Ch'ol (Mayan) exhibits asymmetries in what is available for left branch extraction. While both numerals and interrogative possessors are able to extract from absolutive subject position, only numerals may extract from absolutive object position. To capture this asymmetry, I provide evidence that objects with overt possessors always undergo object shift, blocking left branch extraction. This follows from the Freezing Principle (Ross 1974; Wexler & Culicover 1977), or a ban on extraction from a moved constituent. Objects with numeral modifiers do not obligatorily undergo object shift and therefore may extract from the object. In addition to numerals and interrogative possessors, I present and analyze possibilities for other elements to extract out of various positions. I situate this work within Agree-based theories of extraction (e.g. Rackowski & Richards 2005; van Urk & Richards 2015; Branan 2018) and discuss this proposal's theoretical implications. Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the author's fieldwork.

Abstract. We argue that novel empirical generalizations on exclusive operators in Ch'ol (Mayan) provide strong evidence for a morphological decompositionality of exclusivity into a core semantic entry and focus sensitivity. There is a robust literature on exclusivity and the distributions of scalar particles in various languages (Beaver & Clark 2003, 2008Orenstein & Greenberg 2010;Coppock & Beaver 2013. Coppock & Beaver (2013) argue that mere operates in a different domain (properties) than only (propositions). Recent work on focus constructions in Mayan languages include Yasavul (2013) for K'iche' and AnderBois (2012) for Yucatec Maya. However, little work has been done on the variation among exclusives in morphologically rich languages like Ch'ol. Original data from fieldwork indicate that exclusivity can occur independently of focus marking, and when divorced from focus, the exclusive morpheme has a wider distribution and range of meanings.

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This paper compares two families of theories for numeral classifiers drawing on fieldwork data from two languages, Ch’ol (Mayan, Mexico) and Shan (Kra-Dai, Myanmar). We discuss classifier-for-numeral theories and classifier-for-noun theories, which we argue make different predictions based on the syntactic position and semantic contribution of the classifier in each set of theories. We argue that Ch’ol is a classifier-for-numeral language and Shan is a classifier-for-noun language. This analysis attributes the distinction between classifier-for-numeral and classifier-for-noun languages to cross-linguistic variation in the strategies for numeral modification. The proposed diagnostics are based on the semantic role of the classifier in numeral modification and can be used to distinguish between the two types of numeral classifiers across other languages.