Chol language
| Chol | ||
|---|---|---|
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Spoken in |
Mexico | |
| speaker | 100,000 | |
| Linguistic classification |
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| Official status | ||
| Official language in | National language in Mexico
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Chol or Ch'ol is an indigenous language in Mexico with over 100,000 speakers. The speakers of Ch'ol refer to their own language as lak t'an (our language). However, this term has not caught on in linguistics. In summary, the speakers of the Chol are often referred to as Chols , although they are composed of different peoples (Palencanos, Pochutlas, Topiltepeques).
distribution
The language is mostly common in Mexico , particularly in the state of Chiapas .
The Chol language is one of the Maya languages . The closest related languages are the Chontal Maya in Tabasco, the Chortí spoken in the border region of Guatemala and Honduras, and Tzotzil and Tzeltal in Chiapas. In addition to the Mayathan of Yucatán, the language of the Lacandons is closely related to the Chol.
origin
Although little is known about the use of the Chol during the colonization of America, it is now assumed that the Chol is derived directly from a form of the classical Maya .
Phonology
As in Mayathan and Lacandon, the z. B. uvular plosive [q] or [q '] obtained in the Quiché language have become a velar [k] or [k'] in the chol . However - unlike in the two languages mentioned - it did not coincide with [k] or [k '] , because the original [k] has been shifted to [ʧ] ("ch").
Dialects
The language is divided into two major dialects.
Chol de Tila
There are around 45,000 speakers, around 10,000 of whom are monolingual. The dialect is mainly used in the area around Tila, Vicente Guerrero, Chivalito and Limar.
Chol de Tumbalá
There are around 90,000 speakers, around 30,000 of whom are monolingual. The dialect is particularly common in the area around Tumbalá, Sabanilla, Misijá, Limar, Chivalita and Vicente Guerrero.
Web links
- Chol course at FU Berlin (PDF file; 1.15 MB)
- Spanish-Chol Dictionary