Maya languages

Maya languages
or Mayan languages

Family of about 30 American Indian languages and language complexes, spoken by more than three million people, mainly in southern Mexico and Guatemala.

While some have few remaining speakers, Yucatec in Mexico and K'iche (Quiché), Kaqchikel (Cakchiquel), Mam, and Q'eqchi' (Kekchí) in Guatemala count speakers in the hundreds of thousands. Maya languages were recorded in an indigenous script (see Maya Codices; Mayan hieroglyphic writing), as well as in colonial documents in a Spanish-based orthography, including the Popol Vuh and the Yucatec prophetic texts known as the Books of Chilam Balam.

* * *

also called  Mayan languages 

      family of Mesoamerican Indian languages spoken in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; Maya languages were also formerly spoken in western Honduras and western El Salvador.

      The family may be subdivided into the Huastec, Yucatec, Western Maya, and Eastern Maya groups. The most important Eastern Maya languages are Quiché (Quiché language) and Cakchiquel (Cakchiquel language); but there are also Mam, Teco, Aguacatec, Ixil, Uspantec, Sacapultec, Sipacapa, Pocomam, Pocomchí, and Kekchí. The largest Western Maya language is Tzeltal, spoken in Chiapas, Mexico, but other Western Maya languages include Chontal, Chol, Chortí, Tzotzil, Tojolabal, Chuj, Kanjobal, Acatec, Jacaltec, and Motozintlec. The Yucatec languages (Yucatec language), including Yucatec, Lacandón, Itzá, and Mopán, are sometimes also classed as Western Maya languages; Yucatec (Yucatec language), the most important, is spoken in Yucatán, northern Guatemala, and Belize. The Huastec group is composed of the Huastec and Chicomuceltec languages.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Maya peoples — See also: Maya (disambiguation) Maya …   Wikipedia

  • Maya script — Maya Type Logographic (used both logograms and syllabic characters) Languages Mayan languages Time period 3rd century BCE to …   Wikipedia

  • Maya — may refer to: Contents 1 Peoples, languages, numerical systems 2 Religion and mythology 3 Historical person …   Wikipedia

  • Maya language (Brazil) — Maya Mayo Spoken in Brazil Native speakers ? Language family Pano–Tacanan Panoan …   Wikipedia

  • Maya (illusion) — Maya (Sanskrit माय māyaa[›]), in Indian religions, has multiple meanings, usually quoted as illusion , centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it, created by us. Maya is the principal deity …   Wikipedia

  • Maya Machhindra — Maya Macchindra is the title of about six films produced in different languages in India. The story is based on the life of Matsyendranath or Machindranath one of the eighty four Mahasiddhas. Contents 1 1932 Hindi/Marathi film 1.1 Cast 2 1939… …   Wikipedia

  • Maya Bazar — मया बाजार میا باذار   block   …   Wikipedia

  • Mayan languages — Maya language redirects here. For other uses, see Maya language (disambiguation). Mayan Geographic distribution: Mesoamerica: Southern Mexico; …   Wikipedia

  • Maya Pencheva — Prof. Maya Pencheva Maya Pencheva (Bulgarian: Майя Стефанова Пенчева, pronounced [ˈmajə ˈpɛntʃevə]; born 3 May 1947) is a Bulgarian linguist best known for her work on English word formation, semantics and language typology. Maya Pencheva, D.Litt …   Wikipedia

  • Maya civilization — This article is about the pre Columbian Maya civilization. For a discussion of the modern Maya, see Maya peoples. For other meanings of the word Maya, see Maya …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”