ABSTRACT
Alignment refers to the way core arguments are distinguished from one another by the morphosyntax. In Mayan, morphological alignment involves two sets of cross-reference markers which are attached to the head of the clause, i.e., the predicate (in one language there are three sets). These mark the main syntactic functions: S (intransitive subject), O (transitive object) and A (transitive agent). Different patterns of alignment emerge, depending on how the two sets of markers map onto the three syntactic functions. These are introduced below and discussed in detail in §§2–5 and §7.
