Abstract

Twenty-three indigenous languages and Spanish are spoken in Guatemala. Twenty-one of the indigenous languages belong to the Mayan language family; the other two languages are Xinka (language isolate) and Garífuna (Arawakan). At least half the population of Guatemala is indigenous. Language shift into Spanish is affecting all the indigenous languages, but in most indigenous groups, the majority of the population are still speakers of the indigenous language. Populations of speakers range from under ten (Xinka) to close to a million (K'iche'). Major grammatical features of Mayan languages and Guatemalan Spanish are summarized.

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