Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Ch’ol language

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Native to
  
Mexico

Early forms
  
Classic Maya Chol

Native speakers
  
210,000 (2010 census)

ISO 639-3
  
ctu

Region
  
North Central Chiapas Tabasco

Language family
  
Mayan Cholan–Tzeltalan Cholan Chol–Chontal Chol

The Ch'ol (Chol) language is a member of the western branch of the Mayan language family used by the Ch'ol people in the Mexican state of Chiapas. There are two main dialects:

  • Ch'ol of Tila spoken by 43,870 people of whom 10,000 are monolinguals in the villages of Tila, Vicente Guerrero, Chivalito and Limar in Chiapas.
  • Ch'ol of Tumbalá spoken by 90,000 people of whom 30,000 are monolinguals in the villages of Tumbalá, Sabanilla, Misijá, Limar, Chivalita and Vicente Guerrero.

    • The Cholan branch of the Mayan languages is considered to be particularly conservative and Ch'ol along with its two closest relatives the Ch'orti' language of Guatemala and Honduras, and the Chontal Maya language of Tabasco are believed to be the modern languages that best reflect their relationship with the Classic Maya language.

    Ch'ol-language programming is carried by the CDI's radio station XEXPUJ-AM, broadcasting from Xpujil, Campeche.

    References

    Ch’ol language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA