An accessible text version of this interactive map follows below, with a table of contents for navigating to a specific language.
Table of Contents
- Tzeltal
- Tzotzil
- Chorti
- Chuj
- Mocho
- Huasteco
- Ch’ol
- Kaqchikel
- K’ichee’
- Maya, Yucatec
- Mam
- Popti’
- Q’anjob’al
- Tektiteko
- Poqomchi’
- Awakateko
- Sakapulteko
- Uspanteko
- Ixil
- Additional Languages
Mayan Languages in the AILLA Archive
A chronological journey through the documentation of Mayan languages in the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America (AILLA) at the University of Texas at Austin.
This map features 19 languages with detailed slides, covering Mesoamerica (Guatemala, Belize, Mexico). An additional 14 languages are listed in the closing summary.
Slides are ordered chronologically by the start of dedicated documentation for each language in AILLA’s holdings.
Tzeltal
Tzeltal is a Mayan language spoken by approximately 589,000 people in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, where it remains in vigorous use across generations. AILLA holds 343 items related to Tzeltal, with the earliest dedicated documentation from the 1960s, including narratives, conversations, ceremonies, and prayers. Key holdings include Gilles Polian’s Tseltal Documentation Project, which captures diverse dialects and speech genres, and Brian Stross’s field recordings from Chiapas.
- Also known as: Bats’il k’op
- Countries: Mexico
- AILLA holdings: 360 items (354 publicly accessible), 13 collections
- Dates created: 1959-2017
- Dates deposited: 2006-2021
- ISO 639-3: tzh
Tzotzil
Tzotzil is a Tzeltalan Mayan language spoken by approximately 550,000 people in central Chiapas, Mexico. AILLA holds 692 items related to Tzotzil with only 160 items being publicly accessible. The earliest dedicated documentation is from Victoria Bricker’s and Terrence Kaufman’s collections from the 1960s. The largest collection is John Haviland’s extensive video and audio recordings from the 1970s to the present. The holdings are rich in narratives, conversations, and ethnographic materials.
- Indigenous name: Bats’i k’op
- Countries: Mexico
- AILLA holdings: 714 items (180 publicly accessible), 12 collections
- Dates created: 1959-2017
- Dates deposited: 2002-2021
- ISO 639-3: tzo
Chorti
Ch’orti’ is an Eastern Cholan Mayan language spoken in eastern Guatemala and western Honduras, with approximately 16,700 speakers in Guatemala and no known L1 speakers remaining in Honduras. Considered a direct descendant of the Classic Maya language used in pre-Columbian inscriptions, AILLA’s Ch’orti’ holdings comprise 327 items, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1964. The collection is anchored by John Fought’s extensive fieldwork from 1964 to 1967, which contains several hundred recordings, field notes, and photographs. Kerry Michael Hull contributed a narrative recording with interlinearized text, translations, and an abbreviated dictionary.
- Indigenous name: Ch’orti’
- Also known as: Chorti’
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 340 items (338 publicly accessible), 9 collections
- Dates created: 1959-2017
- Dates deposited: 2002-2021
- ISO 639-3: caa
Chuj
Chuj is a Q’anjob’alan Mayan language spoken by approximately 58,600 people in the Huehuetenango department of Guatemala. AILLA holds 130 items related to Chuj, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1964. Pedro Mateo Pedro and Jessica Coon’s Chuj Oral Tradition Collection contributes narratives describing Mayan culture and history, many with annotated versions translated into Spanish or English or both. Nicholas Hopkins’s collection contains extensive fieldwork recordings, field notes, and a dictionary from the 1960s.
- Also known as: Chuh, Chuhe, Chuj de San Mateo Ixtatán, Chuje, Koti’
- Countries: Mexico; Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 138 items (131 publicly accessible), 9 collections
- Dates created: 1959-2017
- Dates deposited: 2005-2021
- ISO 639-3: cac
Mocho
Mocho is a Q’anjob’alan Mayan language spoken by approximately 130 people in Chiapas, Mexico. AILLA holds 237 items related to Mocho, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1967. Laura Martin’s collection is the largest, with recordings, transcriptions, and field notes from the 1970s onward. Lyle Campbell’s and Terrence Kaufman’s collections contribute extensive fieldwork from the late 1960s, including narratives, prayers, and elicitation materials.
- Indigenous name: Qato’k
- Also known as: Motozintleco, Motocintleco
- Countries: Mexico
- AILLA holdings: 285 items (284 publicly accessible), 5 collections
- Dates created: 1966-2017
- Dates deposited: 2003-2020
- ISO 639-3: mhc
Huasteco
Huasteco is a Mayan language spoken by approximately 169,000 people in the Mexican states of San Luis Potosí and Veracruz. AILLA holds 290 items related to Huasteco, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1969. The holdings are predominantly narratives and myths, drawn largely from Terrence Kaufman’s Mayan Languages Collection, with additional contributions from Roberto Zavala Maldonado and Barbara Edmonson.
