Tzʼutujil language

Tzutujil
Tzʼutujiil
Native to	Guatemala
Region	Western Highlands
Ethnicity	106,000 Tzʼutujil (2019 census)
Native speakers	72,000 (2019 census)
Language family	Mayan Quichean–Mamean Greater Quichean Quichean Tzutujil
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Guatemala
Regulated by	Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (ALMG)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	tzj
Glottolog	tzut1248
ELP	Tz'utujil

Tzʼutujil /ˈtsuːtəhiːl/ is a Mayan language spoken by the Tzʼutujil people in the region to the south of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Tzʼutujil is closely related to its larger neighbors, Kaqchikel and Kʼicheʼ. The 2002 census found that 60,000 people speak Tzʼutujil as their mother tongue. The two Tzʼutujil dialects are Eastern and Western.

The majority of the Tzʼutujil people speak Spanish as a second language, although many of the older people, or those who live remote areas do not speak Spanish. Many children also do not learn Spanish until they first go to school at the age of five although more importance is now being placed upon it due to the influx of tourism into the region. As of 2012, the Community Library Rijaʼtzuul Naʼooj in San Juan La Laguna features story telling for children in Tzʼutujil; bilingual children's books are also available. Spanish is used in written communication.

Phonology

In the charts below each of the Tzʼutujil phonemes is represented by the character or set of characters that denote it in the standard orthography developed by the Guatemalan Academy of Mayan Languages (ALMG) and sanctioned by the Guatemalan government. Where different, the corresponding symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet appears in brackets.

Stress is always on the final syllable of native words, except for the adjectival vowel suffix in certain environments.

Vowels

Tzʼutujil has five short and five long vowels.

Short	Long
i [ɪ]	ii [iː]	close front unrounded vowel
e [ɛ]	ee [eː]	mid front unrounded vowel
a [ɐ]	aa [aː]	open central unrounded vowel
o [ɔ]	oo [oː]	mid back rounded vowel
u [ʊ]	uu [uː]	close back rounded vowel

Ee and oo tend to be more open ([ɛː, ɔː]) before a glottal stop.

Many words allow either a and e, and although many allow a only, there are few which require e, suggesting that /e/ is merging into /a/. A smaller number of words allow either a or o.

Consonants

Like other Mayan languages, Tzʼutujil does not distinguish voiced and voiceless stops and affricates but instead distinguishes pulmonic and glottalized stops and affricates.

		Bilabial	Alveolar		Post-alv./ Palatal	Velar	Post- velar	Glottal
Nasal		m ⟨m⟩	n ⟨n⟩
Plosive/ Affricate	plain	p ⟨p⟩	t ⟨t⟩	ts ⟨tz⟩	tʃ ⟨ch⟩	k ⟨k⟩	q ⟨q⟩	ʔ ⟨ʼ⟩
	glottalized	ɓ ⟨bʼ⟩	ɗ ⟨tʼ⟩	tsʼ ⟨tzʼ⟩	tʃʼ ⟨chʼ⟩	kʼ ⟨kʼ⟩	ʛ ~ qʼ ⟨qʼ⟩
Fricative			s ⟨s⟩		ʃ ⟨x⟩		χ ⟨j⟩
Trill			r ⟨r⟩
Approximant		β ~ w ⟨w⟩	l ⟨l⟩		j ⟨y⟩

The glottalized stop kʼ and affricates chʼ, tzʼ are ejective, while bʼ, tʼ are voiced implosives before vowels, and ejectives ([pʼ], [tʼ]) elsewhere (before consonants and at the ends of words). Qʼ may be either ejective or implosive before vowels, ejective elsewhere.

The pulmonic stops and affricates, p, t, tz, ch, k, q, are tenuis before vowels and aspirated elsewhere.

Velar k, kʼ are palatalized before i, and also usually before a non-back vowel (i, e, a) followed by a post-velar (q, qʼ, j), though the latter dissimilation is not completely productive.

W is [β] before front vowels (i, e) and [w] before non-front vowels (a, o, u).

J is a post-velar [x] in most positions, but [h] before two consonants or a word-final consonant.

At the beginning of a morpheme, there is no distinction between glottal stop and zero: Monosyllabic forms always have a glottal stop, with the exception of a few grammatical forms which never do, and when prefixed the glottal stop is retained. With polysyllabic forms the glottal stop is optional, and when prefixed it is not retained. Usually initial glottal stops are invisible to the morphology, but in some words they are treated as consonants.

Liquids and approximants, r, l, w, y, are devoiced word-finally and before consonants, even before voiced consonants as in elnaq [ɛl̥náq]. The nasals, m, n, are partially devoiced word-finally: they start off voiced, and end up voiceless.

Sample words and phrases

• maltyoox or mal diox – 'thank-you'
• menuc xuben – 'you're welcome' (also said after finishing every meal)
• saqari – 'good morning'
• xqaʼj qʼiij – 'good afternoon'
• xok aaqʼaʼ – 'good night'
• naʼan – 'good-bye'
• joʼ – 'let's go!'
• utz aawach – 'how are you?'
• jeeʼ – 'yes'
• maniʼ or majon – 'no'

References

• Dayley, Jon P. (1985). Tzutujil Grammar. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09962-1.
• García Ixmatá, Pablo (1997). Rukeemiik ja Tzʼutujiil Chiiʼ: Gramática tzʼutujiil. Guatemala City, Guatemala: Cholsamaj. ISBN 99922-53-13-4.
• Grimes, Larry. "Tzʼutujil Phonetics". Mayan Languages Collection of Larry Grimes. The Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America: www.ailla.utexas.org. Media: audio. Access: public. Resource: TZJ003R001.
• Pérez Mendoza, Francisco; Miguel Hernández Mendoza (1996). Diccionario Tzʼutujil. Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala: Proyecto Lingüístico Francisco Marroquín/Cholsamaj.

External links

• Introductory Tzʼutujil document (PDF)