Ixil language

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.[3] 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.

Ixil
Pronunciation [ɪ̆ʃɪ̆l]
Native toGuatemala
RegionQuiché Department
EthnicityIxil
Native speakers
135,000 (2001)[1]
Mayan
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated byAcademia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala
Language codes
ISO 639-3ixl
Glottologixil1251[2]

Phonology

Vowels
Short Front Central Back
Close u [ŭ]
Near-Close i [ɪ̆]
Mid o [ŏ]
Mid-low e [ɜ̆]
Open a [ɐ̆]
Long Front Central Back
High ii [iː]
uu [yː]
Close-mid ee [eː]
oo [øː]
Open aa [aː]


A notable feature of Ixil is that all short vowels are either central or back vowels and all long vowels are front vowels. This is a unique feature not found in other Mayan languages. As an exception, some speakers do not pronounce ⟨oo⟩ as front [øː] but rather as a back [oː]. Also, some speakers also pronounce ⟨i⟩ as [i] rather than [ɪ]. Short vowels are very short in Ixil, and long ⟨uu⟩ [yː] is extra long and stressed.

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Postalveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Normal Palatalized
Plosive Normal p [p̪ʰ] t [tʰ] k [kʰ] ky [kʰʲ] q [qʰ] ' [ʲʔ]
Ejective tʼ [tʼ] kʼ [kʼ] kyʼ[kʼʲ]
Implosive bʼ [ɓ] qʼ [ʛ]
Nasal m [m] n [n] nh [ŋ]
Fricative v [v~f] z [s] xh [ɕ] x [ʃ] j [χ]
Affricate Normal tz [t͡sʰ] ch [ȶ͡ɕʰ] tx [ʈ͡ʂʰ]
Ejective tzʼ [t͡sʼ~dt͡sʼ] chʼ [ȶ͡ɕʼ~ȡȶ͡ɕʼ] txʼ [ʈ͡ʂʼ~ɖʈ͡ʂʼ]
Flap r [ɾ]
Approximant w [ʋ] l [l] y [j]

Grammar

Ixil pronominals are discerned between ergative ones and absolutive ones.[4] A notable feature of the language's grammar is its ambiguity in discerning reflexive from reciprocal pronouns.[5]

See also
  • Ergative-absolutive language

Notes
  1. Noj, Mario Ruben. 2001. Manual de Interpretación del Mapa Linguistico de Guatemala, Editorial Nojib'sa.
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Ixil". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. Colby, Benjamin N., Pierre L. van den Berghe. 1977. Ixiles y Ladinos: El Pluralism Social en el Altiplano de Guatemala. Guatemala: Editorial "Jose de Pineda Ibarra". p. 57.
  4. "Toward a Dialectology of Ixil Maya: Variation across Communities and Individuals" Thomas E. Lengyel
  5. "Reflexive and Reciprocal Elements in Ixil", ERIC: ED353802, Glenn Ayres, 1990.

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.
Cedillo Chel, Antonio, Juan Ramírez. 1999. Diccionario del idioma ixil de Santa María Nebaj. La Antigua Guatemala: Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquín.
Programa de Rescate Cultural Maya-Ixil. 1995. Aqʼbʼal Eluʼl Yol Vatzsaj: Diccionario Ixil. Guatemala City: Cholsamaj.
Ayers, Glenn Thompson. 1991. Gramática Ixil. La Antigua Guatemala: CIRMA.
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.
England, Nora C. 1994. Ukutaʼmiil Ramaqʼiil Utzijobʼaal ri Mayaʼ Amaaqʼ: Autonomia de los Idiomas Mayas: Historia e identidad. (2nd ed.). Guatemala City: Cholsamaj.
Oxlajuuj Keej Mayaʼ Ajtzʼiibʼ (OKMA). 1993. Mayaʼ chiiʼ. Los idiomas Mayas de Guatemala. Guatemala City: Cholsamaj.

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