Xinca Language - Contemporary Situation

Contemporary Situation

Presently Xinca, one of the very few known indigenous languages of Guatemala not believed to be part of the family of Mayan languages, has nearly disappeared. According to recent studies, it is spoken in seven municipalities and a village in Santa Rosa and Jutiapa. In 1991 it was reported that the language had only 25 speakers, and the 2006 edition of the Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics reported fewer than ten. Nonetheless, of the 16,214 Xinca who responded to the 2002 census, 1,283 reported being Xinka speakers.

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