The Kaqchikel Alphabet

The Kaqchikel alphabet, as outlined below and used today to represent the spoken language in writing, was developed in the late 1980s and early '90s by Proyecto Lingüístico Francisco Marroquín (PLFM) and Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (ALMG). Current orthographic conventions are intended to reflect the phonemic properties of Kaqchikel through its own writing system, rather than according to Spanish conventions.

Adapted from Brown, Maxwell, & Little (2006).

 

' = glottal stop (/ʔ/) - What it sounds like: Middle part of uh-oh, produced by stopping air flow in the throat between other speech sounds.

Examples: ko'öl 'small'

ne''baby'

umuli'rabbits'

[']oj 'avocado'

 

 

a = low central vowel (/ɑ/ or /a/) - What it sounds like: First vowel in father.

Examples: ajaw 'lord'

awuj 'your book'

 

 

ä = centralized, lax vowel (/ə/) that greatly varies regionally in its pronunciation - What it sounds like: First vowel in about.

Examples: awäch 'your (s.) face; your (s.) eyes'

jäl 'ear of corn (with husk)'

yiwä'I sleep; I am sleeping'

 

 

b' = voiceless bilabial implosive stop (/ɓ̥/).

Examples: b'i'aj 'name'

qab''our name(s)'

ab'äj 'rock; stone'

xajab' 'sandal'

 

 

ch = voiceless postpalatal affricate (/t͡ʃ/) - What it sounds like: Initial and final sounds of church.

Examples: chaj 'ash'

achike' 'what; who'

 

 

ch' = glottalized voiceless postpalatal affricate (/t͡ʃ '/) - What it sounds like: A noise made by an angry squirrel.

Examples: ch'ich' 'metal; car; machine'

ch'i'p 'youngest-born'

 

 

e = mid-front tense vowel (/e/) - What it sounds like: Spanish "e" vowel; the vowel in play but stopped short (before the glide).

Examples: eyaj 'teeth'

lemow 'glass; window'

yatz'uye'you (s.) are (in the process of) sitting down'

 

 

ë = mid-front lax vowel (/ɛ/) - What it sounds like: Middle vowel in bed.

Examples: xpëq 'toad'

setë'round'

xintz'ë'I saw him/her/them (s.)/it'

 

 

i = high, front, tense vowel (/i/) - What it sounds like: Middle vowel in keep.

Examples: yinatin 'I shower; I am showering'

iwäch 'your (pl.) faces; your (pl.) eyes'

ixoqi'women'

 

 

ï = high, mid-front, lax vowel (/ɪ/) - What it sounds like: Middle vowel in sit.

Examples: rï'I/me'

tinamï'town'

 

 

j = voiceless glottal fricative (/h/ or /χ/) - What it sounds like: Initial sound of hello, but also at times more forceful and from the back of the throat.

Examples: ja' 'yes'

rija' 'he/she/they (s.); him/her/them (s.)'

j 'we/us'

 

 

k = voiceless velar stop (/k/) - What it sounds like: Second consonant in scared when this sound is in the beginning or middle or a word. Aspirated at the end of a word.

Examples: ki' 'sweet (adj.)'

b'uküt 'shoe; boot'

ik 'pepper'

 

 

k' = glottalized voiceless velar stop (/k'/) - What it sounds like:

Last consonant of like in some pronunciations.

Examples: ik' 'month; moon'

 

 

l = lateral continuant (/l/) - What it sounds like: Initial consonant in light, in the beginning and middle of words. Devoiced and aspirated at the end of a word.

Examples: loman 'sort of; kind of'

chila' '(over) there'

l 'ear of corn (with husk)'

 

 

m = voiced bilabial nasal (/m/) - What it sounds like: Initial and final consonants in mom.

Examples: manäq 'no'

umül 'rabbit'

 

 

n = voiced dental nasal (/n/) - What it sounds like: Initial consonant in no.

Examples: nïm 'big'

wetama'I know; I have known'

 

 

o = mid-low, back, rounded, tense vowel (/o/) - What it sounds like: Spanish "o" vowel; first part of oh, stopped short (without the glide).

