Poqomchiʼ language

Poqomchiʼ
Poqomchiiʼ
Pronunciation[poqomt͡ʃi:ʔ]
Native toGuatemala
RegionBaja Verapaz
Ethnicity177,000 Poqomchiʼ (2019 census)
Native speakers
130,000 (2019 census)
40,000 monolinguals (2017)
Mayan
Dialects
  • Eastern
  • Western
Language codes
ISO 639-3poh
Glottologpoqo1254
ELPPoqomchi'

Poqomchiʼ (Pokomchi: Poqomchiiʼ) is a Mayan language spoken by the Poqomchiʼ Maya of Guatemala, and is very closely related to Poqomam. Its two main dialects, eastern and western, were spoken by 90,000 or so people in the year 2000, in Purulhá, Baja Verapaz, and in the following municipalities of Alta Verapaz: Santa Cruz Verapaz, San Cristóbal Verapaz, Tactic, Tamahú and Tucurú. It is also the predominant language in Aldea Belejú, in the municipality of Chicamán (El Quiché), which borders Alta Verapaz.

Geographic distribution

Poq'omchí is spoken in the following municipalities of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, and El Quiché departments (Variación Dialectal en Poqom, 2000).

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p t ts tʃ k q ʔ
ejective pʼ tʼ tsʼ tʃʼ kʼ qʼ
implosive ɓ
Fricative s ʃ χ h
Nasal m n
Trill r
Approximant central l j w
glottalized (wʼ)

Vowels

Front Back
Close i iː u uː
Mid e eː o oː
Open a aː

Notes

  1. 1 2 Poqomchiʼ at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021) Closed access icon
  2. ↑ "Demografía". Municipalidad de Chicamán. Retrieved 2008-05-14.

References