Perception verb complements in Akatek, a Mayan language

5. CONCLUSION 221
by the matrix predicate ootaj `know', which the event denoting type2
PVCs cannot.
The comparison of type1 PVCs in Akatek with that-PVCs in English
on the one hand (section 4.4) and of type2 PVCs in Akatek with
PNOMs in English on the other (section 3.5) showed a high degree of
similarity regarding the structural and the semantic characterization
of event denoting and proposition denoting PVC types in these
two languages. In Table 16, the distribution of English and Akatek
PVC types over the typology of complementation (see chapter 2) is
presented. Since paratactic PVC types do not occur in English or in
Akatek, I left them out here, but they are included in the considerations
regarding a typology of PVCs in chapter 6. The Akatek PVC
types t perfectly into the typological picture developed for English
PVC types in chapter 3. The proposition denoting type1 PVC isan
indicative (IND) complement, which can alternatively be embedded by
the matrix predicate ootaj `know', just like the that-PVC in English.
In addition, type1 PVCs can also function as SUB complements when
taking the subjunctive complementizer tol. The event denoting type2
PVC does not accept ootaj `know' as a matrix predicate. Type2 PVCs
are nominalized complements just like PNOMs in English. In Table
16, the possibility of a hierarchy for PVC types ranking from IND over
INF to NMLZ, is apparent. Certain complementtypes may be skipped
as in Akatek, or more than one variety of a complement type, e.g. the
three INFs in English, can be used. The evidence provided by the anal-
Table 16. English and Akatek PVC types and the typology
of complementation
English Akatek Semantic Matrix predicate
PVCs PVCs types know/ ootaj
IND that-PVC type1 (tzub'il) proposition (event) +
SUB | type1 (tol) proposition (event) +
INF to-PVC | proposition +
INF NI-PVC | event {
INF ing-PVC | event {
NMLZ PNOM type2 event {
yses of English and Akatek PVCs as illustrated in Table 16 suggests
the following hierarchy ofPVCtypes:
(235) IND > SUB > INF > NMLZ
Obviously, the order of the PVC types along the hierarchy is motivated
by their semantics. Since INF PVCs can denote propositions as well as