Chuj language

Chuj is a Mayan language spoken by around 40,000 members of the Chuj people in Guatemala and around 3,000 members in Mexico. Chuj is a member of the Qʼanjobʼalan branch along with the languages of Tojolabʼal, Qʼanjobʼal, Akateko, Poptiʼ, and Mochoʼ which, together with the Chʼolan branch, Chuj forms the Western branch of the Mayan family. The Chujean branch emerged approximately 2,000 years ago.[3] In Guatemala, Chuj speakers mainly reside in the municipalities of San Mateo Ixtatán, San Sebastián Coatán and Nentón in the Huehuetenango Department. Some communities in Barillas and Ixcán also speak Chuj. The two main dialects of Chuj are the San Mateo Ixtatán dialect and the San Sebastián Coatán dialect.[4]

Chuj
Chuj
Pronunciation[tʃuːx]
Native toGuatemala, Mexico
RegionNorthern Huehuetenango, Chiapas
EthnicityChuj
Native speakers
61,630 (2003-2011)[1]
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-3cac
Glottologchuj1250
ELPChuj[2]

The Chuj language has been influenced by Spanish, and Chuj speakers have a tendency to borrow Spanish words or code-mix. It is estimated that 70% of the Chuj language is purely Chuj.[5] There are language conservation and revitalization efforts taking place in San Mateo Ixtatán, through groups like the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala.[6]

Phonology

Phonemic Inventory[7]
Vowels
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a
Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Plain Implosive Plain Ejective Plain Ejective Plain Ejective Plain
Stop p bʼ [ɓ] t tʼ k kʼ ʼ [ʔ]
Fricative w [v] s x [ʃ] j [χ]
Affricate tz [t͡s] tzʼ [t͡sʼ] ch [t͡ʃ] chʼ [t͡ʃʼ]
Nasal m n nh [ŋ]
Approximant l y j
Trill r

Orthography [8][9]
Orthography IPA Example Translation
a /a/ atzʼam salt
bʼ /ɓ/ bʼeyi to walk
ch /t͡ʃ/ chich rabbit
chʼ /t͡ʃʼ/ chʼal thread
e /e/ ewi yesterday
i /i/ ix woman
j /χ/ jun one
k /k/ kukay firefly
kʼ /kʼ/ kʼatzitz firewood
l /l/ lolonel word
m /m/ much bird
n /n/ nun parent
nh /ŋ/ nhabʼ rain
o /o/ okʼ foot
p /p/ pat house
r /r/ retet woodpecker
s /s/ sak white
t /t/ tut beans
tʼ /tʼ/ tʼoy soft
tz /t͡s/ tzatz hard
tzʼ /t͡sʼ/ tzʼiʼ dog
u /u/ unin child
w /v/ winak man
x /ʃ/ xanhap shoe
y /j/ yax green
ʼ /ʔ/ ʼonh avocado

The letter 'h' is conventionally used in words with initial vowels to distinguish them from words that begin with a glottal stop.

Grammar

Verb stem morphology[10]

Below is a template for the verbal stem in Chuj. Verbal predicates in Chuj appear with a status suffix: -a with transitive verbs and –i with intransitive verbs. Finite clauses inflect for Tense-Aspect, person, and number.

Verb structure
Tense/aspect/mood Absolutive marker Ergative marker Verb root Status suffix
tz- ach- in- chel- aʼ
Imperfective 2nd person sg. absolutive 1st person sg. ergative hug transitive
tzachinchela' 'I am hugging you.'

Non-verbal predicates

Non-verbal predicates are non-verbal words like adjectives, nouns, positionals, or directionals that act as the main predicate and are semantically stative. These constructions do not inflect for Tense-Aspect, but do inflect for person and number.[11] There is no overt copula in Chuj and copula constructions are expressed through non-verbal predicates.

Chuj: a ix Malin kʼaybʼum ix.
Gloss: top/foc CL Maria teacher CL
English: Maria is a teacher.

Chuj: Ay ix hin-nun niwakil ix.
Gloss: top/foc CL my-mother large CL
English: My mother is large.

Person-markers

Chuj is an ergative-absolutive language. The subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb are both cross-referenced with an absolutive marker, which appears in the verbal stem. The subject of a transitive verb is cross-referenced with an ergative marker in the verbal stem.

Person markers [12]
Ergative marker Absolutive marker
Pre-consonantal Pre-vocalic Pre-consonantal/Pre-vocalic
1 Person Sg hin- w- hin-
2 Person Sg ha- h- hach-
3 Person Sg s- y- Ø
1 Person Pl ko- k- honh-
2 Person Pl he- hey- hex-
3 Person Pl s-... hebʼ y-... hebʼ hebʼ

Tense-Aspect

Chuj has four attested Tense-Aspect markers.[9][12] Finite clauses inflect obligatorily for Tense-Aspect.