Examples: o'avocado'

kok 'turtle'

wo'o'five'

 

 

ö = mid-low, back, rounded, lax vowel (/ɔ/) - What it sounds like: Vowel in claw.

Examples: ö'spider'

xqatö'We paid for it'

ko'ö'small'

 

 

p = voiceless bilabial stop (/p/) - What it sounds like: Second consonant in speed (English). Aspirated at the end of a word.

Examples: pïm 'thick'

pöp 'woven mat'

 

 

q = voiceless uvular stop (/q/) - What it sounds like: First consonant in kite but lower in the throat. Aspirated at the end of a word.

Examples: qitzïj 'true; certain'

qi' 'ourselves'

b'äq 'bone'

äq 'pig'

 

 

q' = voiceless uvular stop ejective (/q'/) - What it sounds like: The impression of glugging water, using the back of your throat.

Examples: q'äq' 'fire; light'

q'anïl - day sign in the Maya calendar

aq' 'tongue'

 

 

r = alveolar tap (/ɾ/) - What it sounds like: The "t" sound in butter (American English). Devoiced and aspirated at the end of a word.

Examples: räx 'green'

rija' 'he/she/they (s.); him/her/them'

r 'blue'

 

 

s = voiceless alveolar fricative (/s/) - What it sounds like: The first consonant in sing.

Examples: säq 'white'

s 'belt for women's traditional skirt; head-wrap for daykeepers [in some dialects]'

 

 

t = voiceless dental stop (/t/) - What it sounds like: The second consonant in stack, but closer to the teeth. Aspirated at the end of a word.

Examples: tijonel 'teacher'

yatikïr 'You can; You are able'

rat 'You'

 

 

t' = voiceless dental stop ejective (/t'/) - What it sounds like: The "t" sound above, but simultaneously with airflow pushed outward by the throat (larynx).

Examples: t'ot' 'snail'

yojt'ison 'We sew; We are sewing'

 

 

tz = voiceless dental affricate (/t͡s/) - What it sounds like: The final two consonants in cats, pronounced together as a single sound.

Examples: tzëtz 'cucumber'

itzël 'bad; evil'

ütz 'good; well'

 

 

tz' = voiceless dental affricate ejective (/t͡s'/) - What it sounds like: The "tz" sound above, but simultaneously with airflow pushed outward by the throat (larynx).

Examples: tz'i' 'dog'

yitz'uye' 'I am (in the process of) sitting down'

b'ätz' 'string; thread'

 

 

u = high, back, tense, rounded vowel (/u/) - What it sounds like: The Spanish "u"; The vowel in boo, but stopped short.

Examples: ulew 'land; earth; dirt'

xatzu' 'You saw him/her/them (s.)/it'

 

 

ü = high, back, lax, rounded vowel (/ʊ/) - What it sounds like: The vowels in pull and book.

Examples: ütz 'good; well'

b'uyül 'soft'

 

 

w = several articulations that vary depending on the speaker and its placement in a word, including:

  • labiovelar glide ([w] or [w])
  • bilabial stop ([p] or [b])
  • bilabial fricative ([ɸ] or [β])
  • labiodental fricative ([f] or [v])

General rule: Voiceless ([w, p, ɸ, f]) at the end of a word, while voiced ([w, b, β, v]) in the beginning and middle of a word.

Examples: wuj 'book'

winäq 'person'

iwïr 'yesterday'

w 'hard; tough'

w 'cold'

 

 

x = voiceless alveopalatal fricative (/∫/) - What it sounds like: The "sh" sounds in fish and sheep.

Examples: xax 'thin'

xajan 'sinful'

 

 

y = alveopalatal glide (/j/) - What it sounds like: The initial consonant in yellow. Aspirated at the end of a word.

Examples: yojtikïr 'We can; We are able'

juyu' 'hill; mountain'

k'iy 'many'

ne'y 'baby'

 

 

Ultimately we would like to present audio samples of the above example words, in order to represent these individual speech sounds in a Kaqchikel language context.