Ixil language

Ixil
Pronunciation	[iʂil]
Native to	Guatemala
Region	Quiché Department
Ethnicity	133,329 Ixil (2019 census)
Native speakers	120,000 (2019 census)
Language family	Mayan Eastern Mayan Greater Mamean Ixilan Ixil
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Guatemala
Regulated by	Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ixl
Glottolog	ixil1251
ELP	Ixil

History and genealogy of the Mayan languages. Ixil is part of the Mamean subfamily, colored indigo in this image.

Ixil (Ixhil) is one of the 21 different Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala. According to historical linguistic studies Ixil emerged as a separate language sometime around the year 500AD. It is the primary language of the Ixil people, which comprises the three towns of San Juan Cotzal, Santa Maria Nebaj, and San Gaspar Chajul in the Guatemalan highlands. There is also an Ixil speaking migrant population in Guatemala City and the United States. Although there are slight differences in vocabulary in the dialects spoken by people in the three different Ixil towns, they are all mutually intelligible and should be considered dialects of a single language.

Phonology

Ixil vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i iː		u uː
Close-mid	e eː		o oː
Open		a aː

Ixil consonants (Nebaj dialect)

		Labial	Alveolar		Post- alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		m ⟨m⟩	n ⟨n⟩
Plosive/ Affricate	plain	pʰ ⟨p⟩	tʰ ⟨t⟩	t͡sʰ ⟨tz⟩	ȶ͡ɕʰ ⟨ch⟩	ʈ͡ʂʰ ⟨tx⟩		kʰ ⟨k⟩	qʰ ⟨q⟩	ʔ ⟨'⟩
	glottalized	ɓ ⟨bʼ⟩	tʼ ⟨tʼ⟩	t͡sʼ ⟨tzʼ⟩	ȶ͡ɕʼ ⟨chʼ⟩	ʈ͡ʂʼ ⟨txʼ⟩		kʼ ⟨kʼ⟩	qʼ ⟨qʼ⟩
Fricative		β ~ v ⟨v⟩	s ⟨s⟩		ɕ ⟨xh⟩	ʂ ⟨x⟩			χ ⟨j⟩
Flap			ɾ ⟨r⟩
Approximant			l ⟨l⟩				j ⟨y⟩

Grammar

Ixil pronominals are discerned between ergative ones and absolutive ones. A notable feature of the language's grammar is its ambiguity in discerning reflexive from reciprocal pronouns.

See also

• Ergative-absolutive language

Bibliography

• Asicona Ramírez, Lucas, Domingo Méndez Rivera, Rodrigo Domingo Xinic Bop. 1998. Diccionario Ixil de San Gaspar Chajul. La Antigua Guatemala: Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquín.
• Ayers, Glenn Thompson (1991). La Gramática Ixil. La Antigua Guatemala: CIRMA.
• Cedillo Chel, Antonio, Juan Ramírez. 1999. Diccionario del idioma ixil de Santa María Nebaj. La Antigua Guatemala: Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquín.
• England, Nora C. 1994. Ukutaʼmiil Ramaqʼiil Utzijobʼaal ri Mayaʼ Amaaqʼ: Autonomia de los Idiomas Mayas: Historia e identidad. (2nd ed.). Guatemala City: Cholsamaj.
• Maximiliano Poma S., Tabita J.T. de la Cruz, Manuel Caba Caba et al. 1996. Gramática del Idioma Ixil. La Antigua Guatemala: Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquín.
• Oxlajuuj Keej Mayaʼ Ajtzʼiibʼ (OKMA). 1993. Mayaʼ chiiʼ. Los idiomas Mayas de Guatemala. Guatemala City: Cholsamaj.
• Programa de Rescate Cultural Maya-Ixil. 1995. Aqʼbʼal Eluʼl Yol Vatzsaj: Diccionario Ixil. Guatemala City: Cholsamaj.

External links

• Doctrina y Confesionario en lengua Ixil
• OLAC resources in and about the Ixil language
• ELAR archive of Ixil Maya language documentation materials
• Ixil Maya Conversation / Narrative Collection at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America, containing audio recordings and digital texts.