Chuj

Chuj is a Qʼanjobalan–Chujean Mayan language spoken mainly in western Guatemala, and also in southern Mexico. There are about 58,600 speakers of Chuj in Guatemala, particularly in the municipalities of San Mateo Ixtatán, San Sebastián Coatán and Nentón in the Huehuetenango department. There are also about 2,890 speakers in Mexico, particularly in Trinitaria municipality in Chiapas state, and in the states of Campeche and Quintana Roo. The Chujean branch emerged approximately 2,000 years ago.

Chuj is also known as Chuh, Chuhe, Chuje or Chapai. The native name of the language is Koti’. There are two main dialects: San Mateo Ixtatán Chuj and San Sebastián Coatán Chuj.

Chuj is officially recognised in Guatemala. It is written with the Latin alphabet using an orthography based partly on Spanish. There are some publications in it, including a dictionary, grammar and translations of parts of the Bible.

The Chuj language has been influenced by Spanish, and Chuj speakers have a tendency to borrow Spanish words or code-mix. It is estimated that 70% of the Chuj language is purely Chuj. There are language conservation and revitalization efforts taking place in San Mateo Ixtatán, through groups like the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala.

 

At Trápaga Asociados – Interpretation & Translation Agency, we work with all Mayan languages including Chuj.

Please contact us with any job or project inquiries.

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