Editing Tzeltal language (section)

==Overview and current status==
Tzeltal forms, together with the [[Tzotzil language]], a branch of the Mayan languages, called Tzeltalan, which in turn forms a branch with the [[Chʼolan languages]] called Cholan–Tzeltalan. All these languages are the most spoken Mayan languages in Chiapas today. Historically, the branches are believed to have split about 1,400 years ago.{{Ambiguous|from each other, or from the other Mayan languages?|date=April 2024}} Also, some researchers believe that the Tzeltal language has been spoken as far away as in [[Guatemala]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}  While Greenberg groups Tzeltal with the proposed [[Penutian languages|Penutian]] superfamily, this hypothesis is not well attested.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greenberg |first=Joseph H. |title=An Amerind Etymological Dictionary |date=September 4, 2007}}</ref>

The Ethnologue classifies Tzeltal as a 5 out of 10 (Developing) on its scale of endangerment status, and additionally describes its use as "vigorous."  Nevertheless, its usage is almost exclusively oral; schools rarely incorporate Tzeltal materials, and as a result almost everyone under the age of 30 is bilingual in Spanish.<ref name="Ethnologue">{{ethnologue|tzh}}</ref>

One of the primary differences between the Tzeltalan and the Chʼol languages today is that while the Chʼol languages feature [[split ergativity]], the Tzeltalan languages are fully morphologically [[ergative-absolutive language|ergative]].

Tzeltal language programming is carried out by the [[National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples|CDI]]'s radio station [[XEVFS]], broadcasting from [[Las Margaritas, Chiapas]].

In 2013, [[Pope Francis]] approved translations of the prayers for [[Mass (Roman Rite)|Mass]] and the celebration of sacraments into [[Tzotzil language|Tzotzil]] and Tzeltal. The translations include "the prayers used for Mass, marriage, baptisms, confirmations, confessions, ordinations and the anointing of the sick ... Bishop Arizmendi said Oct. 6 that the texts, which took approximately eight years to translate, would be used in his diocese and the neighboring [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuxtla Gutiérrez|Archdiocese of Tuxtla Gutierrez]]. Mass has been celebrated in the diocese in recent years{{when|date=July 2024}} with the assistance of translators – except during [[homilies]] – Bishop Arizmendi said in an article in the newspaper [[La Jornada]].<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Catholic News Service |title=In Chiapas, Mayans get Mass, sacraments in two of their languages |url=http://www.catholicsentinel.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=34&ArticleID=22587 |access-date=2013-10-24 |work=Catholic Sentinel |publication-place=Portland, OR |location=Mexico City|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195238/http://www.catholicsentinel.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=34&ArticleID=22587 |archive-date=2013-10-29}}</ref>