Tz'utujil language
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| Tz'utujil (Tz'utujiil) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Guatemala | |
| Region: | Western Highlands | |
| Total speakers: | approx. 50,000 | |
| Language family: | Mayan Quichean-Mamean Greater Quichean Quichean Tz'utujil (Tz'utujiil) |
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | myn | |
| ISO 639-3: | either: tzj — Western tzt — [[]] |
|
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
Tz'utujil (or Tz'utujiil) is a Mayan language spoken in the region to the south of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Tz'utujil is closely related to its larger neighbors, Kaqchikel and K'iche'.
Today approximately 50,000 speak Tz'utujil as their mother tongue. The majority of the Tz'utujil people have Spanish as their second language, although many of the older people, or those in more remote locations do not. Many children also do not learn Spanish until they go to school around the age of five although more importance is now being placed upon it due to the influx of tourism into the region. Spanish is used in written communication.
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[edit] Phonology
In the charts below each of the Tz'utujil phonemes is represented by the character or set of characters that denote it in the standard orthography developed by the Guatemalan Academy of Mayan Languages (ALMG) and sanctioned by the Guatemalan government. Where different, the corresponding symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet appears in brackets.
[edit] Vowels
Tz'utujil has five short and five long vowels.
| Short | Long | |
|---|---|---|
| i | ii | close front unrounded vowel |
| e | ee | mid front unrounded vowel |
| a | aa | open central unrounded vowel |
| u | uu | close back rounded vowel |
| o | oo | mid back rounded vowel |
[edit] Consonants
Like other Mayan languages, Tz'utujil does not distinguish voiced and voiceless stops and affricates but instead distinguishes plain and glottalized stops and affricates. The plain stops and affricates (technically "pulmonic egressive") are usually voiceless and are aspirated at the ends of words and unaspirated elsewhere. The glottalized stops and affricates are usually ejective in the case of k' , ch' , and tz' and implosive in the case of b' , t' , and q' .
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | glottalized | plain | glottalized | plain | glottalized | plain | glottalized | plain | glottalized | plain | ||
| Stops | p | b' [ɓ] | t | t' [ɗ] | k | k' | q | q' [ʠ] | ' [ʔ] | |||
| Affricates | tz [ʦ] | tz' [ʦ’] | ch [ʧ] | ch' [ʧ’] | ||||||||
| Fricatives | s | x [ʃ] | j [X] | |||||||||
| Nasals | m | n | ||||||||||
| Liquids | l r | |||||||||||
| Glides | y [j] | w | ||||||||||
[edit] Sample words and phrases
- maltyoox - 'thank-you'
- saqari - 'good morning'
- xqa'j q'iij - good afternoon
- xok aaq'a' - 'good night'
- na'an - 'good-bye'
- jo' - 'let's go!'
- utz aawach - 'how are you?'
- jee' - 'yes'
- mani' - 'no'
[edit] References
Dayley, Jon P. (1985). Tzutujil Grammar. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09962-1.
García Ixmatá, Pablo (1997). Rukeemiik ja Tz'utujiil Chii': Gramática tz'utujiil. Guatemala City, Guatemala: Cholsamaj. ISBN 99922-53-13-4.
Pérez Mendoza, Francisco; Miguel Hernández Mendoza (1996). Diccionario Tz'utujil. Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala: Proyecto Lingüístico Francisco Marroquín/Cholsamaj.
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