Tense-Aspect markers[7]
Marker Meaning
tz- imperfective
ix- perfective
lan progressive
ol- prospective


Nominal classifiers

Chuj nominal classifiers represent a closed class of approximately a dozen words. They specify gender for humans, and the base material for objects, such as wood (teʼ) for houses and metal (kʼen) for knives.

Nominal classifiers [7][9]
Classifier Domain
aʼ water
anh plant [grow from ground]
atzʼam salt
chanh vine
ix female
ixim grain
kʼak cloth
kʼen metal
lum earth
nokʼ animal
teʼ wood
waj male name
winh male

Chuj nominal classifiers have two main functions: they act as articles for referential nouns, and as pronouns. They have a lexical origin, but have undergone semantic bleaching and may therefore refer to a larger semantic field than the nominals that they are derived from.

Articles for referential nouns

Chuj: Hebʼ winh unin ix-s-loʼ [teʼ manzan] hebʼ winh.
Gloss: Pl cl.masc child prfv-a3s-eat cl.wood apple pl cl.masc
English: As for the boys, they ate the apple.

Pronouns

Chuj: Ol-s-lo teʼ ix.
Gloss: Prosp-b3s-a3s-eat cl.wood cl.fem
English: She (Elsa) will eat it (the apple).

Numbers 1 through 10 in Chuj

San Mateo Ixtatán / San Sebastián Coatán

  1. Juʼun / Jun[13]
  2. Chaʼabʼ / Chaʼabʼ/chabʼ
  3. Oxeʼ / Oxeʼ
  4. Chanheʼ / Chanheʼ
  5. Hoyeʼ / Oʼeʼ
  6. Wakeʼ / Wakeʼ
  7. Hukeʼ / Hukeʼ
  8. Wajxakeʼ / Wajxkeʼ
  9. Bʼalunheʼ / Bʼalnheʼ
  10. Lajunheʼ / Lajnheʼ

A tongue twister in Chuj from San Sebastián Coatán

Nokʼ Xankatat yetʼ nokʼxeʼen[14]

Xenhxni xekxni xanhxni hinbʼeyi

Xankatak xanhbʼ wekʼ a stixalu

Xchi nokʼ xankat a nokʼ xeʼen,

Xwila xwabi, xelabʼa to ojinwekla,

to jinxekla manhx ojinwekla.

Notes
  1. Chuj at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016)
  2. Endangered Languages Project data for Chuj.
  3. Stzolalil Stzʼibʼchaj Tiʼ Chuj, ALMG, 2007, p.34
  4. Robertson, John S. (1992). A history of tense/aspect/mood/voice in the Mayan verbal complex. Austin, Texas: University of Texas press.
  5. Yumal Skuychaj Tiʼ Chuj, ALMG, 2006, p.234
  6. "Comunidad Lingüística Chuj -Historia". Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  7. Buenrostro, Cristina (2009). Chuj de San Mateo Ixtatán. Mexico City: El Colegio de México.
  8. Stzolalil Sloloni-Spaxtini Hebʼ Chuj, ALMG, 2007, p. 66
  9. Hopkins, Nicholas A. (2012). A dictionary of the Chuj (Mayan) language. Florida: Jaguar Tours.
  10. Grinevald, Collette; Peake, Marc (2012). Giles Authier; Kathleen Haude (eds.). "Ergativity and voice in Mayan: A functional-typological approach". Ergativity, Valency, and Voice: 15–29.
  11. Mateo-Toledo, Bʼalam Eladio. "The finiteness of nonverbal predicates in Qʼanjobʼal (Maya)". New Perspectives in Mayan Linguistics: 162–168.
  12. Domingo Pascual, Pascual Martín (2007). Gramática normativa Chuj. Guatemala City: ALMG.
  13. Stzolalil Sloloni-Spaxtini Hebʼ Chuj, ALMG, 2007, p. 145
  14. Yumal Skuychaj Tiʼ Chuj, ALMG, 2006, p.197

References
Buenrostro, Cristina (2009). Chuj de San Mateo Ixtatán. Mexico City: El Colegio de México.
Domingo Pascual, Pascual Martín (2007). Gramática normativa Chuj. Guatemala City: ALMG.
Grinevald, Collette; Peake, Marc (2012). Giles Authier; Kathleen Haude (eds.). "Ergativity and voice in Mayan: A functional-typological approach". Ergativity, Valency, and Voice: 15–29.
Hopkins, Nicholas A. (2012). A dictionary of the Chuj (Mayan) language. Florida: Jaguar Tours.
Mateo-Toledo, Bʼalam Eladio. "The finiteness of nonverbal predicates in Qʼanjobʼal (Maya)". New Perspectives in Mayan Linguistics: 162–168.
Robertson, John S. (1992). A history of tense/aspect/mood/voice in the Mayan verbal complex. Austin, Texas: University of Texas press.
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