Yukatek Maya language
Encyclopedia
Yucatec Maya called Màaya t'àan (lit. "Maya speech") by its speakers, is a Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula
and northern Belize
. To native speakers, it is known only as Maya - "Yucatec" is a tag linguists use to distinguish it from other Mayan languages (such as K'iche'
and Itza'
Maya).
In the Mexican states
of Yucatán
, some parts of Campeche
, Tabasco
, Chiapas
, and Quintana Roo
, Maya remains many speakers' first language today, with approximately 800,000 - 1.2 million speakers.
s - /pʼ/, /tʼ/, /kʼ/. Often referred to as glottal
ized consonants, they are produced at the same place of oral articulation as their non-ejective stop counterparts - /p/, /t/, /k/. However, the release of the lingual closure is preceded by a raising of the closed glottis to increase the air pressure in the space between the glottis and the point of closure, resulting in a release with a characteristic popping sound. These sounds are written using an apostrophe
after the letter to distinguish them from the plain consonants (e.g., t'àan "speech" vs. táan "forehead"). The apostrophes indicating these sounds were not common in written Maya until the 20th century but are now becoming more common. The Mayan b is also glottalized, an implosive /ɓ/, and is sometimes written b', though this is becoming less common.
Yucatec Maya is one of only three Mayan languages to have developed tone
; the others being Uspantek
and one dialect of Tzotzil
). Yucatec distinguishes short vowels and long vowels - indicated by single versus double letters (ii ee aa oo uu) - and between high- and low-tone long vowels. High-tone vowels begin on a high pitch and fall in phrase-final position but rise elsewhere, sometimes without much vowel length; in either case this is indicated in writing by means of an acute accent (íi ée áa óo úu). Low-tone vowels begin on a low pitch and are sustained in length; they are sometimes but not always indicated in writing by means of a grave accent (ìi èe àa òo ùu). Also, Yucatec has contrastive laryngealization (creaky voice
) on long vowels, sometimes realized by means of a full intervocalic glottal stop and written as a long vowel with an apostrophe in the middle, as in the plural suffix -o'ob.
and others) does not have the grammatical category of tense
. Temporal information is encoded by a combination of aspect
, inherent lexical aspect (aktionsart
), and pragmatically governed conversational inferences. Yucatec is further unusual for lacking temporal connective such as 'before' and 'after'. Another aspect of the language is the core-argument marking strategy, which is a 'fluid S system' in the typology of Dixon (1994) where intransitive subjects are encoded like agents or patients based upon a number of semantic properties as well as the perfectivity of the event.
times, when the language was written using Maya script
. The language itself can be traced back to proto-Yucatecan, the ancestor of modern Yucatec Maya, Itza, Lacandon
and Mopan
. Even further back, the language is ultimately related to all other Maya languages through proto-Mayan
itself.
Yucatec Maya is now written in the Latin script. This was introduced during the Spanish Conquest of Yucatán
which began in the early 16th century, and the now-antiquated conventions of Spanish orthography of that period ("Colonial orthography") were adapted to transcribe Yucatec Maya. This included the use of x for the postalveolar fricative
sound (often spelled as sh in English), a sound that in Spanish has since turned into a velar fricative
nowadays spelled j, except in a few geographic names such as "México".
In colonial times a "reversed c" (⟨⟩) was often used to represent [tsʼ], which is now more usually represented with ⟨dz⟩ (and with ⟨tz'⟩ in the revised ALMG orthography).
" almost certainly derives from Yucatec Maya xoc. The OED still describes the origin of shark as "uncertain", noting that it "seems to have been introduced by the sailors of Captain (afterwards Sir John) Hawkins
's expedition, who brought home a specimen which was exhibited in London in 1569." These dates, however, helped establish its recently discovered etymology, and very few dictionaries have had the chance to update this entry.
Another word is "cigar
". "Zik" is Maya for "smoke" and "zikil" is Chol Maya for "smoked", which in Chorti
Maya is "zikar".
's radio stations XEXPUJ-AM
(Xpujil
, Campeche
), XENKA-AM
(Felipe Carrillo Puerto
, Quintana Roo
) and XEPET-AM
(Peto
, Yucatán
).
The 2006 film Apocalypto
, directed by Mel Gibson
, was filmed entirely in Yucatec Maya. The script was translated into Maya by Hilario Chi Canul
of the Maya community of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, who also worked as a language coach on the production.
