Tiếng Tzeltal

Tzeltal (Bats'il kʼop, "true language") is a Mayan language of the Tseltalan branch, spoken in highland Chiapas, Mexico, with ~600K speakers — sister to Tzotzil within the Tseltalan branch. The largest Mayan language by L1 speakers in Mexico after Yucatec Maya. The Tzeltal Maya are concentrated in the Los Altos region (San Cristóbal de las Casas area), with notable communities in Oxchuc, Tenejapa, Bachajón, and other towns. Each town has its own variety. Recognized as a national language of Mexico (2003 law). Has the typical Mayan ergative-absolutive case system, person markers, and rich verbal aspect morphology. Latin orthography uses apostrophe for ejectives.