meaning extension. Like see in English, il in Akatek extends
its meaning into the cognitive domain. For example, il can be
used in the sense of `recognize' or `realize' like in example (14), or it
can mean `think, consider' as illustrated by the imperative in example
(15).
3 According to Zavala (1992b), the class consists of approximately 270 roots.
4 An example for the use of k'itan as an independent numeral classi er is pro-
vided below:
(i) ox-eb' k'it-an ixim paat
three-PL separate-POSIT NCL tortilla
`three tortillas (separate from each other)' Zavala (1992b), 142