Mam
Mam is a Mayan language spoken by about half a million people in Guatemala, mainly in the departments of Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango and San Marcos. It is also spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas along the border with Guatemala.
There are three main varieties of Mam: Northern Mam, which is spoken in Huehuetenango; Southern Mam, which is spoken in Quetzaltenango, and Central Mam, which is spoken in San Marcos. Each of these has many sub-dialects and there is considerable variation in the language from village to village, however Mam speakers are able to understand one another reasonably well.
Classification
Mam is closely related to the Tektitek language, and the two languages together form the Mamean sub-branch of the Mayan language family. Along with the Ixilan languages, Awakatek and Ixil, these make up the Greater Mamean sub-branch, one of the two branches of the Eastern Mayan languages (the other being the Greater Quichean sub-branch, which consists of 10 Mayan languages, including Kʼicheʼ).
Dialects
Because contact between members of different Mam communities is somewhat limited, the language varies considerably even from village to village. Nevertheless, mutual intelligibility, though difficult, is possible through practice.
Mam varieties within Guatemala are divided into four dialect groups:
Northern Mam in southern Huehuetenango Department. Northern Mam is the least conservative group according to Terrence Kaufman.
Southern Mam in Quetzaltenango Department, San Marcos Department, and Retalhuleu Department.
Central Mam in San Marcos Department.
Western Mam in northwestern San Marcos Department. The Tektitek language may be mutually intelligible with Western Mam dialects.
In addition to these, the dialects of Chiapas, Mexico may form a fifth dialect group, characterized by significant grammatical as well as lexical differences from the Guatemalan varieties.
At Trápaga Asociados – Interpretation & Translation Agency, we work with all Mayan languages including Mam.
Please contact us with any job or project inquiries.
+502 55717516
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