Mopan

Mopan is a member of the Yucatecan branch of the Mayan language family. It is spoken in the Cayo, Stann Ceek and Toledo districs in southern Belize, particularly in San Antonio in Toledo. It is also spoken in the Petén Department of northern Guatemala, particularly in the towns of San Luis, Poptún, Melchor de Mencos, and Dolores. In 2014 there were about 10,600 speakers of Mopan in Belize, and there were about 2,010 in Guatemala in 2019. It is officially recognized in Guatemala.

Mopan is also known as Mopán Maya, Mopane or Maya Mopán.

Mopan is written with the Latin alphabet, and several different spelling systems have been used since colonial times (from the 17th century). The system shown below is the one used by the Academia de las Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (ALMG), or Guatemalan Academy of Mayan Languages.

 

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

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Itzaʼ

Itzaʼ is also known as Icaiche Maya, Itz, Itzaj, Itzaj Maya, Itzaʼ Maya, Maya or Petén Itza’ Maya. It is an officially recognized language in Guatemala.

Itzaʼ is a Yucatecan Mayan language spoken by the Itza people mainly in the village of San José on the north shore of Lake Petén Itzaʼ in Petén department in northern Guatemala. It also used to be spoken in parts of Belize. In 2019 there were 410 native speakers of Itzaʼ, all of whom were older adults. Younger people have shifted to Spanish.

When the Yucatan Peninsula was governed from Chichen Itza between about 600 AD and 1697, Itzaʼ was the main language of administration in the area, and this was the last independent Maya nation in Mesoamerica.

Speaking Itzaʼ was banned by the government of Guatemala in the 1930s. In the 1980s the Maya people started to become increasingly interested in their culture and languages, and the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (ALMG), or Guatemalan Academy of Mayan Languages, which was set up in 1990 to promote and revitalize Itzaʼ and other Mayan languages.

Itzaʼ is also known as Icaiche Maya, Itz, Itzaj, Itzaj Maya, Itzaʼ Maya, Maya or Petén Itza’ Maya. It is an officially recognized language in Guatemala.

Itzaʼ can be written with the Latin alphabet using an orthography created by the ALMG. There are some publications in the language, including a dictionary, grammar and other texts.

Itzaʼ was the language of administration across much of the Yucatán Peninsula during the supremacy of Chichen Itza. Later, the Itza people had the last independent Maya nation in Mesoamerica until 1697. During this time, the Itza people resettled their ancestral home in the Petén Basin. The subjugation of the Itza capital by the Spanish forced the Itza people to flee or live amongst the Spaniards, such as in San Jose, Guatemala, where the only modern speakers of the language live.

 

The modern Itza people are the last of the Lowland Maya to be able to directly trace their heritage back to the pre-Columbian era. The Itzaʼ language reflects this history in its nomenclature for the natural world: Itzaʼ words referring to agriculture and agricultural practices remain unchanged since first being recorded. Additionally, Itzaʼ possesses a rich vocabulary for crops and animals that encodes specific information about different varietals and individuals of the species.

 

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

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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.

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 Awakateco

The native name of the language is Qa'yol and speakers called themselves Qatanum. Other names for the language include Awakatek, Awakateko, Aguacatec, Aguacateca, Aguateca, Awaketeko, Awaketeco, Aguacatan Maya and Kayol.

The language only has fewer than 10,000 speakers, and is considered vulnerable by UNESCO. In addition, the language in Mexico is at high risk of endangerment, with fewer than 2,000 speakers in the state of Campeche in 2010 (although the number of speakers was only 3 as of 2000).

Awakatek is closely related to Ixil and the two languages together form the sub-branch Ixilean, which together with the Mamean languages, Mam and Tektitek, form a sub-branch Greater-Mamean, which again, together with the Greater-Quichean languages, ten Mayan languages, including Kʼicheʼ, form the branch Quichean–Mamean. Like many Mayan languages, Aguacateco is an agglutinative language with VSO word order.

 

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

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 Poqomchiʼ

     Is a Mayan language spoken by the Poqomchiʼ Maya of Guatemala, and is very closely related to Poqomam. Its two main dialects, eastern and western, were spoken by 90,000 or so people in the year 2000, in Purulhá, Baja Verapaz, and in the following municipalities of Alta Verapaz: Santa Cruz Verapaz, San Cristóbal Verapaz, Tactic, Tamahú and Tucurú. It is also the predominant language in the municipality of Chicamán (El Quiché), which borders Alta Verapaz.

     Poqomchiʼ is also known as Pocomchí, Poconchí, Pokomchí, Pokonchí, Tactic Pokomchí, Pokomchi or Poqomchii. There are two main dialects: Eastern Poqomchiʼ and Western Poqomchiʼ.

Poqomchiʼ is officially recognized in Guatemala and is supported by the Academy of Mayan Languages. It is written with the Latin alphabet, taught in primary schools, and is used in some literature.

 

 

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

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 Ixil

 

     Is a Mayan language spoken by around 70,000 people in Guatemala. There are three main varieties of Ixil: Chajul, Nebaj, and San Juan Cotzal. Some linguists consider them to be three distinct languages, while others consider them dialects of a single Ixil language. Chajul and Nebaj Ixil use VSO word order while Ixil de San Juan Cotzal uses VOS.

     According to historical linguistic studies Ixil emerged as a separate language sometime around the year 500AD. It is the primary language of the Ixil people, which comprises the three towns of San Juan Cotzal, Santa Maria Nebaj, and San Gaspar Chajul in the Guatemalan highlands. There is also an Ixil speaking migrant population in Guatemala City and the United States. Although there are slight differences in vocabulary in the dialects spoken by people in the three different Ixil towns, they are all mutually intelligible and should be considered dialects of a single language.

 

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

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 Qʼanjobʼal

Q’anjob’al or Kanjobal is a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala and Mexico. It is spoken mainly in the Huehuetenango department of Guatemala in the municipalities of Santa Eulalia (Jolom Konob), San Juan Ixcoy (Yich K’ox), San Pedro Soloma (Tz’uluma’) and Santa Cruz Barillas (Yal Motx), and in the south of Chiapas in Mexico. According to the 2003 census, there were about 140,000 speakers of Q’anjob’al in Guatemala, and another 8,340 speakers in Mexico

Classification

Qʼanjobʼal is a member of the Qʼanjobʼalan branch of the Mayan language family. The Mayan language family includes 31 languages, two of which are now extinct. The Qʼanjobʼalan branch includes not only Qʼanjobʼal itself but also Chuj, Akatek, and Jakaltek, also spoken in Guatemala. The Qʼanjobʼalan languages are noted for being among the most conservative of the Mayan language family, although they do include some interesting innovations. Q’anjob’al is also known as Conob, Eastern Kanjobal, Eastern Qanjobal, K’anjobal, Kanhobal, Kanjobal, Qanjobal or Santa Eulalia Kanjobal. It closely related to Chuj, Akatek and Jakaltek, which are also spoken in Guatemala.

Vocabulary

Qʼanjobʼal consists of groups of roots that can take affixes. Words are traditionally classified as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, intransitive and transitive verbs, particles, and positionals. Positionals are a group of roots which cannot function as words on their own; in combination with affixes they are used to describe relationships of position and location. Particles are words that do not take affixes; they mostly function in adverbial roles, and include such things as interrogative particles, affirmative/negative words, markers of time and location, conjunctions, prepositions and demonstratives.

 

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

Please contact us with any job or project inquiries.

www.asociadostrapaga.com

+502 55717516