Audio course materials are available for purchase at
Free online dictionary, grammar and texts:
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
and northern Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
. To native speakers, it is known only as Maya - "Yucatec" is a tag linguists use to distinguish it from other Mayan languages (such as K'iche'
K'iche' language
The K’iche’ language is a part of the Mayan language family. It is spoken by many K'iche' people in the central highlands of Guatemala. With close to a million speakers , it is the second-most widely spoken language in the country after Spanish...
and Itza'
Itza' language
Itza is one of the Yucatecan branch of the Mayan languages. The other languages in the Yucatecan branch are Yucatec, Lakantun, and Mopan....
Maya).
In the Mexican states
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, some parts of Campeche
Campeche
Campeche is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in Southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco to the south west...
, Tabasco
Tabasco
Tabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
, Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, and Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal....
, Maya remains many speakers' first language today, with approximately 800,000 - 1.2 million speakers.
Phonology
A characteristic feature of Yucatec Mayan (and all Mayan languages) is the use of ejective consonantEjective consonant
In phonetics, ejective consonants are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated or tenuis consonants...
s - /pʼ/, /tʼ/, /kʼ/. Often referred to as glottal
Glottalization
Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound. Glottalization of vowels and other sonorants is most often realized as creaky voice...
ized consonants, they are produced at the same place of oral articulation as their non-ejective stop counterparts - /p/, /t/, /k/. However, the release of the lingual closure is preceded by a raising of the closed glottis to increase the air pressure in the space between the glottis and the point of closure, resulting in a release with a characteristic popping sound. These sounds are written using an apostrophe
Apostrophe
The apostrophe is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritic mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet or certain other alphabets...
after the letter to distinguish them from the plain consonants (e.g., t'àan "speech" vs. táan "forehead"). The apostrophes indicating these sounds were not common in written Maya until the 20th century but are now becoming more common. The Mayan b is also glottalized, an implosive /ɓ/, and is sometimes written b', though this is becoming less common.
Yucatec Maya is one of only three Mayan languages to have developed tone
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
; the others being Uspantek
Uspantek language
The Uspanteko is a Mayan language of Guatemala, closely related to K'iche'. It is spoken in the Uspantán and Playa Grande Ixcán municipios, in the Department El Quiché. It is also one of only three Mayan languages to have developed contrastive tone...
and one dialect of Tzotzil
Tzotzil language
Tzotzil is a Maya language spoken by the indigenous Tzotzil Maya people in the Mexican state of Chiapas. According to an INEGI 2005 census, there are 329,937 speakers of Tzotzil in Mexico, making it the 6th most spoken indigenous language in the country...
). Yucatec distinguishes short vowels and long vowels - indicated by single versus double letters (ii ee aa oo uu) - and between high- and low-tone long vowels. High-tone vowels begin on a high pitch and fall in phrase-final position but rise elsewhere, sometimes without much vowel length; in either case this is indicated in writing by means of an acute accent (íi ée áa óo úu). Low-tone vowels begin on a low pitch and are sustained in length; they are sometimes but not always indicated in writing by means of a grave accent (ìi èe àa òo ùu). Also, Yucatec has contrastive laryngealization (creaky voice
Creaky voice
In linguistics, creaky voice , is a special kind of phonation in which the arytenoid cartilages in the larynx are drawn together; as a result, the vocal folds are compressed rather tightly, becoming relatively slack and compact...
) on long vowels, sometimes realized by means of a full intervocalic glottal stop and written as a long vowel with an apostrophe in the middle, as in the plural suffix -o'ob.
Grammar
Like almost all Mayan languages, Yucatec Maya is verb initial. Word order varies between VOS and VSO, with VOS being the most common. Many sentences may appear to be SVO, but this order is due to a topic–comment system similar to that of Japanese. One of the most widely studied areas of Yucatec is the semantics of time in the language. Yucatec, like many other languages of the world (Kalaallisut, arguably Mandarin Chinese, GuaraníGuaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
and others) does not have the grammatical category of tense
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
. Temporal information is encoded by a combination of aspect
Grammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
, inherent lexical aspect (aktionsart
Aktionsart
The lexical aspect or aktionsart of a verb is a part of the way in which that verb is structured in relation to time. Any event, state, process, or action which a verb expresses—collectively, any eventuality—may also be said to have the same lexical aspect...
