184,526 research outputs found
Distinctness effects on VOS order: Evidence from Yucatec Maya
No full textSkopeteas S, Verhoeven E. Distinctness effects on VOS order: Evidence from Yucatec Maya. MIT Working Papers in Linguistics. 2009;59(New Perspectives in Mayan Linguistics):135-152
Left peripheral arguments and discourse interface strategies in Yucatec Maya
No full textSkopeteas S, Verhoeven E. Left peripheral arguments and discourse interface strategies in Yucatec Maya. In: Neeleman A, Kucerova I, eds. Contrasts and positions in information structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2012: 296-321.Constituents in the left periphery are often assumed to bear information structural functions such as topic and focus. Yucatec Maya provides the empirical basis for a challenging case study in this respect, since it provides a distinction between a sentence-initial position that is characterized by a series of enclitics and is labeled ‘topic position’, and an immediately preverbal position that is labeled ‘focus position’. This paper addresses the issue where do the interpretational properties of the left peripheral constituents come from and considers two alternative hypotheses: (a) the left peripheral constituents occupy the Specifier positions of functional projections that bear information structural features such as ‘topic’ and ‘focus’ and (b) the syntactic positions in the left periphery are underspecified with respect to information structure. The data presented in this paper support the view of hypothesis (b) and show that the interpretational properties of the left peripheral positions can be accounted for through the interaction of discourse principles that are independent from syntax with the properties of prosodic phrasing, that indirectly refer to constituent structure
Distinctness effects on VOS order: Evidence from Yucatec Maya
No full textSkopeteas S, Verhoeven E. Distinctness effects on VOS order: Evidence from Yucatec Maya. In: Avelino H, ed. New Perspectives in Mayan Linguistics. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 2011: 275-300
Encoding information structure in Yucatec Maya : on the Interplay of prosody and syntax
No full textThe aim of this paper is to outline the means for encoding information structure in Yucatec Maya. Yucatec Maya is a tone language, displaying a three-fold opposition in the tonal realization of syllables. From the morpho-syntactic point of view, the grammar of Yucatec Maya contains morphological (topic affixes, morphological marking of out-of-focus predicates) and syntactic (designated positions) means to uniquely specify syntactic constructions for their information structure. After a descriptive overview of these phenomena, we present experimental evidence which reveals the impact of the nonavailability of prosodic alternatives on the choice of syntactic constructions in language production
The interaction between topicalization and structural constraints: evidence from Yucatec Maya
No full textSkopeteas S, Verhoeven E. The interaction between topicalization and structural constraints: evidence from Yucatec Maya. The Linguistic Review. 2009;26(2-3):239-259
On the universality of prosodic reflexes of contrast: The case of Yucatec Maya
No full textKügler F, Skopeteas S. On the universality of prosodic reflexes of contrast: The case of Yucatec Maya. Presented at the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XI), 6-10 August 2007, Saarbrücken, Germany
Folkecology and commons management in the Maya Lowlands
No full textThree groups living off the same rainforest habitat manifest strikingly distinct behaviors, cognitions, and social relationships relative to the forest. Only the area's last native Maya reveal systematic awareness of ecological complexity involving animals, plants, and people and practices clearly favoring forest regeneration. Spanish-speaking immigrants prove closer to native Maya in thought, action, and social networking than do immigrant Maya. There is no overriding "local," "Indian," or "immigrant" relationship to the environment. Results indicate that exclusive concern with rational self-interest and institutional constraints do not sufficiently account for commons behavior and that cultural patterning of cognition and access to relevant information are significant predictors. Unlike traditional accounts of relations between culture, cognition, and behavior, the models offered are not synthetic interpretations of people's thoughts and behaviors but are emergent cultural patterns derived statistically from measurements of individual cognitions and behaviors.cognitive models / commons tragedy / culture consensus / social networks / sustainable agroforestry
COSMOLOGY AND SOCIETY: HOUSEHOLD RITUAL AMONG THE TERMINAL CLASSIC MAYA PEOPLE OF YAXHA (ca. A.D. 850-950), GUATEMALA
No full textThis study of domestic ritual and symbolism centers on the ancient Maya kingdom of Yaxha in northeastern Guatemala, during the last part of the Classic period (A.D. 850-950/1000). Classic Maya high-culture functioned within a dynastic cosmology that framed royalty’s power. The central question in this dissertation is ‘how did the non-royal population participate and interact with this dynastic cosmology?’
