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title

¿La ütz awäch?

Introduction to Kaqchikel Maya Language

By R. McKenna Brown, Judith M. Maxwell, and Walter E. Little

Publication Year: 2006

Kaqchikel is one of approximately thirty Mayan languages spoken in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, and, increasingly, the United States. Of the twenty-two Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala, Kaqchikel is one of the four “mayoritarios,” those with the largest number of speakers. About half a million people living in the central highlands between Guatemala City and Lake Atitlán speak Kaqchikel. And because native Kaqchikel speakers are prominent in the field of Mayan linguistics, as well as in Mayan cultural activism generally, Kaqchikel has been adopted as a Mayan lingua franca in some circles. This innovative language-learning guide is designed to help students, scholars, and professionals in many fields who work with Kaqchikel speakers, in both Guatemala and the United States, quickly develop basic communication skills. The book will familiarize learners with the words, phrases, and structures used in daily communications, presented in as natural a way as possible, and in a logical sequence. Six chapters introduce the language in context (greetings, the classroom, people, the family, food, and life) followed by exercises and short essays on aspects of Kaqchikel life. A grammar summary provides in-depth linguistic analysis of Kaqchikel, and a glossary supports vocabulary learning from both Kaqchikel to English and English to Kaqchikel. These resources, along with sound files and other media on the Internet at ekaq.stonecenter.tulane.edu, will allow learners to develop proficiency in all five major language skills—listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and sociocultural understanding.

Published by: University of Texas Press

Contents

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pp. vii-

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Preface

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pp. ix-xi

This book is the fruit of the Oxlajuj Aj Intensive Summer Program in Kaqchikel Language and Culture sponsored by Tulane University and the University of Texas at Austin, which Brown and Maxwell founded in 1989. Its story, a tale of hard work and good luck, begins six years earlier, when Brown and Maxwell met during their first year at Tulane,...

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Acknowledgments

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pp. xiii-xiv

The authors wish to thank The Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University, a designated National Resource Center on Latin America, and the U.S. Department of Education for the funding support that made the Oxlajuj Aj Intensive Summer Program in Kaqchikel Maya Language and Culture, and hence, our academic lives as we know them,...

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Chapter One. Welcome!

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pp. 1-12

You are about to embark on a stimulating journey, one perhaps you didn’t think possible, that of learning a Mayan language. You may have thought that a Mayan language was just too complicated and difficult to learn, but with this book and a few other resources, some time, effort, practice and patience, you’ll be able to communicate in...

Chapter Two. How Are You?

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pp. 13-22

Chapter Three. The Classroom

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pp. 23-43

Chapter Four. People

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pp. 45-65

Chapter Five. The Family

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pp. 67-90

Chapter Six. Food

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pp. 91-111

Chapter Seven. Life

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pp. 113-135

Chapter Eight. Grammar Summary

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pp. 137-201

Chapter Nine. Glossary

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pp. 203-292

Sources Cited and Further Reading

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pp. 293-296

Answer Key

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pp. 297-305


E-ISBN-13: 9780292791701
E-ISBN-10: 0292791704
Print-ISBN-13: 9780292714595
Print-ISBN-10: 0292714599

Page Count: 320
Illustrations: illus.
Publication Year: 2006

Research Areas

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Subject Headings

  • Cakchikel language -- Textbooks for foreign speakers -- English.
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