), and pragmatically governed conversational inferences. Yucatec is further unusual for lacking temporal connective such as 'before' and 'after'. Another aspect of the language is the core-argument marking strategy, which is a 'fluid S system' in the typology of Dixon (1994) where intransitive subjects are encoded like agents or patients based upon a number of semantic properties as well as the perfectivity of the event.
Orthography
The Maya were literate in pre-ColumbianPre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
times, when the language was written using Maya script
Maya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
. The language itself can be traced back to proto-Yucatecan, the ancestor of modern Yucatec Maya, Itza, Lacandon
Lacandon language
Lacandon is a Mayan language spoken by approximately 1000 Lacandon people in the state of Chiapas in Mexico. Native Lacandon speakers refer to their language as Jach t’aan or Hach t'an. A portion of the Lacandon people also speak Tzeltal, Chol, and Spanish....
and Mopan
Mopan language
Mopan is a language that belongs to the Yucatecan branch of the Mayan languages. It is spoken by the Mopan people. It is spoken in Belize and Guatemala.The other Yucatecan languages are Yucatec, Lacandon , and Itza....
. Even further back, the language is ultimately related to all other Maya languages through proto-Mayan
Proto-Mayan
Proto-Mayan is the hypothetical common ancestor of the 30 living Mayan languages, as well as the Classic Maya languages documented in the Maya Hieroglyphical inscriptions.-Phonology:...
itself.
Yucatec Maya is now written in the Latin script. This was introduced during the Spanish Conquest of Yucatán
Spanish conquest of Yucatán
The Spanish conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish conquistadores against the Late Postclassic Maya states and polities, particularly in the northern and central Yucatán Peninsula but also involving the Maya polities of the Guatemalan highlands region...
which began in the early 16th century, and the now-antiquated conventions of Spanish orthography of that period ("Colonial orthography") were adapted to transcribe Yucatec Maya. This included the use of x for the postalveolar fricative
Voiceless postalveolar fricative
The voiceless palato-alveolar fricative or voiceless domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in many spoken languages, including English...
sound (often spelled as sh in English), a sound that in Spanish has since turned into a velar fricative
Voiceless velar fricative
The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The sound was part of the consonant inventory of Old English and can still be found in some dialects of English, most notably in Scottish English....
nowadays spelled j, except in a few geographic names such as "México".
In colonial times a "reversed c" (⟨⟩) was often used to represent [tsʼ], which is now more usually represented with ⟨dz⟩ (and with ⟨tz'⟩ in the revised ALMG orthography).
Examples
| Yucatec Maya | English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard pronunciation |
Pronunciation of western Yucatán, northern Campeche and Central Quintana Roo |
Normal translation | Literal translation |
| B'ix a bèel? | Bi'x a b'eh? | How are you? | How is your road? |
| Ma'alob', kux tèech? | Good, and you? | Not bad, as for you? | |
| B'ey xan tèen. | Same with me. | Thus also to me. | |
| Tu'ux ka b'in? | Where are you going? | ||
| Tim b'in xíimbal. | I am going for a walk. | ||
| B'ix a k'àab'a'? | What is your name? | How are you named? | |
| In k'àab'a'e' Jorge. | My name is Jorge. | My name, Jorge. | |
| Jach ki'imak in wóol in wilikech. | Pleased to meet you. | Very happy my heart to see you. | |
| Ba'ax ka wa'alik? | What's up? | What (are) you saying? What do you say? |
|
| Mix b'a'al. | Mix b'a'ah. | Nothing. Don't mention it. |
|
| B'ix a wilik? | How does it look? | How you see (it)? | |
| Jach ma'alob'. | Very good. | ||
| Ko'ox! | Let's go! (For two people - you and I) | ||
| Ko'one'ex! | Let's go! (For a group of people) | ||
| B'a'ax a k'áat? | What do you want? | ||
| (Tak) sáamal. | Aasta sáamah. | See you tomorrow. | Until tomorrow. |
| Jach Dyos b'o'otik. | Thank you. God bless you very much. |
Very much God pays (it). |
English words derived from Maya
The word "sharkShark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
" almost certainly derives from Yucatec Maya xoc. The OED still describes the origin of shark as "uncertain", noting that it "seems to have been introduced by the sailors of Captain (afterwards Sir John) Hawkins
John Hawkins
Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...
's expedition, who brought home a specimen which was exhibited in London in 1569." These dates, however, helped establish its recently discovered etymology, and very few dictionaries have had the chance to update this entry.
Another word is "cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
". "Zik" is Maya for "smoke" and "zikil" is Chol Maya for "smoked", which in Chorti
Ch'orti' language
The Ch'orti' language is a Mayan language, spoken by the indigenous Maya people who are also known as the Ch'orti' or Ch'orti' Maya. Ch'orti' is a direct descendant of the Classic Maya language in which many of the pre-Columbian inscriptions using the Maya script were written...
Maya is "zikar".
Use in modern-day media and popular culture
Yucatec-language programming is carried by the CDINational Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples
The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples is a decentralized agency of the Mexican Federal Public Administration. It was founded in 2003 as a replacement for the National Indigenist Institute . It has its headquarters in Mexico City and, since 15 December 2006, has been...
's radio stations XEXPUJ-AM
XEXPUJ-AM
XEXPUJ-AM is an indigenous community radio stationthat broadcasts in Spanish, Yucatec Maya and Ch'ol from Xpujil, municipality of Calakmul, in the Mexican state of Campeche....
(Xpujil
Xpujil
Xpujil is a town in the Mexican state of Campeche. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Calakmul.Xpujil is located in the south-east of the state, close to the border with Quintana Roo to the east and Peten to the south...
, Campeche
Campeche
Campeche is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in Southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco to the south west...
), XENKA-AM
XENKA-AM
XENKA-AM is an indigenous community radio stationthat broadcasts in Spanish and Yucatec Maya from Felipe Carrillo Puerto, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo....
(Felipe Carrillo Puerto
Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo
See also Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Oaxaca, for the town in Oaxaca.Felipe Carrillo Puerto or simply Carrillo Puerto is the name of a municipality for which the city of the same name serves its the municipal seat. The municipality is located south-central part of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It...
, Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal....
) and XEPET-AM
XEPET-AM
XEPET-AM is an indigenous community radio station that broadcasts in Spanish and Yucatec Maya from Peto in the Mexican state of Yucatán....
(Peto
Peto, Yucatán
Peto is one of 106 municipalities in Yucatán state, Mexico. It has a municipal seat of the same name and is located in the centre-south portion of the Mexican state of Yucatán, 135 km to the south-east of state capital Mérida.-Communities:...
, Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
).
The 2006 film Apocalypto
Apocalypto
Apocalypto is a 2006 American epic action-adventure film directed by Mel Gibson. Set in Yucatan, Mexico, during the declining period of the Maya civilization, Apocalypto depicts the journey of a Mesoamerican tribesman who must escape human sacrifice and rescue his family after the capture and...
, directed by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, was filmed entirely in Yucatec Maya. The script was translated into Maya by Hilario Chi Canul
Hilario Chi Canul
Hilario Chi Canul is a Mexican linguist of Maya ethnicity who worked as a translator and language coach in the production of the 2006 movie Apocalypto by Mel Gibson. In 2007 he won the first prize in the Mexican governments competition of indigenous language rhetorics. He is Professor of Maya at...
of the Maya community of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, who also worked as a language coach on the production.
Language courses
In addition to universities and private institutions in Mexico, (Yucatec) Maya is also taught at:- OSEA - The Open School of Ethnography and Anthropology
- The University of Chicago
- Leiden University, Netherlands
- Harvard University
- Tulane University
- http://www.indiana.edu/~mlcp/courses.php#Maya
- Indiana University (Minority Languages & Culture Program)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison
- The University of North Carolina
- INALCO, Paris, France
Audio course materials are available for purchase at
- The University of Chicago Digital Media Archives
- Spoken Yucatec Maya, by Robert Blair & Refugio Vermont Salas
- Spoken Maya Lessons by Robert Blair and Refugio Vermont-Salas can be borrowed in Microfilm and Audio Cassette format through Inter-library Loan services with the University of Chicago. Microfilm Collection on Manuscripts on American Indian Cultural Anthropology, Series No. X, Reels 65 and 66 (1965-1966).
Free online dictionary, grammar and texts: