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. 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.
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. There are language conservation and revitalization efforts taking place in San Mateo Ixtatán, through groups like the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala.

Phonology

Phonemic Inventory

Orthography Stzolalil Sloloni-Spaxtini Hebʼ Chuj, ALMG, 2007, p. 66

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

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.

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. 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.

Tense-Aspect

Chuj has four attested Tense-Aspect markers. Finite clauses inflect obligatorily for Tense-Aspect.
MarkerMeaning
tz-imperfective
ix-perfective
lanprogressive
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 for houses and metal for knives.
ClassifierDomain
aʼwater
anhplant
atzʼamsalt
chanhvine
ixfemale
iximgrain
kʼakcloth
kʼenmetal
lumearth
nokʼanimal
teʼwood
wajmale name
winhmale

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 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 will eat it.

Numbers 1 through 10 in Chuj

San Mateo Ixtatán / San Sebastián Coatán
  1. Juʼun / Jun
  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
Xenhxni xekxni xanhxni hinbʼeyi
Xankatak xanhbʼ wekʼ a stixalu
Xchi nokʼ xankat a nokʼ xeʼen,
Xwila xwabi, xelabʼa to ojinwekla,
to jinxekla manhx ojinwekla.