Mayan languages

language family spoken in Mesoamerica

The Mayan languages ares a group of languages spoken in Central America and Mesoamerica.[1]

Page 9 of the Dresden Codex showing the classic Mayan language written in Mayan hieroglyphs (from the 1880 Förstermann edition)

Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million native Maya. Most of them are in Guatemala, Mexico or Belize. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name,[2] and Mexico recognises eight others.

The Mayan languages are some of the best documented and most studied in the Americas.[3] Modern Mayan languages come from Proto-Mayan, a language that was probably spoken at least 5000 years ago. It has been partly reconstructed.

References

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  1. In linguistics, it is usual to use Mayan when talking about the language
  2. Spence, Jack; David R. Dye, Paula Worby, Carmen Rosa de Leon-Escribano, George Vickers, and Mike Lanchin (1988). "Promise and Reality: Implementation of the Guatemalan Peace Accords". Hemispheres Initiatives. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2006-12-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America (Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics, 4). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-195-09427-1. p.165.