The Republic of Guatemala has the largest number of citizens of any country in the Central American region. Of the 14.5 million of its inhabitants, only 42% consider the state language of Guatemala to be their native language. That is how many mestizos, born of indigenous marriage to whites, prefer to speak Spanish.
Some statistics and facts
- The population of Guatemala is very heterogeneous and along with the mestizos, the descendants of the Maya Indians live in the country - 36% of the total number of its citizens, Creoles or whites - 0.8%, Quiche Indians - 14% and Mama - 5.5%.
- The ethnic composition may differ depending on the region, and therefore the state language of Guatemala also serves as a means of interethnic communication.
- Hispanic Guatemalans are concentrated in cities, in the most developed southeastern regions and along the Pacific coast.
- Scientists have more than two dozen languages of the country's indigenous population. They all belong to the Maya-Quiche family.
People of the forest country
This is how the descendants of the Maya Indians, the representatives of the Quiche people living in Guatemala, call themselves. Their language belongs to the Mayan branch and is common in the center of the Guatemalan Highlands.
Quiche is spoken by almost 7% of the country's population and this is the second most popular indicator after the state language of Guatemala. Most Maya descendants speak Spanish pretty well. The Keche language does not have the status of an official or state, but in recent years there has been an increase in its teaching in schools of the republic and even its use in radio broadcasting. A Mayan epic called Popol Vuh is written in classical Quiche, which describes one of the Indian states that existed on the territory of modern Guatemala.
Spanish in Guatemala
Spanish in the republic, as in other countries of the region, was very influenced by the dialects and dialects of the indigenous population. The state language of Guatemala contains many borrowings from the languages of the Indians, and therefore the native speaker of classical Spanish will have to get used to unfamiliar terms at first.
Tourist notes
Going to see the pyramids of Tikal, stock up on a Russian-Spanish phrasebook or use the services of a certified guide-translator. But you can bask on the Guatemalan beaches with only knowledge of English. In resort areas, usually the most important information for tourists is duplicated on it, and the staff speaks the English minimum.
