Mamean
Greater Mamean
Geographic
distribution
Mesoamerica
Linguistic classificationMayan
  • Eastern
    (Quichean–Mamean)
    • Mamean
Subdivisions
  • Mamean proper
  • Ixilan
Glottologgrea1277

The (Greater) Mamean family is a branch of the Eastern Mayan language group.

Languages

  • Mamean proper: Mam (478,000 speakers), Tektiteko (5,000 speakers)
  • Ixilan: Ixil (135,000 speakers), Awakatek (11,607 speakers)
Genealogy of Mayan languages.
Genealogy of Mayan languages.

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels system of Mamean languages
Letter Mam
(Todos Santos)
Tektiteko
(Tectitán)
Awakatek
(Aguacatán)
Ixil
(Chajul)
i /ɪ/ /i/ /ɪ/ /ɪ/
ii /iː/ /iː/ /iː/ /iː/
u /ɯ/ /u/ /ɯ/ /ɯ/
uu /u͍ː/ /yː/ /ʉː/ /yː/
e /ɛ/ /e/ /e̞/ /ɛ/
ee /eː/ /eː/ /eː/ /eː/
o /ɤ̞/ /o/ /ɤ/ /ɔ/
oo /o͍ː/ /øː/ /ɵː/ /oː/
a /a/ /a/ /ä/ /a/
aa /ɑ͍ː/ /aː/ /ɐː/ /ɐː/

Consonants

Consonant inventory of the Mamean languages
Letter Mam
(Todos Santos)
Tektiteko
(Tectitán)
Awakatek
(Aguacatán)
Ixil
(Chajul)
p /pʰ~ɸʰ/ /p̪ʰ/ /pʰ~ɸʰ/ /pʰ/
N/A N/A /pʼ/ N/A
b /β/ N/A N/A N/A
/ɓ/ /ɓ/ /ɓ/ /ɓ/
m /m/ /m/ /m/ /m/
w /ʋ, ʍ, f/ /v, ʍ, f/ /v, w/ /v, f/
t /tʰ/ /tʰ/ /tʰ/ /tʰ/
/tʼ, ɗ/ /tʼ/ /tʼ, ɗ/ /tʼ/
n /n~ŋ/ /n~ŋ/ /n~ɴ/ /n~ŋʰ/
s /s, z/ /s/ /s/ /sʰ, z/
tz /tsʰ/ /tsʰ/ /tsʰ/ /tsʰ/
tzʼ /tsʼ/ /tsʼ/ /tsʼ/ /tsʼ/
r /ɾ~r/ /ɾ/ /ɾ/ /ɾ/
l /l, ɹ, ɬ/ /l, ɬ/ /l, ɬ/ /l, ɹ, ɬʰ/
xh /ʃʰ, ɕʰ/ /ʃʰ/ /ɕʰ/ /ɕʰ~ʃʰ/
ch /tʃʰ, tɕʰ/ /tʃʰ/ /tɕʰ/ /tɕʰ/
chʼ /tʃʼ, tɕʼ/ /tʃʼ/ /tɕʼ/ /tɕʼ/
x /ʐ, ʂ/ /ʂ, ʑ/ /ʂ, ʐ/ /ʐ, ʂ/
tx /ʈʂʰ/ /ʈʂʰ/ /ʈʂʰ/ /ʈʂʰ/
txʼ /ʈʂʼ/ /ʈʂʼ/ /ʈʂʼ/ /ʈʂʼ/
y /j/ /j/ /j/ /j~ʝ/
k /kʰ/ /kʰ/ /kʰ/ /kʰ/
/kʼ/ /kʼ/ /kʼ~ɠ/ /kʼ/
nh N/A /ŋ/ /ŋ/ /ŋʰ/
ky /kʲ, kɕʲ/ /kʲʰ/ /kʲ/ /kʰʲ~kç/
kyʼ /kʼʲ~kɕʼ/ /kʼʲʰ/ /ɠʲ/ /kʰʲʼ, kʼʝ/
q /qʰ/ /qʰ/ /qʰ/ /qʰ/
/ʛ/ /qʼ, ʛ/ /ʛ/ /ɢʼ/
j /χʰ, ʁ/ /χ/ /χ/ /χʰ/
h N/A N/A /ʜ, h/ N/A

See Mayan languages#Mamean for details.

References

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