| Résumé: | This paper discusses the theoretical problem of correlation between linguistic phenomena inherited from a proto-language and borrowed from neighboring and genetically related languages in the context of the Mayan Lowland area. The grammatical tense/aspect/mood systems in four languages of the Yucatecan branch (Yucatec, Lacandon, Itza’ and Mopan) are very similar in respect to both particular categories and formal structure; this can be explained due to the short period passed from the break-up of Proto-Yucatecan into modern languages. Unlike the Yucatecan branch, the verbal systems of three Cholan languages (Chol, Chontal and Ch’orti’) are very different and apparently emerged independently. The structural similarity between the Yucatecan tense/aspect/mood systems and that of Chol is analyzed as a result of linguistic contact in Mayan Lowlands.
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