Maya languages
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The Maya languages (or Mayan languages)[1] is a group of languages spoken in Central America.
Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya. Most of them are in Guatemala, Mexico, or Belize. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name,[2] and Mexico recognises eight more.
The Mayan language family is one of the best documented and most studied in the Americas.[3] Modern Mayan languages come from Proto-Mayan, a language which was probably spoken at least 5,000 years ago. It has been partially reconstructed.
[change] References
- ↑ In linguistics, it is common to use Mayan when talking about to the languages, or an aspect of a language. In other academic fields, Maya is the preferred usage. It is used as both a singular and plural noun, and as the adjectival form.
- ↑ Spence, Jack; David R. Dye, Paula Worby, Carmen Rosa de Leon-Escribano, George Vickers, and Mike Lanchin (August 1988). Promise and Reality: Implementation of the Guatemalan Peace Accords. Hemispheres Initiatives. Retrieved on 6 December 2006.
- ↑ Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America (Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics, 4). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-195-09427-1. p.165.