[Aztlan] Chicxulub; Mayan languages

[David Hixson]

I will let the more accomplished linguists on Aztlan reply to your questions regarding the degree of comprehension between Maya speakers and the survival of Maya languages.

However, Chicxulub is located in the northwest corner of the Yucatan peninsula.  The linguistic history of this region indicates that this toponymn is likely of Yucatec Maya origin.

Others have glossed the term as "Tail of the Devil"

Victoria Bricker ("A Dictionary of The Maya Language As Spoken in Hocaba, Yucatan") defines it as:

Chikxulub' -- Devil's Flea

Note that various spellings of "Chic" would result in glosses such as "flea" "tick" or "pin / nail / fix in place"
However, "Xulub" has a definition as "devil, demon, horns"

Regardless, it is likely a Yucatec Maya phrase.__________________________________________________
David Hixson
Ph.D. Candidate
Tulane Anthropology
chunchucmil at yahoo.com
www.mesoamerican-archives.com 


"Nothing more useless than a bored archaeologist"
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----- Original Message ----
From: ANTHONY APPLEYARD <a.appleyard at btinternet.com>
To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
Sent: Fri, January 15, 2010 11:16:51 AM
Subject: [Aztlan] Chicxulub; Mayan languages

How much are the Mayan languages comprehensible to each other's speakers?

Which Mayan language is the name Chicxulub in, and please what does the name mean?

How well are the Mayan languages surviving?

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