Editing Tzeltal language (section)

=== Consonants ===
Tzeltal has 21 [[consonant]]s, including the [[glottal stop]]. Though Tzeltal does not have a standardized [[orthography]], the bracketed letters in the chart below represent one orthography heavily derivative of [[Spanish orthography|Spanish]]:

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
! rowspan="1" colspan="3" |
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="3" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}} {{grapheme|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}} {{grapheme|n}}
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]
! colspan="2" | <small>plain</small>
| {{IPA link|p}} {{grapheme|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}} {{grapheme|t}}
|
| {{IPA link|k}} {{grapheme|k}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{grapheme|'}}
|-
! colspan="2" | <small>[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
| {{IPA link|pʼ}} {{grapheme|pʼ}}
| {{IPA link|tʼ}} {{grapheme|tʼ}}
|
| {{IPA link|kʼ}} {{grapheme|kʼ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate]]
! colspan="2" | <small>plain</small>
|
| {{IPA link|t͡s}} {{grapheme|tz}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} {{grapheme|ch}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | <small>[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
|
| {{IPA link|t͡sʼ}} {{grapheme|tzʼ}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃʼ}} {{grapheme|chʼ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="3" | [[Fricative]]
| ({{IPA link|β}} {{grapheme|w}})
| {{IPA link|s}} {{grapheme|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{grapheme|x}}
| {{IPA link|x}} {{grapheme|j}}
| {{IPA link|h}} {{grapheme|h}}
|-
! colspan="3" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}} {{grapheme|r}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="3" | [[Approximant]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}} {{grapheme|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}} {{grapheme|y}}
| {{IPA link|w}} {{grapheme|w}}
|
|}

{{IPAslink|pʼ}} has three [[allophone]]s:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerdel |first=Florence |url=http://www.sil.org/mexico/workpapers/scans/WS001i-WS012i-WorkpaperScans.htm |title=Tzeltal (Maya) Phonemes |year=1955}}</ref>
* {{IPAblink|pʼ}} at the end of a word: {{lang|tzh|sapʼ}} {{IPA|[sapʼ]}} {{gloss|early}}
* [{{IPA link|ʔ}}{{IPA link|b}}] between vowels: {{lang|tzh|tzopʼol}} {{IPA|[t͡sʰoʔbol]}} {{gloss|many}}
* {{IPAblink|b}} everywhere else: {{lang|tzh|pʼe}} {{IPA|[be]}} {{gloss|road}}
However, in the [[Oxchuc]] (central) dialect, the [[Ejective consonant|ejective]] {{IPAblink|pʼ}} does not exist, having been replaced by the [[phone (phonetics)|phone]] {{IPAblink|b}}. Phonemic charts representing this dialect would include {{IPAblink|b}} but not {{IPAblink|pʼ}}. In this dialect, suffixes carrying {{angbr|b}} often may be realized as {{IPAblink|m}}. In the initial position of a suffix following a consonant, it is realized as the true stop {{IPAblink|b}}, but in the postvocalic position it is preceded by a glottal stop, such that {{lang|tzh|chabek}} {{gloss|wax}} sounds like {{lang|tzh|chaʼbek}}. When {{angbr|ʼb}} is found in the final position, it can be pronounced as {{angbr|ʼm}}, or even disappear completely; thus {{lang|tzh|cheb}} {{gloss|two}} could sound like {{lang|tzh|cheʼb}}, {{lang|tzh|cheʼm}}, or even {{lang|tzh|cheʼ}}.<ref name="tzeltal.org"/>

{{IPAslink|w}} has two [[allophones]]:
* {{IPAblink|β}} when it is the first member of a CC-[[consonant cluster]],
: or if it is at the end of a word: {{lang|tzh|awlil}} {{IPA|[ʔaβlil]}} {{gloss|seed}}
* {{IPAblink|w}} everywhere else: {{lang|tzh|ziwon}} {{IPA|[siwon]}} {{gloss|I feared}}
Note, however, that it can be interchangeably {{IPAblink|w}} or {{IPAblink|β}} in the beginning of a word, as in {{lang|tzh|wix}} {{IPA|[wiʃ] ~ [βiʃ]}} {{gloss|older sister}}