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Spanish is the official language of Guatemala. Guatemalan Spanish is the local variant of the Spanish language.

Quick Facts Official, Indigenous ...
Languages of Guatemala
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A language map of languages of Guatemala, according to the Comisión de Oficialización de los Dialectos Indígenas de Guatemala. Castillian is merely another name for Spanish.
OfficialSpanish
IndigenousSeveral languages
MinorityGarifuna
ForeignEnglish
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Twenty-two Mayan languages are spoken, especially in rural areas, as well as two non-Mayan Amerindian languages: Xinca, an indigenous language, and Garifuna, an Arawakan language spoken on the Caribbean coast. According to the Language Law of 2003, the languages of Mayas, Xincas, and Garifunas are recognized as national languages.[1]

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List of languages of Guatemala

More information Language, Family ...
LanguageFamilyBranchNative speakers % of total populationNotes
SpanishIndo-EuropeanRomance9,481,907 54.9254Although Spanish is the official language, it is not spoken by the entire population, or else is used as a second language. There are twenty-four distinct indigenous languages spoken in Guatemala.
KʼicheʼMayanKiche'1,000,000 5.7927Language spoken in six departments: in five municipalities of Sololá, Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango, El Quiché, Suchitepéquez and Retalhuleu. Spoken by 11.31% of the population.[2]
Q'eqchi'MayanKiche'555,461 3.2176Spoken in Alta Verapaz, El Petén, Izabal and in El Quiché. It is spoken by 7.58% of the population.[3]
KaqchikelMayanKiche'500,000 2.8963Spoken in six departments: Guatemala, Chimaltenango, Escuintla, Suchitepéquez, Baja Verapaz and Sololá. It is spoken by 7.41% of the population.[3]
MamMayanMam480,000 2.7805Spoken in three departments: Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, and Huehuetenango. Spoken by 5.49% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
PoqomchiʼMayanKiche'92,000 0.5329Spoken in Baja Verapaz and in Alta Verapaz. Spoken by 1.02% of the population.[3]
Tz’utujilMayanKiche'88,300 0.5115Spoken in two departments: Sololá, Suchitepéquez. It is only spoken by 0.7% of the population.[3]
AchíMayanKiche'85,552 0.4956Spoken prinarily in five municipalities of Baja Verapaz: Cubulco, Rabinal, San Miguel Chicaj, Salamá and San Jerónimo, and partially at El Chol and Granados, Baja Verapaz. Only spoken by 0.94% of the population.[3]
Q’anjob’alMayanQ'anjob'al77,700 0.4501Spoken in four municipalities of the Huehuetenango department: San Juan Ixcoy (Yich Kʼox), San Pedro Soloma (Tzʼulumaʼ ), Santa Eulalia (Jolom Konobʼ ), Santa Cruz Barillas (Yalmotx), by 1.42% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
IxilMayanMam70,000 0.4055Spoken in three municipalities of the El Quiché department, also known as the Ixil Triangle: Santa María Nebaj, San Gaspar Chajul, and San Juan Cotzal. Ixil is spoken by 0.85% of the Guatemalan population.[3]
AkatekMayanQ'anjob'al48,500 0.2809Spoken in two municipalities in Huehuetenango: San Miguel Acatán y San Rafael La Independencia, by 0.35% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
JakaltekMayanQ'anjob'al40,000 0.2317Spoken in Jacaltenango and the surrounding Huista region in Huehuetenango, by 0.42% of the population of the country.[3]
ChujMayanQ'anjob'al40,000 0.2317Spoken in the municipalities of San Mateo Ixtatán, San Sebastián Coatán and Nentón in the Huehuetenango Department, by 0.57% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
PoqomamMayanKiche'30,000 0.1738Spoken in Guatemala, Jalapa, and Escuintla. Spoken only by 0.37% of the population.[3]
Ch'orti'MayanChol30,000 0.1738Spoken in two municipalities of the Chiquimula department (Jocotán y Camotán). Also spoken in a part of the La Unión municipality in Zacapa. Spoken by 0.42% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
ChalchitekMayanMam21 550 0.1043It is spoken by the people of Chalchitán, now annexed as a neighborhood to the municipality of Aguacatán in the department of Huehuetenango. It is spoken by 0.16% of the country's population.
AwakatekMayanMam18,000 0.1043Primarily spoken in the municipality of Aguacatán in the Huehuetenango department. Spoken by 0.10% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
SakapultekMayanKiche'9,763 0.0566Spoken in the municipality of Sacapulas in El Quiché. Only spoken by 0.09% of the population.[3]
SipakapaMayanKiche'8,000 0.0463Only spoken in the Sipacapa municipality in the department of San Marcos.
GarífunaArawakanCaribeña5,860 0.0339A non-Mayan-derived language, this language, unique to the inhabitants of Izabal, is one of the languages imported into Guatemala via the black slaves Spanish colonists brought from other places. Spoken by 0.04% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
UspantekMayanKiche'3,000 0.0174Spoken in the municipalities of Uspantán and Chicamán in the El Quiché department. Spoken only by 0.07% of the population.[3]
TektitekMayanMam2,265 0.0131Spoken in the municipalities of Tectitán and Cuilco in Huehuetenango, by 0.02% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
MopanMayanYucateca2,000 0.0116Spoken in San Luis, Poptún, Melchor de Mencos, and Dolores, El Petén, by 0.03% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
Xincan languagesIsolateXincan languages16 0.0001A language not derived from Mayan with unclear origins. Some hypotheses suggest that the Xincan languages may have arrived from the South. Xinca is spoken by only about two hundred people in the Santa Rosa and Jutiapa departments, and is currently an endangered language, spoken by 0.14% of the population of Guatemala.[3]
ItzaMayanYucateca12 0.0001Spoken in six municipalities, mainly San José, of the El Petén department, by 0.02% of the population of Guatemala
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