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Itza Maya (Itzaj)

Itzaj or Itza Maya (known to its own speakers simply as Maya) is a Mayan language of Guatemala and Belize. Only a few elders still speak the Itzaj language, although 750,000 people speak the related Yucatec Maya language. The two languages are closely related, like Spanish and Italian, but speakers cannot easily understand each other's speech, so they are considered distinct languages rather than dialects.

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Our Online Itza Maya Materials

Itzaj Maya Words
Our list of vocabulary words in the Itzaj Maya language, with comparison to words in other Mayan languages.

Maya Pronunciation Guide:
How to pronounce Itzaj words.

Maya Animal Words:
Illustrated glossary of animal words in the Itzaj language.

Itzaj Body Parts:
Online and printable worksheets showing parts of the body in Maya.

Itzaj Colors:
Worksheet showing color words in Itzaj Mayan.

Maya Numbers:
Worksheet showing how to count in the Itza language.

Itza Maya Language Resources

Language Map of Guatemala:
Map showing where in Central America the Itza language is spoken.

Itza Vocabulary
Online dictionary of the Itza language.

Tojilna’at T’an Itza:
Online Spanish-Itza glossary, with some audio clips of spoken words.

Lengua Itzá
Information on the Itza language, including a linguistic map of Mexico. Page in Spanish.

House of Languages: Itzá:
Information about Itzá language usage.

Itza' Maya
Demographic information about Itza Maya from the Ethnologue of Languages.

Wikipedia: Itza':
Encyclopedia article on the Itza' language.

Itza' Language Tree:
Theories about Itza's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

Itza Language Structures:
Itza linguistic profile and academic bibliography.

Itza Culture and History Links

Maya Mythology:
Collection of Mayan Indian legends and folktales.

Maya Religion:
Online texts on Mayan ceremonies, myths, and religious traditions.

Itza Maya Dictionaries, Audio Tapes and Language Resources
Our organization earns a commission from any book bought through these links

Itzaj Maya-Spanish-English Dictionary
Comprehensive, trilingual Mayan dictionary for sale.

Itzaj Maya Grammar
Thorough Mayan grammar for sale.

Itza Maya Texts With a Grammatical Overview
Bilingual presentation of Itza Mayan texts.

Dictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs
Book on the pre-Columbian Maya writing system.

Links, References, and Additional Information

  Endangered Languages Project: Itza':
Bibliography of Itza language resources.
  Maya Books
  Books for sale on the Maya Indian cultures.
  Wikipedia: Itzas:
  Encyclopedia articles on the Itza Mayans.
  La Identidad de los Itzá de Chichén Itzá

Los Itzaes:
Information about the Itza Mayas and their language in Spanish.

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