- Indigenous name: Teenek
- Also known as: Wasteko, Tenek, Tének
- Countries: Mexico
- AILLA holdings: 305 items (272 publicly accessible), 7 collections
- Dates created: 1965-2017
- Dates deposited: 2008-2022
- ISO 639-3: hus
Ch’ol
Ch’ol is a Western Cholan Mayan language spoken by approximately 255,000 people in Chiapas, Mexico. AILLA holds 321 items related to Ch’ol, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1970 and 287 publicly accessible. The holdings are rich in narratives and oral histories, with dedicated collections from Juan Jesus Vazquez Alvarez and Jessica Coon and from Carol Rose Little featuring audio and video recordings with transcriptions and translations into Spanish.
- Indigenous name: Lakty’añ
- Also known as: Chol
- Countries: Mexico
- AILLA holdings: 340 items (306 publicly accessible), 15 collections
- Dates created: 1959-2020
- Dates deposited: 2007-2021
- ISO 639-3: ctu
Kaqchikel
Kaqchikel is a K’ichean Mayan language spoken by approximately 411,000 people in the central highlands of Guatemala. AILLA holds 199 items related to Kaqchikel, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1970. The holdings include narratives, wordlists, and lexical materials, drawn primarily from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection and the Francisco Marroquin Linguistic Project (PLFM), which contributed an extensive dialect survey across more than 20 Kaqchikel-speaking communities.
- Indigenous name: Kaqchikel
- Also known as: Cakchiquel, Kaqchiquel
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 202 items (196 publicly accessible), 12 collections
- Dates created: 1968-2020
- Dates deposited: 2002-2021
- ISO 639-3: cak
K’ichee’
K’ichee’ is a Mayan language spoken by approximately 1,050,000 people in the central highlands of Guatemala. AILLA holds 343 items related to K’ichee’, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1971. The holdings include narratives, wordlists, and lexical materials, drawn primarily from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection, the Mayan Cultural Patrimony Preservation Project, and the Francisco Marroquin Linguistic Project (PLFM), which contributed dialect surveys across approximately 20 K’ichee’-speaking communities.
- Indigenous name: K’ichee’
- Also known as: Quiché, Central K’iche’, Central Quiché, Chiquel, Qach’ab’al, Qatzij
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 364 items (354 publicly accessible), 15 collections
- Dates created: 1962-2019
- Dates deposited: 2002-2023
- ISO 639-3: quc
Maya, Yucatec
Yucatec Maya is spoken by approximately 801,000 people across Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize, making it the most widely spoken Mayan language outside of Guatemala. AILLA holds 126 items related to Yucatec Maya, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1971. Victoria Bricker’s collection contributes oral histories of the Caste War and carnival recordings, while Melissa Frazier’s collection provides spoken language recordings and William Blunk-Fernández and Michael Carrasco contributed traditional narratives.
- Indigenous name: Mayaa t’aan
- Also known as: Maya
- Countries: Mexico; Belize
- AILLA holdings: 144 items (127 publicly accessible), 16 collections
- Dates created: 1964-2022
- Dates deposited: 2005-2023
- ISO 639-3: yua
Mam
Mam is a Mayan language spoken by approximately 591,000 people in the western highlands of Guatemala. AILLA holds 263 items related to Mam with only 192 publicly accessible, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1972. The holdings include narratives, conversations, and wordlists, drawn primarily from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection and Clifton Pye’s child language recordings. Nora England’s collection contributes fieldwork narratives from the 1970s.
- Also known as: B’anax Mam, Qyool
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 272 items (200 publicly accessible), 9 collections
- Dates created: 1962-2017
- Dates deposited: 2002-2021
- ISO 639-3: mam
Popti’
Popti’ is a Q’anjob’alan Mayan language spoken by approximately 33,000 people in the Huehuetenango department of Guatemala and parts of Chiapas, Mexico. AILLA holds 117 items related to Popti’, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1972. The holdings include narratives, descriptions, and wordlists, with contributions from the Jakalteka/Popti’ Linguistic Community Collection of the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (ALMG), the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection, and Colette Grinevald’s doctoral fieldwork recordings from Jacaltenango in the early 1970s.
- Also known as: Jakalteko
- Countries: Mexico; Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 141 items (130 publicly accessible), 7 collections
- Dates created: 1962-2022
- Dates deposited: 2002-2022
- ISO 639-3: jac
Q’anjob’al
Q’anjob’al is a Mayan language spoken by approximately 177,000 people in the Huehuetenango department of Guatemala and parts of Chiapas, Mexico. AILLA holds 215 items related to Q’anjob’al with only 112 publicly accessible, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1972. The holdings include conversations, narratives, and datasets, drawn primarily from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection and Clifton Pye’s child language recordings. Laura Martin’s collection contributes fieldwork recordings and dissertation data from the early 1970s.
