One of my goals for 2009 is to learn more of the Tzotzil Indian language. Since it is so similar to the Tzeltal and a couple of other Mayan languages I hope to be able to a least understand the other Mayan Indian languages.
The first word that I learned in Tzotzil was “Colaval “which means “Thank you”. That single word has been very useful since the Tzotzil Indians use it a lot as an expression of their gratitude. This is especially true for the Christians who constantly state Colaval Cajbal or Thank you Lord.
Here are some great references:
With a little searching I found a great link to download an entire book that is considered the most complete authority on Tzotzil – English translations (however I couldn’t find a couple of words like “Lord”)
You can download the book in pdf format in High resolution or low resolution.
The Smithsonian Institution Digital Repository- The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of Santo Domingo Zinacantan, with Grammatical Analysis and Historical Commentary, Volume II: English-Tzotzil
Here’s what Wikipedia has in its entries concerning the Tzotzil Language: (copied directly from Wikipedia.org using the GNU Free Documentation License agreement)
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