Quiche (K'iche' )

Introduction

Introduction
Like those of the other Mayan tribes, Quiché traditions point to a northern or northeastern origin of the speakers, and their history goes back to about A. D. 700. They were subjugated by the Spanish conquistadors about 1525 and rapidly declined under the system of slavery and heavy tribute imposed on them.

With close to a million speakers (about 7% of Guatemala's population), Quiché is the second most widely spoken language in the country after Spanish.

There is substantial dialectal variation, and the main dialects are sometimes considered to be separate languages. However most speakers use Central Quiché, the variety the most commonly used in the media and education. Although it has no official status in Guatemala and the first-language literacy rate is low, it is being increasingly taught in schools and used on the radio.

Structure

Sound System

Maya girl

Sound system

Vowels
Quiché has six vowels /i/, /e/, / /, /a/, /o/, /u/.

Consonants
Quiché has a relatively large inventory of consonant sounds.

	bilabial	dental/alveolar	palatal	velar	uvular	glottal
stops	p, b_	t, t'		k, k'	q, q'	?
fricatives	.	s	sh	.	x	..
affricates	.	ts, ts'	tsh, tsh'	.	.	.
nasals	m	n	.	.	.	.
laterals	.	l	.	.	.	.
semivowels	.	j	.	.	w	.

As you can see, Quiché lacks the voiced sounds stops /d/, /g/. The sounds t', k', q', ts', tsh' are ejective. Ejectives are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. The glottis is raised during the articularion of the sound, raising air pressure in the mouth, so that when the sound is released, there is a noticeable burst of air. The sound /b_/ is an implosive stop. Implosive sounds are produced by inhaling the air, rather than expelling it from the lungs. Implosive sounds are quite rare in the world's languages.

Stress
Stress in Quiché always falls on the last syllable of a word.

Grammar

Quiché is an agglutinative language which means that it adds affixes to roots and stems to express grammatical functions.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary
The bulk of Quiché vocabulary is Mayan in origin with a few borrowings from Spanish. It has also borrowed words from other neighboring aboriginal languages.

Take a look at the text of Genesis 1.1 in Central Quiché.

What does the word Tzij mean?
Can you see any borrowings from Spanish in the text?

Central Central Quiché
Quiche Genisis

Translation
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear withness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

Writing

Writing
Quiché is written in an adapted version of the Roman alphabet.

Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh is the sacred book of the Mayas, representing an account of Maya history and mythology, beginning with the creation of the world. It is an outstanding example of native American literature that has survived the passing of centuries. The original was discovered in the beginning of the 18th century in highland Guatemala by Francisco Jimenez, a parish priest, who copied the original Quiché text and translated it into Spanish.

This is the account of how all was still, the waters lay calm, there was no wind, and the expanse of the sky was empty.
This is the first account, the first narrative. There was neither man nor animal, birds, fish, crabs, trees, stones, caves, ravines, grasses, nor forests; there was only the sky. The surface of the earth had not appeared, there was only the calm sea and the great expanse of the sky. There was nothing brought together, nothing which could make a noise, nor anything which might move, or tremble, or fly, nor was anything standing.
There was only the calm water, the placid sea, alone and tranquil; nothing whatever existed. Only the expanse of water, and tranquillity in the darkness, in the night.

Resources

Quiché Language and Culture Resources
Wikipedia: Quiché Language
Minnesotta State University Quiché Page
Quich é Language Resources
Celas Maya Language School
K'iche'-English Dictionary
Less Commonly Taught Languages Database