- Also known as: Conob
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 224 items (119 publicly accessible), 12 collections
- Dates created: 1962-2017
- Dates deposited: 2002-2021
- ISO 639-3: kjb
Tektiteko
Tektiteko (also known as B’a’aj or Teko) is a Mayan language of the Mamean branch, closely related to Mam, spoken by approximately 3,000 people in Guatemala’s Huehuetenango department and neighboring municipalities in Chiapas, Mexico. Though classified as threatened, language use in the Tectitán municipality has reportedly been increasing. AILLA holds 101 items related to Tektiteko, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1984. The largest body of materials comes from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection, a project by Indigenous Maya scholars that produced dozens of recorded narratives, life histories, and cultural documentation from the Tektiteko community in 2003-2006. Nora England’s collection includes earlier field recordings from 1984-1985, with hymns, stories, and linguistic questionnaires.
- Indigenous name: B’a’aj
- Also known as: Tujqyol, Teko, Teco, Maya-Tektiteko, Tectitán Mam, Tectitec, Qyool, K’onti’l
- Countries: Mexico; Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 101 items, 5 collections
- Dates created: 1967-2017
- Dates deposited: 2008-2020
- ISO 639-3: ttc
Poqomchi’
Poqomchi’ is a K’ichean Mayan language spoken by approximately 133,000 people in the Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz departments of Guatemala. AILLA holds 109 items related to Poqomchi’, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 1998. The holdings include narratives and wordlists, drawn primarily from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection.
- Indigenous name: Poqomchii’
- Also known as: Tactic Pokomchí, Pocomchí, Poconchí, Pokomchí, Pokonchí
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 115 items (114 publicly accessible), 5 collections
- Dates created: 1964-2017
- Dates deposited: 2002-2020
- ISO 639-3: poh
Awakateko
Awakateko is a Mamean Mayan language spoken by approximately 10,100 people in the Huehuetenango department of Guatemala. AILLA holds 130 items related to Awakateko, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 2003. The holdings are rich in descriptions, narratives, and oral histories, drawn primarily from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection.
- Indigenous name: Awakateko
- Also known as: Aguacateco, Aguacatec
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 133 items, 6 collections
- Dates created: 1964-2017
- Dates deposited: 2008-2020
- ISO 639-3: agu
Sakapulteko
Sakapulteko is a K’ichean Mayan language spoken by approximately 6,530 people in the Sacapulas municipality of Guatemala’s Quiché department. AILLA holds 112 items related to Sakapulteko, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 2003. The holdings include narratives, histories, and descriptions, drawn primarily from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection.
- Also known as: Sacapulteco, Sacapulas K’iche’
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 113 items (112 publicly accessible), 4 collections
- Dates created: 1971-2017
- Dates deposited: 2008-2020
- ISO 639-3: quv
Uspanteko
Uspanteko is a K’ichean Mayan language spoken by approximately 5,130 people in the Quiché department of Guatemala. AILLA holds 134 items related to Uspanteko, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 2003. The holdings include narratives, histories, and descriptions, drawn primarily from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ (OKMA) collection. Ryan Bennett and Robert Henderson’s collection contributes prosody research materials.
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 135 items, 4 collections
- Dates created: 1968-2019
- Dates deposited: 2008-2020
- ISO 639-3: usp
Ixil
Ixil is a Mayan language spoken by approximately 115,000 people in the Quiché department of Guatemala. AILLA holds 643 items related to Ixil with only 239 publicly accessible, with the earliest dedicated documentation from 2005. The largest collection is the Ixil Maya Conversation/Narrative Collection, featuring personal histories, autobiographies, and war experiences recorded by members of the Grupo de Mujeres/Hombres por la Paz in Nebaj. Danny Law’s Ixil Collection contributes recordings, transcriptions, and analysis across the Chajul, Cotzal, and Nebaj dialects.
- Countries: Guatemala
- AILLA holdings: 655 items (244 publicly accessible), 7 collections
- Dates created: 1964-2018
- Dates deposited: 2008-2021
- ISO 639-3: ixl
Additional Languages
The following language has significant holdings in AILLA, but public materials account for fewer than 100 items:
Tojolab’al (221 items, 44 public)
The following 13 languages in the Mayan family have fewer than 100 items in AILLA’s current holdings. As AILLA’s collections grow, these languages may be featured in future updates to this map.
Achi (32 items)
Akateko (51 items, 47 public)
Ch’olti’ (3 items)
Chicomuceltec (3 items)
Chontal, Tabasco (73 items, 58 public)
Itza’ (6 items)
Lacandon (68 items, 67 public)
Mopán (11 items)
Poqomam (82 items)
Q’eqchi’ (94 items)
Sipakapense (8 items, 7 public)
Tuzanteco (5 items)
Tz’utujil (78 items, 71 public)
AI tools (Claude Code) were used for the collection and analysis of AILLA data, within the construction of the StoryMaps, and for translation (Google Cloud Translation API).