Chʼoltiʼ language
Ch'olti' | |
---|---|
![]() Part of an inscription at Palenque | |
Native to | Guatemala, Manche region |
Extinct | 18th century |
Mayan
| |
Early form | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | None (mis ) |
qjt Ch'olti' | |
Glottolog | chol1283 Ch'olti' |
The Ch'olti' language is an extinct Mayan language which was spoken by the Manche Ch'ol people of eastern Guatemala and southern Belize. The post-colonial stage of the language is only known from a single manuscript written between 1685 and 1695 which was first studied by Daniel Garrison Brinton. Ch'olti' belongs to the Cho'lan branch of the Mayan languages and is closely related to Chontal and especially Ch'orti'. The Ch'olti' language has become of particular interest for the study of Mayan Hieroglyphs since it seems that most of the glyphic texts are written in an ancient variety of Ch'olti' called Classic Ch'olti'an or Classic Maya by epigraphers[1] and which is thought to have been spoken as a prestige dialect throughout the Maya area in the Classic Era.[2]
Notes
References
- Fought, John (1984). "Choltí Maya: A sketch". In Munro S. Edmonson (Volume ed.) (ed.). Supplement to Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 2: Linguistics. Victoria R. Bricker (General Editor). Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 43–55. ISBN 0-292-77577-6.
- Kettunen, Harri; Christophe Helmke (2005). Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs (PDF). Wayeb and Leiden University. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
- Houston, Stephen D.; John Robertson; David Stuart (2000). "The Language of Classic Maya Inscriptions". Current Anthropology. 41 (3): 321–356. doi:10.1086/300142. ISSN 0011-3204. PMID 10768879.