Exploring some possible ways in which ancient Yaxhaeans participated and interacted with the local dynastic cosmology, I have hypothesized three possible behaviors derived from ethnographic studies: active engagement, resistance, and passive compliance. A comparative study of ritual practices and symbolism in ten residences of different social ranks provides the grounds for the discussion. This sample of residences includes the royal palace, a noble palace, two high-end commoner residences, and six low-end commoner residences. While the data from the eight commoner residences was obtained through original research, the information from the royal and noble palaces was recovered from previous research and salvage archaeology projects at Yaxha. The same ritual and symbolic aspects were investigated: symbolism in architectural layouts, ritual feasting, funerary rituals, dedication and termination rituals, and ritual paraphernalia.
I have concluded that while nobles and high-end commoners were actively engaged with the ruling dynastic cosmology, low-end commoners were more reluctant. A certain degree of disconnection in the ritual practices of the higher and lower ranks has been detected, suggesting that low-end commoners might have been more passively compliant than actively engaged with the ruling cosmology. No evidence for overt resistance has been found. Although passive compliance is not a behavior usually associated with social change, ethnographic observations suggest that as a form of passive resistance, it might be a symptom of social unrest
Meshes of the afternoon: the possibility of poetic cinema in Maya Deren's film
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras/Inglês e Literatura Correspondente, Florianópolis, 2004Abstract : This thesis examines the work of the filmmaker Maya Deren in the light of the aesthetics proposed by her main writings -"An Anagram of Ideas on Art, Form and Film"(1946), "Cinema as an Independent Art Form" (1946), "Cinematography: The Creative Use of Reality"(1960) -, as well as its relations to her first short film Meshes of the Afternoon, placing it among the numerous aesthetic and film trends in which it figured. Her writings depict a solid theoretic background, as well as her attempt to construct what she called "poetic cinema," through the conjunction of various forms of artistic expression. Such an attempt is made no less evident in the analysis of Meshes of the Afternoon, whose dream-like narrative evolves from the peculiar combination of symbolic elements and is responsible for the poetic effect coveted by the filmmaker.Esta dissertação tem como objetivo examinar o trabalho da cineasta Maya Deren, principalmente no que se refere à estética proposta por ela em seus principais escritos: "An Anagram of Ideas on Art, Film and Form" (1946), "Cinema as an Independent Art Form" (1946) "Cinematography: The Creative Use of Reality" (1960) - e à relação que estes estabelecem com seu primeiro curta-metragem Meshes of the Afternoon, situando-o em meio às inúmeras correntes estéticas e cinematográficas com as quais se relacionou. Seus escritos evidenciam uma formação teórica sólida, bem como sua tentativa de elaborar o que denominou de "poetic cinema,"através do encontro das diversas formas de expressão artística. Esta tentativa fica não menos evidente ao se analisar Meshes of the Afternoon, cuja narrativa de caráter onírico se desenvolve a partir de uma combinação peculiar de elementos simbólicos, responsável pelo efeito poético almejado pela cineasta
STATE INTERVENTIONISM IN THE LATE CLASSIC MAYA PALENQUE POLITY: HOUSEHOLD AND COMMUNITY ARCHAEOLOGY AT EL LACANDON
No full textArchaeological materials from seven excavated households (three commoner, three elite and a super-elite) from El Lacandón, a rural settlement of the Ancient Maya Palenque polity in Chiapas, Mexico; are analyzed to examine how households and communities were articulated and later affected by incorporation into larger sociopolitical entities. The study spans El Lacandón’s foundation in the Late Preclassic period (300 B.C. -A.D. 150), its abandonment as part of its assimilation into the Palenque polity at the beginning of the Classic period (ca. A.D. 150), and its re-foundation as a 2nd level community in the political hierarchy of the Palenque polity at the end of the Late Classic (A.D. 750-850). Economic analyses consider patterns of production and consumption. Obsidian blade manufacturing was organized as a household-level production in both periods, and it was not attached to elite interests during the Late Preclassic, with households of both statuses engaged in paper production, woodworking and paper/cloth imprintings. The pattern changes during the Late Classic, with manufacturing activities restricted to elite households. In terms of consumption, obsidian was available in similar quantities to all households during the Late Preclassic, and became more abundant in elite households during the Late Classic. Ideological patterns of the Late Classic period show that the super-elite household was clearly linked to Palenque’s great tradition expressed in burial practices, according to body position and head orientation. Local elite burials practices were more diverse, which was possibly related to a local little tradition. El Lacandón’s abandonment at the end of the Late Preclassic coincides with the growth of Palenque as a political capital, a pattern frequently observed in cases where rural population moved to growing political capitals. Sociopolitical patterns during the Late Classic were examined by a comparison of civic precinct planning and the differential distribution of elite and commoner households in the districts of the Palenque polity. The analysis concluded that provincial elites exercised less power than the elite of the capital, but were able to negotiate a local identity expressed in Palenque-related elements and also elements of other polities
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