Qʼeqchiʼ or Kekchi is a Mayan language spoken by about 500,000 people in Guatemala and Belize. Qʼeqchiʼ speakers are found mainly in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Petén, Izabal, Baja Verapaz, and El Quiché of Guatemala, and in the Toledo district of Belize.
A number of orthographies have been developed for Qʼeqchiʼ, two of which are widely used: one was developed in the 1950s and 1960s by researchers from the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), particularly Guillermo Sedat, Francis Eachus and Ruth Carlson. This orthography was used to produce a Qʼeqchiʼ version of the Bible and a number of other texts and remains popular even though it is no longer considered standard. A newer orthography developed in 1980s and 1990s by the Proyecto Lingüistico Francisco Marroquin has become the standard written form of Qʼeqchiʼ in Guatemala.
Literature in Qʼeqchiʼ includes educational texts, religious texts, and a few collections of folk tales and other stories, as well as some government documents.
Hear how to pronounce Qʼeqchiʼ:
Chijunil li poyanam juntaq'eet wankil xloq'al naq nake'yo'la, ut kama' ak reheb' naq wan xna'leb'eb ut nake'reek'a rib', tento naq te'xk'am rib' sa' usilal chirib'ilrib'eb'.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Information about Q'eqchi' | Numbers | Tower of Babel
Information about Qʼeqchiʼ
http://www.native-languages.org/kekchi.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qʼeqchiʼ_language
Information about the Qʼeqchiʼ people
http://www.nativeplanet.org/indigenous/maya/mayahistory.htm
The Mayan Languages - a database containing more than 40,000 entries for 31 Mayan languages: http://maya.hum.sdu.dk
Achi, Akatek, Awakatek, Chontal Maya, Chʼol, Chorti, Chuj, Huasteco, Itzaʼ, Ixil, Jakaltek, Kaqchikel, Kʼicheʼ, Lacandon, Mam, Mochoʼ, Mopan, Poqomam, Poqomchiʼ, Qʼanjobʼal, Qʼeqchiʼ, Sakapultek, Sipakapense, Tektitek, Tojolabal, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Tzʼutujiil, Uspantek, Yucatec Maya
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 19.01.25
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