Tseltal (Maya)

The Maya currently live in southern Mexico, Guatemala - where they form the majority of the population - and Belize. Living, diverse and mobile societies, both rooted in tradition and exposed to globalization, with a history of interculturation with both Spanish conquerors and neighboring Mayan and non-Maya Mesoamerican societies, Mayan communities are rooted in different ecological environments, with contrasting histories and diverse relationships to pre-Columbian Mayan cultures and to modernity.

Discovering the language

Of the more than thirty Mayan languages known at the time of the conquest, only 29 are still spoken by nearly 6 million speakers, some of whom are monolingual. The vitality of these languages is highly contrasted: while almost 800,000 people speak maya yucatecan on a daily basis, and almost 400,000 speak maya tseltal, the languages taught at Inalco, other languages such as Itza' and Tz'utujil are in extremely fragile situations. The situations in between are manifold.

See page "Maya yucateque"

See page "Langues Maya"

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