Lacandon language explained

Lacandon
Nativename:Jach-tʼaan
Pronunciation:in Mayan languages pronounced as /xatʃ tʼaːn/
States:Mexico
Region:Chiapas
Ethnicity:1,000 Lacandon people (2000)
Date:2020 census
Ref:e25
Familycolor:American
Fam1:Mayan
Fam2:Yucatecan
Fam3:Yucatec–Lacandon
Iso3:lac
Glotto:laca1243
Glottorefname:Lacandon

Lacandon (Jach-tʼaan in the revised orthography of the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indigenas)[1] is a Mayan language spoken by all of the 1,000 Lacandon people in the state of Chiapas in Mexico. Within Chiapas, Lacandon is spoken in Betel, Lacanjá San Quintín, Lake Metzaboc, Metzaboc, and Najá.

Native Lacandon speakers refer to their language as Jach tʼaan or Hach tʼan. Most Lacandon people speak Lacandon Maya. Most also speak Spanish.

Phonology

The following tables list the standard phonemes of the Lacandon language.

Consonants

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarLaryngeal
Nasalm pronounced as /link/n pronounced as /link/
Plosivep pronounced as /link/t pronounced as /link/k pronounced as /link/7 pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/
Affricatetz pronounced as /link/ch pronounced as /link/
tzʼ pronounced as /link/chʼ pronounced as /link/
Fricatives pronounced as /link/x pronounced as /link/h pronounced as /link/
Approximantl pronounced as /link/y pronounced as /link/w pronounced as /link/
Flapr pronounced as /link/

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Catálogo de las lenguas indígenas nacionales: Variantes lingüísticas de México con sus autodenominaciones y referencias geoestadísticas - lacandón. Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI). 2009-06-22. 2010-08-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20100826172038/http://www.inali.gob.mx/catalogo2007/html/v_lacandon.html. dead.