Native to Guatemala Ethnicity Awakatek ISO 639-3 agu | Region Huehuetenango Native speakers 18,000 (1998) | |
Language family Mayan
Quichean–Mamean
Greater Mamean
Ixilean
Awakatek | ||
Awakatek is a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala, primarily in Huehuetenango and around Aguacatán. It is a living language with some 18,000 speakers.
Awakatek is closely related to Ixil and the two languages together form the sub-branch Ixilean, which together with the Mamean languages, Mam and Tektitek, form a sub-branch Greater-Mamean, which again, together with the Greater-Quichean languages, ten Mayan languages, including K'iche', form the branch Quichean–Mamean.
The Awakatek people themselves refer to their language as qa'yol, literally meaning our word.
Diphthongs
There are four diphthongs: ay /aj/, ey /ej/, oy /oj/, uy /uj/.
References
Awakatek language Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA