Editing Jakaltek language

{{Short description|Mayan language spoken in Guatemala}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Jakaltek
| altname          = Poptiʼ
| nativename       = {{lang|jac|'Abʼxubʼal}}
| states           = [[Guatemala]], [[Mexico]]
| region           = [[Huehuetenango]], [[Chiapas]]
| ethnicity        = 54,200 [[Jakaltek people|Jakaltek]] in Guatemala (2019 census)
| speakers         = {{sigfig|33,130|2}}
| date             = 2019 census
| ref              = e24
| familycolor      = Mayan
| fam1             = [[Mayan languages|Mayan]]
| fam2             = [[Qʼanjobalan languages|Qʼanjobalan–Chujean]]
| fam3             = Qʼanjobalan
| fam4             = Kanjobal–Jacaltec
| minority         = [[Guatemala]]
| agency           = [[Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas]]<br>[[Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala]]
| iso3             = jac<!--Now Poptí. Other code retired.-->
| glotto           = popt1235
| glottoname       = Poptiʼ
| notice           = IPA
| script           = Latin
| nation           = {{flag|Mexico}}
}}

The '''Jakaltek''' {{IPAc-en|h|ɑː|k|əl|ˈ|t|ɛ|k}}<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh</ref> (''Jacaltec'') language, also known as '''Jakalteko''' (''Jacalteco'') or '''Poptiʼ''',<ref name="Glottolog4.3">{{cite web| editor-last1= Hammarström| editor-first1 = Harald| editor-last2 = Forke| editor-first2 = Robert| editor-last3 = Haspelmath| editor-first3 = Martin| editor-last4 = Bank| editor-first4 = Sebastian| year = 2020|title = Popti'| work = Glottolog 4.3| url = https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/popt1235}}</ref> is a [[Mayan languages|Mayan language]] from the [[Qʼanjobalan languages|Q’anjob’alan-chujean]] branch spoken by the [[Jakaltek people]] in some municipalities in the state of Chiapas, Mexico and the municipality of [[Jacaltenango]] in the department of [[Huehuetenango Department|Huehuetenango]], Guatemala in the border between both countries. Jakaltek is closely related with the [[Qʼanjobʼal language|Q'anjob'al]] and [[Akatek language|Akatek]] language and more distantly related with the [[Tojolabʼal language|Tojol-ab'al]], [[Chuj language|Chuj]] and [[Mochoʼ language|Mocho']].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Atlas de los Pueblos Indígenas de México. Jakaltekos – Lengua |newspaper=Atlas de los Pueblos Indígenas de México. Inpi |url=https://atlas.inpi.gob.mx/jakaltekos-lengua/}}</ref> In Mexico it is also known as '''Ab'xub'al'''.

== History ==
Jakaltek was the language spoken by the population of the site of [[El Lagartero]], in the present day [[La Trinitaria, Chiapas|municipality of La Trinitaria]] in Chiapas, Mexico, the site was inhabited from 300 AD to 1400 AD between the late classic and postclassic period of [[Mesoamerica]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=INAH: El Lagartero, Chiapas |url=https://difusion.inah.gob.mx/images/guias/97_lagartero.pdf}}</ref>

==Distribution==
In Mexico, Jakaltek is mainly spoken in the state of Chiapas in the communities of Bienestar Social, Flor de Mayo, Guadalupe Victoria, Ojo de Agua, Pacayalito and Huixquilar from the municipality of [[Amatenango de la Frontera]], in Los Pocitos from the municipality of [[Bella Vista Municipality|Bella Vista]], in El Mango, Frontera Comalapa and Sunzapote from the municipality of [[Frontera Comalapa]] and in El Vergel Dos, La Campana, La Gloria, El Colorado and Nuevo Villaflores from the municipality of [[La Trinitaria, Chiapas|La Trinitaria]]. There are also Jakaltek communities in Campeche in the municipalities of [[Campeche Municipality|Campeche]] and [[Champotón Municipality|Champotón]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catálogo de las lenguas indígenas nacionales: Variantes lingüísticas de México con sus autodenominaciones y referencias geoestadísticas. Jakalteko-popti' |url=https://www.inali.gob.mx/clin-inali/html/v_jakalteko.html}}</ref>

Municipalities in Huehuetenango where Jakaltek is spoken include the following (''Variación Dialectal en Poptiʼ, 2000'').

* [[Concepción Huista]]
* [[Jacaltenango]] (including the following villages)
** ''[[San Marcos Huista]]''
** ''[[San Andrés Huista]]''
** ''[[Yinhchʼewex]]''
* [[Nentón]]
* [[San Antonio Huista]]
* [[Santa Ana Huista]]
* Buxup
* Tzisbʼaj

==Phonology==
The Eastern Jakaltek language includes the following [[phonemes]].  The orthography used by the [[Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala]] is on the left, the other main orthography is on the right.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" | 
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}} {{angbr|m}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPAlink|n}} {{angbr|n}}
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}} {{angbr|nh or n̈/ŋ}}
| 
| 
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
! <small>plain</small>
| {{IPAlink|p}} {{angbr|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}} {{angbr|t}}
| {{IPAlink|ts}} {{angbr|tz}}
| {{IPAlink|tʃ}} {{angbr|ch}}
| {{IPAlink|tʂ}} {{angbr|tx}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|k}} {{angbr|k or c/qu}}
| {{IPAlink|q}} {{angbr|q or k}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPAlink|ʔ}} {{angbr|ʼ}}
|-
! <small>[[Glottalic consonant|glottalized]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|ɓ}} {{angbr|b or bʼ}}
| {{IPAlink|tʼ}} {{angbr|tʼ}}
| {{IPAlink|tsʼ}} {{angbr|tzʼ}}
| {{IPAlink|tʃʼ}} {{angbr|chʼ}}
| {{IPAlink|tʂʼ}} {{angbr|txʼ}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|kʼ}} {{angbr|kʼ or cʼ/qʼu}}
| {{IPAlink|qʼ}} {{angbr|qʼ or kʼ}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
| {{IPAlink|f}} {{angbr|f}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPAlink|s}} {{angbr|s}}
| {{IPAlink|ʃ}} {{angbr|xh or ẍ}}
| {{IPAlink|ʂ}} {{angbr|x}}
| 
| 
| {{IPAlink|χ}} {{angbr|j}}
| {{IPAlink|h}} {{angbr|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
| {{IPAlink|w}} {{angbr|w}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPAlink|l}} {{angbr|l}}
| 
| 
| {{IPAlink|j}} {{angbr|y}}
| 
| 
| 
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| 
| colspan="2" | {{IPAlink|r}} {{angbr|r}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

It also has the vowels a {{IPAslink|a}}, e {{IPAslink|e}}, i {{IPAslink|i}}, o {{IPAslink|o}}, u {{IPAslink|u}}

<div class="floatleft">{{angle bracket|'''n̈'''}}</div>
Eastern Jakaltek is one of the few languages besides the [[Malagasy language]] of [[Madagascar]] to make use of an n-[[trema (diacritic)|trema]] character in its alphabet. In both languages, the n-trema represents a [[velar nasal]] consonant {{IPAblink|ŋ}} (like "ng" in "bang").

== Use in media ==
Jakaltek-language programming is carried by the [[National Institute of Indigenous Peoples|INPI]]'s radio station [[XEVFS]], broadcasting from [[Las Margaritas, Chiapas]].

==Grammar==
The Jakaltek language has a [[verb–subject–object]] syntax. Like many [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] languages,  Jakaltek has complex [[agglutinative]] [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] and uses [[Ergative–absolutive language|ergative–absolutive case alignment]]. It is divided in two dialects, Eastern and Western Jakalteko. "Eastern and Western Jakalteko understand each other's spoken languages, but not written text."<ref>Gordon, Raymond G, ed. "Jakalteko, Western." ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World''. 15th ed. Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2005. 254. Print.</ref>

Jakaltek is unusual in that it has four systems of noun and numeral classifiers.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.ddl.cnrs.fr/fulltext/Grinevald/Grinevald_1986_Jacaltec_NounClassifiers_A-Study-In-Grammaticalization.pdf |title=Jacaltec Noun Classifiers: A Study in Grammaticalization |first=Colette G. |last=Craig |authorlink=Colette Grinevald |journal=[[Lingua (journal)|Lingua]] |edition=70 |year=1986 |pages=241–284 |publisher=Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. |location=North-Holland |doi=10.1016/0024-3841(86)90046-X |issn=0024-3841}}</ref>

Owing to Jakaltek's dissimilarity with [[Indo-European language]]s, the reasonably healthy linguistic population and the relative ease of access to Guatemala, Jakaltek has become a favorite of students of [[linguistic typology]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* Craig, Colette G. (1977). The Structure of Jacaltec. Austin: University of Texas Press. 432pp.

== External links ==
{{Incubator|jac|wiktionary}}
* [https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:124398 Jacalteco Collection of Colette Grinevald] – Collection of audio recordings in Jakaltek at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas
{{Languages of Mexico}}{{Languages of Guatemala}}
{{Mayan languages}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakaltek Language}}
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Mexico]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Central America]]
[[Category:Languages of Guatemala]]
[[Category:Huehuetenango Department]]
[[Category:Mayan languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Central America]]
[[Category:Mesoamerican languages]]
[[Category:Verb–subject–object languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Mexico]]


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