Grammatical characteristics of Spanish in contact with teːnek or Huastec (Mayan)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe some grammatical features observed in the Spanish variant spoken by Teːnek bilinguals who speak Spanish as a second language. I argue that these features are of presumably Teːnek origin as the grammatical forms generated are remarkably divergent from standard Spanish and instead reflect features in the grammar and lexicon of the former. The features described here are explained as linguistic transfers from Teːnek to Spanish, developed from the prolonged linguistic contact that has occurred between the speakers of these two languages in the Huasteca region from the beginning of the 16th century to the present day.