Quiché language

      an American Indian language of the Mayan family, spoken in the western highlands of Guatemala. It is most closely related to the Cakchiquel, Tzutujil, Sacapultee, and Sipacapa languages of central Guatemala and more distantly related to Uspantec, Pocomam, Pocomchí, Kekchí, and other languages of the Eastern Mayan group (see Maya languages). The name Achí is sometimes applied to the easternmost dialects of Quiché.

      The major ancient literary work in Quiché is the Popol Vuh, a historical chronicle of the Quiché people and their kings and heroes. Other important pre-conquest works include three other histories, like the Popol Vuh, written down in the 16th century in a Spanish orthography, and the Rabinal Achí, first discovered in the 19th century.

      Quiché, like the Yucatec language (q.v.), has a set of consonants that includes a voiceless series (p, t, k, etc.) and a glottalized series, but it lacks voiced stops such as b, d, g. In grammar and syntax Quiché depends heavily on suffixes and also uses prefixes. Particles (small words used as prepositions, pronouns, adverbs, etc.) are very common.

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