Ixil (Ixhil) is a Mayan language spoken in Mexico and Guatemala.Colby, Benjamin N., Pierre L. van den Berghe. 1977. Ixiles y Ladinos: El Pluralism Social en el Altiplano de Guatemala. Guatemala: Editorial "Jose de Pineda Ibarra". p. 57. It is the primary language of the Ixil people, which mainly comprises the three towns of San Juan Cotzal, Santa María Nebaj, and San Gaspar Chajul in the Guatemalan highlands and numerous towns in the states of Campeche and Quintana Roo in southeast México. There is also an Ixil speaking migrant population in Guatemala City, Mexico City and the United States. Although there are slight differences in vocabulary in the dialects spoken by people in the three main Guatemalan Ixil towns, they are all mutually intelligible and should be considered dialects of a single language. According to historical linguistic studies, Ixil emerged as a separate language sometime around the year 500 AD.
Distribution Ixil is spoken in Mexico in some municipalities of the states of Campeche and Quintana Roo. In the state of Campeche is spoken in the communities of Los Laureles and Quetzal-Edzná from the Campeche municipality and in Maya Tecún in Champotón municipality, while in Quintana Roo is spoken in the towns of Maya Balam and Kuchumatán, Bacalar municipality.
In Guatemala, the municipalities where Ixil is spoken the most are San Gaspar Chajul, San Juan Cotzal and Santa María Nebaj, Quiché department.
Phonology
+ Ixil vowels Front Central Back High Close-mid Open
+ Ixil consonants (Nebaj dialect) Labial Alveolar Post-alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal Nasal Plosive/Affricate plain glottalized Fricative ~ Flap Approximant ( )
Grammar
Ixil pronominals are discerned between ergative ones and absolutive ones."Toward a Dialectology of Ixil Maya: Variation across Communities and Individuals" Thomas E. Lengyel A notable feature of the language's grammar is its ambiguity in discerning reflexive from reciprocal pronouns."Reflexive and Reciprocal Elements in Ixil", ERIC: ED353802, Glenn Ayres, 1990.
Lexicon Ixil has some loanwords from Chʼolan and Qʼanjobalan languages.Wichmann, Søren, and Cecil H. Brown. “Contact among Some Mayan Languages: Inferences from Loanwords.” Anthropological Linguistics, vol. 45, no. 1, 2003, pp. 57–93. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30028873. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
Vocabulary Source:
EnglishIxilOne Wa'lTwo Ka'wa'lThree OxhwalMan WinaqWomanIxoqDog Tx'i'Sun Q'ijMoonIch'Water JaDeerCheJaguarB'alamMonkeyK'oyRabbitUmulMouseCh'oBirdTz'ikyinFishTxayBeeUskabBlackQ'eqWhiteSaqRedKaqYellowQ'anGreenCha'xBlueCha'x
See also Ergative–absolutive alignment
Notes
Bibliography Asicona Ramírez, Lucas, Domingo Méndez Rivera, Rodrigo Domingo Xinic Bop. 1998. Diccionario Ixil de San Gaspar Chajul. La Antigua Guatemala: Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquín.
Cedillo Chel, Antonio, Juan Ramírez. 1999. Diccionario del idioma ixil de Santa María Nebaj. La Antigua Guatemala: Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquín. England, Nora C. 1994. Ukutaʼmiil Ramaqʼiil Utzijobʼaal ri Mayaʼ Amaaqʼ: Autonomia de los Idiomas Mayas: Historia e identidad. (2nd ed.). Guatemala City: Cholsamaj. Maximiliano Poma S., Tabita J.T. de la Cruz, Manuel Caba Caba et al. 1996. Gramática del Idioma Ixil. La Antigua Guatemala: Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquín. Oxlajuuj Keej Mayaʼ Ajtzʼiibʼ (OKMA). 1993. Mayaʼ chiiʼ. Los idiomas Mayas de Guatemala. Guatemala City: Cholsamaj. Programa de Rescate Cultural Maya-Ixil. 1995. Aqʼbʼal Eluʼl Yol Vatzsaj: Diccionario Ixil. Guatemala City: Cholsamaj.
External links Doctrina y Confesionario en lengua Ixil OLAC resources in and about the Ixil language ELAR archive of Ixil Maya language documentation materials Ixil Maya Conversation / Narrative Collection at the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America, containing audio recordings and digital texts.