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Awakatek (also known as Aguateco, Awaketec, Coyotin,[3] and Balamiha, and natively as Qa'yol) is a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala, primarily in Huehuetenango and around Aguacatán.[4][5] The language only has fewer than 10,000 speakers, and is considered vulnerable by UNESCO. In addition, the language in Mexico is at high risk of endangerment, with fewer than 2,000 speakers in the state of Campeche in 2010[6] (although the number of speakers was unknown as of 2000[7][8]).
Awakatek is closely related to Ixil and the two languages together form the sub-branch Ixilean, which together with the Mamean languages, Mam and Tektitek, form a sub-branch Greater-Mamean, which again, together with the Greater-Quichean languages, ten Mayan languages, including Kʼicheʼ, form the branch Quichean–Mamean.
Otto Stoll identified two separate "Awakatek" languages spoken in the same area; the first being the Mayan language which is the subject of this article, and the second being a poorly known language which has been classified as part of the Mixe-Zoque family.[9][10]
Chalchitek
Chalchitek (or Chalchitec) is sometimes considered a dialect of Awakatek. In recent years, however, it has been recognized as a distinct language by the Guatemalan government.[11] Chalchitek is primarily spoken in the Chalchitán neighborhood of Aguacatán.
The Awakatek people themselves refer to their language as qaʼyol, literally meaning 'our word'. They also call themselves qatanum, which means 'our people' and is distinct from the word Awakatec, which is used in Spanish in reference to the municipality of Aguacatán (which means place of abundant avocados and refers to agricultural production and not specifically to the indigenous people).[13][14][15]
^Aridjis, H. (22 February 2009). "Homero aridjis / reír en 7 mil lenguas". Reforma: 14.
^Solano y Perez Lila, Francisco de. Areas lingüísticas y población de habla indígena de Guatemala en 1772. Spain, Departamento de Historia de América de la Universidad de Madrid, 1969.
^Lowe, Gareth W. 1977. “The Mixe-Zoque as Competing Neighbors of the Early Lowland Maya.” In The Origins of Maya Civilization, 197–248. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. https://ehrafarchaeology.yale.edu/document?id=ny52-036.
^Martínez, Francisco Mauricio (2003-08-17). "Los pobladores de Coacutec"(PDF). Revista Domingo (in Spanish) (1158). Prensa Libre. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2007-10-24.
^Larsen, Thomas W. (1983). Aguacatec syntax from a functional perspective. In Studies in Mesoamerican linguistics: Berkeley: University of California. pp. 120–219.
