Achi language

Achi
Achiʼ
Native to	Guatemala
Region	Baja Verapaz
Ethnicity	161,000 Achi (2019 census)
Native speakers	120,000 (2019 census)
Language family	Mayan Quichean–Mamean Greater Quichean Quichean Quiché–Achi Achi
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Guatemala
Regulated by	Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala
Language codes
ISO 639-3	acr
Glottolog	achi1256
ELP	Achi'

Achi (Achí in Spanish) is a Mayan language very closely related to Kʼicheʼ (Quiché in the older orthography). It is spoken by the Achi people, primarily in the department of Baja Verapaz in Guatemala.

There are two Achi dialects. Rabinal Achi is spoken in the Rabinal area, and Cubulco Achi is spoken in the Cubulco area west of Rabinal.

One of the masterpieces of precolumbian literature is the Rabinal Achí, a theatrical play written in the Achi language.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar		Post-alv./ Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Phar./ Glottal
Nasal		m	n
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p	t	ts	tʃ	k	q	ʔ
	ejective		tʼ	tsʼ	tʃʼ	kʼ
	implosive	ɓ
Fricative			s		ʃ		χ	(ʕ)
Trill			r
Approximant		w	l		j

• Voiceless plosives can have aspirated allophones [pʰ tʰ kʰ qʰ], either when preceding a consonant or in word-final position.
• A pharyngeal fricative sound [ʕ] can be heard before vowels or in word-initial or intervocalic environments preceding vowels.
• A uvular consonant /χ/ can also be heard as velar [x] in some environments. /n/ when preceding a velar consonant can be heard as a velar nasal [ŋ].
• Sonorants /l r j/ when preceding a voiceless consonant or in word-final position can occur sounding voiceless [l̥ r̥ j̊].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i iː		u uː
Mid	e eː		o oː
Open		a aː

Orthography

Achi uses a Latin-based alphabet:

Vowels

Often used	Also used	IPA	English equivalent
a		/a/	Like the a in father.
e		/e/	Like the Spanish e, similar to the a in English gate.
i		/i/	Like the i in police.
o		/o/	Like the o in note.
u	v	/u/	Like the u in flute.

Diphthongs

Often used	Also used	IPA	English equivalent
ay	ai	aj	Like English eye.
ey	ei	ej	Like ey in English they.
oy	oi	oj	Like oy in English boy.
uy	ui	uj	like the uoy in English buoy.

Consonants

Often used	Also used	IPA	English equivalent
bʼ	b	/ɓ/	Like b in boy, only implosive. To English speakers, it sounds as if Maya speakers are 'swallowing' the b sound, similar to the way b is pronounced in Vietnamese.
ch	č	/tʃ/	Like ch in chair.
chʼ	čʼ, chh, ʼch	/tʃʼ/	Like ch, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
h	j	/h/	Like the h in hay.
j	h, x	/x/	Like the raspy j in Spanish jalapeño.
k	c, qu	/k/	Like k in key.
kʼ	cʼ, qʼu, quʼ, ʼc	/kʼ/	Like k, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
l		/l/ ~  /ɺ/	Like l in light. In some dialects this sound is flapped, like the ll in English bellow only pronounced more quickly (so that the tongue only flaps once against the top of the mouth.)
m		/m/	Like m in moon.
n		/n/	Like n in night.
p		/p/	Like the p in pie.
q	k	/q/	Like k only pronounced further back in the throat. This is the same sound as the q in Arabic.
qʼ	kʼ, ʼk	/qʼ/	Like /q/, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
r		/ɾ/	Like Spanish r, somewhat like the tt in English butter.
s		/s/	Like the s in sun.
t		/t/	Like the t in tell.
tʼ	tt	/tʼ/	Like t, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
tz	ts, ¢	/t͡s/	Like ts in cats.
tzʼ	tsʼ, ¢ʼ, ʼtz	/tsʼ/	Like tz, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.)
w		/w/	Like w in way.
x	š, sh	/ʃ/	Like sh in shell.
y		/j/	Like y in yes.
ʼ	7	/ʔ/	A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh."

External links

• Collections in the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America
• Pronouncing the Maya Achi Alphabet
• New Testament in Achi
• OLAC resources in and about the Achi language
• Listen to a sample of Achi from Global Recordings Network