Mochoʼ language
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Mochoʼ (known as Motozintleco in older sources) is a Mayan language spoken by the Mochoʼ people of Chiapas, Mexico. A source stated that it was known as Qatokʼ (from Qa-our and Tookʼ-language: our language), although this name has not received wide acceptance among the native speakers and the language, which is known as Mochoʼ by both the Mochoʼ people and the Mexican government. Mochoʼ has a dialect called Tuzantec (Muchuʼ) spoken in Tuzantan, Chiapas. Alongside Jakaltek, Qʼanjobʼal, Chuj and Tojol-Abʼal, the Mochoʼ language is part of the Qʼanjobalan group from the western branch of Mayan languages. There are 20 Mayan languages in total, nearly all are spoken in the southernmost regions of Mexico, especially Chiapas and the three states of the Yucatán Peninsula.
With about 124 speakers as of 2020, Mochoʼ is considered an endangered language. The Tuzantec dialect is moribund, with fewer than 5 speakers as of 2011. Educational programs in Mochoʼ are helping to preserve the language among youth and the process of teaching and learning the language in indigenous schools.
Geogaphic distribution
The two dialects of Mochoʼ are spoken in two different villages: the Tuzantec dialect in Tuzantán (a town near Huixtla, Chiapas), and the Mochoʼ dialect in Motozintla. Historically, the two groups descend from a single population living in the region of Belisario Domínguez about 500 years ago. According to local legend, the split and migration was caused by a plague of bats. Speakers have also been reported in the nearby towns of Tolimán, Buenos Aires, and Campana. Palosaari (2011) describes the Motozintlec dialect.
Phonology
Unlike most Mayan languages, Mochoʼ is tonal. Stress is regular and at the last syllable.
- Short vowels have level or rising pitch.
In Mochoʼ, Proto-Mayan *j [x] and *h [h] have merged to /j/ in Motozintleco, while Tuzanteco preserves this distinction.
Pronunciation rules change compared to modern Spanish, as ñ becomes an "ng" sound like in sing, and glottalization becomes important for many consonants.[citation needed]
Orthography
Alphabet
According to the established in the written norm, the Mochoʼ alphabet consists of 30 letters, 25 consonants and 5 vowels that represent all the phonemes of the language. The official name of the Mochoʼ alphabet is Tsʼibtookʼ Mochoʼ.
| Mantitsʼib (Majuscule) | Lustitsʼib (Minuscule) | Bij (Name) |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | A |
| E | e | E |
| I | i | I |
| O | o | O |
| U | u | U |
| Mantitsʼib (Majuscule) | Lustitsʼib (Minuscule) | Bij (Name) |
|---|---|---|
| B | b | Ba |
| CH | ch | CHa |
| CHʼ | chʼ | CHʼa |
| G | g | Ga |
| J | j | Ja |
| K | k | Ka |
| Kʼ | kʼ | Kʼa |
| L | l | La |
| M | m | Ma |
| N | n | Na |
| Ñ | ñ | Ña |
| Nʼ | nʼ | Nʼa |
| P | p | Pa |
| Q | q | Qa |
| Qʼ | qʼ | Qʼa |
| R | r | Ra |
| S | s | Sa |
| T | t | Ta |
| Tʼ | tʼ | Tʼa |
| TS | ts | TSa |
| TSʼ | tsʼ | TSʼa |
| W | w | Wa |
| X | x | Xa |
| Y | y | Ya |
| ʼ | ʼ | Xlokʼ-aq |
Written norm
The official Writing Norm of the Mochoʼ Language (In Mochoʼ: Naʼobal chu tsʼiba we tookʼ Mochoʼ, Spanish: Norma de escritura de la lengua mochoʼ) was published in 2011 by the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas, it is mainly used for indigenous education. It established official alphabet, grammar rules and other linguistic aspects.
Further reading
- Campbell, Lyle; et al. (with contributions by Walter Randolph Adams and Brant Gardner) (2004-11-16) [1st pub. 1988]. (PDF). Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation. Vol. 50. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. OCLC .
- England, Nora (2017) [1st pub. 2013]. "Mayan Languages". In Aronoff, Mark (ed.). Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics (Digital). New York: Oxford University Press. doi:. ISBN 978-0-19-938465-5.
- Kaufman, Terrence (November 1969). . Laboratory for Language-Behavior Research. Working Paper. Vol. 5. University of California, Berkeley.
- Martin, Laura (Winter 1987). . Anthropological Linguistics. 29 (4). University of Nebraska Press: 533–548. eISSN . JSTOR – via JSTOR.
- — (Summer 1998). . Anthropological Linguistics. 40 (2). University of Nebraska Press: 198–213. JSTOR – via JSTOR.
- Schummann, Otto (1969). [Tuzanteco and its place within the Mayan family.] (PDF). Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (in Spanish). 7 (1). Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia: 149–156. ISSN . from the original on 2025-06-25.
External links
- . Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America. [Audio recordings, transcriptions, translations, and field notes on Mochoʼ and other Mayan languages. Free registration required.]
- . Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America. [Audio recordings, transcriptions, and translations of several languages including Mochoʼ. Free registration required.]
- . www.native-languages.org. Native Languages of the Americas.
- . Endangered Languages Project. Alliance for Linguistic Diversity.