Language
The language that is called Ch’ol in English is referred to as Lak ty’añ—means “our speech--. The word Ch’ol refers to both the language and the people.
The Ch'ol language consists of three branches: Sabanilla, Tilá and tumbalá. Although some linguists consider them as three different languages, they are commonly known as dialects of the same Ch’ol language Speakers of Tilá and Tumbalá can usually understand each other. In total, there are an estimated 120,000 speakers of the ch’ol language. The Tilá speakers inhabit Chiapas, Tila, and while the tumbala inhabit North central Chiapas, Tumbala, sabanilla, Misjia, limar, chivalita . Both dialects are spoken in Vicente Guerrero, Limar, and Chivalito.
Although most chol people are monolingual, those that speak Spanish have a variation called “Castia” This form of Spanish is characterized by:
- Continued use of archaisms that are no longer used in other varieties in Spanish like: Cuartia, fanego, libra
- Use of Vos instead of tu in Second person singular
- Phonetic transformation in the second singular: “I” is dropped and “e” is stressed. For example: Vos quereis = Vos queres
- Frequent use of “lo” even when there is a masculine or feminine article: “lo hizo las tortillas” o “ lo miro el rio”
Read more about this topic: Ch'ol People
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“The language I have learnt these forty years,
My native English, now I must forgo,
And now my tongue’s use is to me no more
Than an unstringèd viol or a harp.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“After all, when you come right down to it, how many people speak the same language even when they speak the same language?”
—Russell Hoban (b. 1925)
“The great pines stand at a considerable distance from each other. Each tree grows alone, murmurs alone, thinks alone. They do not intrude upon each other. The Navajos are not much in the habit of giving or of asking help. Their language is not a communicative one, and they never attempt an interchange of personality in speech. Over their forests there is the same inexorable reserve. Each tree has its exalted power to bear.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)