Achi language

Achi (Achí in Spanish) is a Mayan language very closely related to Kʼicheʼ (Quiché in the older orthography). It is spoken by the Achi people, primarily in the department of Baja Verapaz in Guatemala.

Achi
Achiʼ
Native to	Guatemala
Region	Baja Verapaz
Ethnicity	161,000 Achi (2019 census)
Native speakers	120,000 (2019 census)
Language family	Mayan Quichean–Mamean Greater Quichean Quichean Quiché–Achi Achi
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Guatemala
Regulated by	Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala
Language codes
ISO 639-3	acr
Glottolog	achi1256
ELP	Achi'

There are two Achi dialects. Rabinal Achi is spoken in the Rabinal area, and Cubulco Achi is spoken in the Cubulco area west of Rabinal.

One of the masterpieces of precolumbian literature is the Rabinal Achí, a theatrical play written in the Achi language.

Phonology

The tables present the consonant and vowel phonemes of Achi. On the left is the spelling in use.

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar		Post-alv./ Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Pharyn- geal	Glottal
Nasal		m [m]	n [n]
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p [p]	t [t]	tz [ts]	ch [tʃ]	k [k]	q [q]		’ [ʔ]
	ejective		tʼ [tʼ]	tzʼ [tsʼ]	chʼ [tʃʼ]	kʼ [kʼ]
	implosive	bʼ [ɓ]
Fricative			s [s]		x [ʃ]		j [χ]	qʼ [ʕ]
Trill			r [r]
Approximant		w [w]	l [l]		y [j]

• Voiceless plosives can have aspirated allophones [pʰ tʰ kʰ qʰ], either when preceding a consonant or in word-final position.
• A uvular consonant /χ/ can also be heard as velar [x] in some environments.
• /n/ when preceding a velar consonant can be heard as a velar nasal [ŋ].
• Sonorants /l r j/ when preceding a voiceless consonant or in word-final position can occur sounding voiceless [l̥ r̥ j̊].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i [i] ii [iː]		u [u] uu [uː]
Mid	e [e] ee [eː]		o [o] oo [oː]
Open		a [a] aa [aː]

External links

• Collections in the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America
• Pronouncing the Maya Achi Alphabet
• New Testament in Achi
• OLAC resources in and about the Achi language
• Listen to a sample of Achi from Global Recordings Network