Langues mayas

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La famille linguistique des langues mayas regroupe 69 langues parlées par plus de deux millions de personnes vivant du Sud-Est du Mexique au Honduras. Leur origine remonterait à plus de 5 millénaires. A l'époque Classique (600-800 ap. J.C.) et jusqu'à la conquête espagnole, ces langues ont été écrites sur des bâtiments, de la poterie et des codex, grâce à un système d'écriture très élaboré de hiéroglyphes.

The most used Maya language is often called Yucatec Maya by linguists but known simply as Maya to its speakers. It is spoken in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico as well as in parts of northern Belize and the Peten region of Guatemala. It is documented in the ancient hieroglyphs in Pre-Columbian Maya civilization sites such as Chichen Itza, has a rich literature through the Spanish Colonial era, and remains common as the first language in rural areas in Yucatan today, where in many towns even Yucatecans of Spanish ancestry have a working knowledge of the tongue.

The second most historically important dialect or language is Chol, formerly widespread, but spoken only in pockets in Chiapas and Guatemala today. A closely related dialect, Chorti, is spoken in a region around the boundaries of the nations of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. These particular dialects are believed to be the most conservative in vocabulary and phonology, and are closely related to the language of the inscriptions of the ancient sites of the Classic era Central Lowlands.

The Classic Maya language is quite closely related to modern Chol and Yucatec, and the split between these two languages may be observed in Maya inscriptions.

In the Highlands of Guatemala are the Quichéan-Mamean Maya languages and dialects, including Quiché proper, Cachiquel, Kekchi, Tzutuhil, Pocomam, and Mam. The famous Popol Vuh is in Quiché. In the western highlands around Huehuetenango, Jacaltec is spoken.

The Huastec language, spoken in east-central Mexico, is part of the Mayan language family, although it is distant both linguistically and geographically from the rest of the language family.

Sommaire
1 Liste des langues mayas
2 Divers
3 Voir aussi

3.1 Liens internes
3.2 Liens externes

Liste des langues mayas

On dénombre au total 69 langues regroupées en 5 grandes catégories : le groupe Cholan-Tzeltalan, le Huastecan, le Kanjobalan-Chujean, le Quichean-Mamean et le Yucatecan.

Divers

Voir aussi

Liens internes

Liens externes

See also: Langues mayas, Chiapas, Chichen Itza, Codex, Dictionnaire des langues, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hiéroglyphe