K'EQCHI - Definition Page

Figure 3. Distribution of current Mayan languages by name within Guatemala and neighboring regions in Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras.

The term K'eqchi' today

There is and has been speculation towards the usage and spelling of the word "k'eqchi" to refer to the language, people, land, etc.

The term has been written in various ways which greatly differ in spelling and meaning from the original writing. Scholars today use either Q'eqchi or K'ekchi in their current papers, research, studies, etc. regardless whether it is the correct spelling or not.

To my judgement, criteria and observations and to what concerns the term's pronunciation the correct writing of the language's name is K'eqchi. As outlined on the right, the composite word requires that the adjective k'eq (black color) be written with "k" as has been iniatilly written and because it adapts better to pronunciation in the alphabet currently used.

K'ekchi' language status

All current Mayan languages can be traced back to a main language which has been called proto-Mayan. Each one of them has only been preserved and maintained orally through hundreds of years and generations. Regarding the K'eqchi language, despite the imposition of the Spanish language by the Spaniards it has experienced minor changes through time. However, the lack of a written language (as well as subsequent socio-political changes in the general population) has led to several regional variations in pronunciation coupled by no teaching in schools to allow for better development and standarization of the language. As with the majority of the other languages, K'eqchi has had little support from the country's government; only very significant contributions from outsiders can be accounted who have become interested in the language and speakers.

Studies from the past and today by scholars show that the language lacks a great deal of interpretation, characterization and translation for its proper representation with the International Phonetic Alphabet. Only very recently have K'eqchi speakers become interested in the written form of their own language. The result of this interest and concern is some contributions by K'eqchi speakers/linguistis at the Mayan Languages Academy (see Resources page). However, not all has been accomplished and there are goals to be meet regarding the grammar, structurization and characterization of the K'eqchi language for today's population and languages such as Spanish, English and German.

Written by George Max, Early April 2010.

K’eqchi

Definition
K’eqchi is a Mayan language spoken by the native inhabitants of central and northern Guatemala and southern Belize (See Figure 3 on the left). The indigenous people who inherited this language a long time ago are called the K’eqchi. The language constitutes a main part of the people’s culture, beliefs, tradition and so called cosmovision. Wikipedia Info

Theory of the origin of the language’s name
The author suggests that the usage of the word K’eqchi originates from Petén, a province in northern Guatemala where the ancient Mayas once lived (e.g. Tikal, Wikipedia Info). The term is composed of two words and it is auto-suggestive of its own origin: k’eq – black, and chi – a small piece, adjective and noun respectively (compared to saying black berry or blue berry in English). Today the word chi' is not commonly or widely used as a noun to refer to small items; instead it is used to name a yellow fruit (with a hard rounded seed, see Figure 1) the size of a berry and which in Spanish is named “nance” or “nanche”.

Figure 1. Nance or nanche fruit named in Spanish. Chi (ch'ee) in K'eqchi.

The author’s inference is that the word K’eqchi was originally used to describe a small black fruit (k'eq chi) that grows from a tall tree (15 m high, 50 cm in diameter) and which in Spanish is called “aguacatillo”. These trees [Persea caerulea (Ruiz & Pav.) Mez] were known by the ancient Mayas who may have grown them and consumed their fruits. Thus, an inference can be made of the origin of the term K’eqchi and its subsequent use by the Mayan descendant inhabitants who lived and still live in that region and acquired that name.

Figure 2. Persea borbonia foliage and fruit (source Wikipedia)

The above theory is only a supposition and inference of the origin of the word K’ekchi without much scientific, geographic or archeological support other than the author’s knowledge as a native K’ekchi speaker and linguist.

The same inference can be applied to the word Quiche – another major Mayan language spoken by the Quiche indigenous people towards the southwest of Alta Verapaz. In K’ekchi language, quiche or q’uiche, means a mountain, jungle, forest, or any large area covered by trees and vegetation. However, the term Quiche is composed of two words as well, qui – sweet and che – tree. Thus, the word describes a tree which is sweet in nature. It is worth to note that in K’ekchi language the word che (noun) refers to all kinds of wood, from small sticks to trees. The author is not certain of what specific tree the ancient Maya Quiche inhabitants may have referred to but it may have been relevant to their every day life. Today, for example, a tree called "Palo Dulce" in Spanish is described as having healing properties.

In conclusion, at least to what concerns these two languages, K'eqchi and Quiche, their names were acquIred from elements related to nature at their locations. I suspect that other Mayan languages, Kakchiquel for example, have also acquired their names to the surroundings and environment; in this case to volcanoes, eruptions, lava, etc.

Written and researched by George Max, Middle September, 2009. Last date modified: July 20, 2010.