K’iche’
Sign in to saveAlso known as K'iche', Quiché, K’iche’ language, Quiche, quc, Kʼicheʼ language
Mayan language spoken by the K'iche' people
Key facts
- Pronunciation
- [ kʼiˈtʃeʔ ]
- Native to
- Guatemala , Mexico
- Region
- Quetzaltenango , Quiché , Retalhuleu , Sololá , Suchitepéquez , Totonicapán , Chiapas
- Ethnicity
- Kʼicheʼ
- Native speakers
- 1.1 million (2019 census)
- Language family
- Mayan Eastern (Quichean–Mamean) Greater Quichean Quichean Quiché–Achi Kʼicheʼ
- Early form
- Classical Kʼicheʼ
- Dialects
- Central East West South North
- Writing system
- Latin
- Official language in
- Mexico
- Recognised minority language in
- Guatemala
- Regulated by
- Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala
- Iso 639 3
- quc
- Glottolog
- kich1262
- Elp
- K'iche'
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- K’iche’ language
- number of speakers, writers, or signers
- 2000000
- Wikimedia language code
- quc
- native label
- Qatzijobʼal
Sources (10)
via Wikidata · CC0
~24 min read
Article
A Kʼicheʼ speaker. Kʼicheʼ (/kiːˈtʃeɪ/ kee-CHAY; natively [kʼiˈtʃʰeʔ], also known as Qatzijobʼal lit. 'our language' among its speakers), or Quiché, is a Mayan language spoken by the Kʼicheʼ people of the central highlands in Guatemala and Mexico. With over a million speakers (some 7% of Guatemala's population), Kʼicheʼ is the second most widely-spoken language in the country, after Spanish. It is one of the most widely-spoken indigenous American languages in Mesoamerica.
The Central dialect is the most commonly used in media and education. Despite a low literacy rate, Kʼicheʼ is increasingly taught in schools and used on the radio. The most famous work in the Classical Kʼicheʼ language is the Popol Vuh (Popol Wuʼuj in modern spelling). The second most important work is The Title of Totonicapán.