Achi (Achí in Spanish) is a Mayan language very closely related to Kʼicheʼ (Quiché in the older orthography). It is spoken by the Achi people, primarily in the department of Baja Verapaz in Guatemala.
Achi | |
---|---|
Achiʼ | |
Native to | Guatemala |
Region | Baja Verapaz |
Ethnicity | 161,000 Achi (2019 census) |
Native speakers | 120,000 (2019 census)[1] |
Language family | Mayan
|
Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | ![]() |
Regulated by | Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | acr |
Glottolog | achi1256 |
ELP | Achi' |
There are two Achi dialects. Rabinal Achi is spoken in the Rabinal area, and Cubulco Achi is spoken in the Cubulco area west of Rabinal.
One of the masterpieces of precolumbian literature is the Rabinal Achí, a theatrical play written in the Achi language.
Labial | Alveolar | Post-alv./ Palatal |
Velar | Uvular | Phar./ Glottal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ||||||
Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | ts | tʃ | k | q | ʔ |
ejective | tʼ | tsʼ | tʃʼ | kʼ | ||||
implosive | ɓ | |||||||
Fricative | s | ʃ | χ | (ʕ) | ||||
Trill | r | |||||||
Approximant | w | l | j |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i iː | u uː | |
Mid | e eː | o oː | |
Open | a aː |
Achi uses a Latin-based alphabet:[3]
Often used | Also used | IPA | English equivalent |
---|---|---|---|
a | /a/ | Like the a in father. | |
e | /e/ | Like the Spanish e, similar to the a in English gate. | |
i | /i/ | Like the i in police. | |
o | /o/ | Like the o in note. | |
u | v | /u/ | Like the u in flute. |
Often used | Also used | IPA | English equivalent |
---|---|---|---|
ay | ai | aj | Like English eye. |
ey | ei | ej | Like ey in English they. |
oy | oi | oj | Like oy in English boy. |
uy | ui | uj | like the uoy in English buoy. |
Often used | Also used | IPA | English equivalent |
---|---|---|---|
bʼ | b | /ɓ/ | Like b in boy, only implosive. To English speakers, it sounds as if Maya speakers are 'swallowing' the b sound, similar to the way b is pronounced in Vietnamese. |
ch | č | /tʃ/ | Like ch in chair. |
chʼ | čʼ, chh, ʼch | /tʃʼ/ | Like ch, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) |
h | j | /h/ | Like the h in hay. |
j | h, x | /x/ | Like the raspy j in Spanish jalapeño. |
k | c, qu | /k/ | Like k in key. |
kʼ | cʼ, qʼu, quʼ, ʼc | /kʼ/ | Like k, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) |
l | /l/ ~ /ɺ/ | Like l in light. In some dialects this sound is flapped, like the ll in English bellow only pronounced more quickly (so that the tongue only flaps once against the top of the mouth.) | |
m | /m/ | Like m in moon. | |
n | /n/ | Like n in night. | |
p | /p/ | Like the p in pie. | |
q | k | /q/ | Like k only pronounced further back in the throat. This is the same sound as the q in Arabic. |
qʼ | kʼ, ʼk | /qʼ/ | Like /q/, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) |
r | /ɾ/ | Like Spanish r, somewhat like the tt in English butter. | |
s | /s/ | Like the s in sun. | |
t | /t/ | Like the t in tell. | |
tʼ | tt | /tʼ/ | Like t, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) |
tz | ts, ¢ | /t͡s/ | Like ts in cats. |
tzʼ | tsʼ, ¢ʼ, ʼtz | /tsʼ/ | Like tz, only glottalized (pronounced with a pop of air.) |
w | /w/ | Like w in way. | |
x | š, sh | /ʃ/ | Like sh in shell. |
y | /j/ | Like y in yes. | |
ʼ | 7 | /ʔ/ | A pause sound, like the one in the middle of the word "uh-oh." |
Languages of Guatemala | |||||||||||
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Official language |
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Indigenous languages |
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Sign languages |
Mayan languages | |||||||||||||||
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Huastecan | |||||||||||||||
Yucatecan |
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Western |
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Eastern |
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Mixed language | |||||||||||||||
History |
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Italics indicate extinct languages |
National libraries | |
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Other |
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