Extinct 18th century ISO 639-3 None (mis) | Early forms Classic Maya
Ch'olti' Linguist list qjt Ch'olti' | |
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Native to Guatemala, Manche region Language family Mayan
Western
Cholan–Tzeltalan
Cholan
Chorti
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 and which is thought to have been spoken as a prestige dialect throughout the Maya area in the Classic Era.