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Tz'utujil language

Tzutujil
Tz'utujiil
Native to Guatemala
Region Western Highlands
Ethnicity Tz'utujil
Native speakers
60,000 (2002 census)
Mayan
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Guatemala
Regulated by Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (ALMG)
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog tzut1248
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Tz'utujil /ˈtstəhl/ is a Mayan language spoken by the Tz'utujil people in the region to the south of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Tz'utujil is closely related to its larger neighbors, Kaqchikel and K'iche'. The 2002 census found 60,000 people speak Tz'utujil as their mother tongue. The two Tz'utijil dialects are Eastern and Western.

The majority of the Tz'utujil people have Spanish as their second language, although many of the older people, or those in more remote locations do not. Many children also do not learn Spanish until they go to school around 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 Rija'tzuul Na'ooj in San Juan La Laguna features story telling for children in Tz'utujil; bilingual children's books are also available.Spanish is used in written communication.

In the charts below each of the Tz'utujil 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.


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