QUICHÉ AND CAKCHIQUEL LORD'S PRAYERS.
Lord's Prayer in the Quiché:
Ka cachau chi cab lal qo-vi, r'auazirizaxic-tah bi la. Chi pe-tah ahauarem la. Chi ban-ta ahauam la, varal chuvi uleu queheri ca ban chi cah. Yah la chikech ka hutagihil va. Zacha la ka mak, queheri ca ka zacho qui mak rii x-e makun chike ruq m'oh ocotah la pa takchiibal mak, xata noh col-ta la pa itzel. Quehe ch'uxoc.
Lord's Prayer in Cakchiquel:
Ka tata r'at qoh chi cah, r'auazirizaxic-tah a bi. Ti pe-ta-ok av' ahauarem. Ti ban-tah av'ahoom vave chuvi uleu, quereri tan-ti ban chi cah. Ta yata-ok chike vacamic ka hutagihil vay. Ta zach-ta-qa-ok ka mak, quereri tan-ti ka zach qui mak riy x-e makun chike. Ruquin qa maqui-tah koh av'ocotah pa takchiibal mak, xatah koh a colo pan itzel. Quere ok t'ux.[XI'-8]
Of the Maya Grammar, the following is a brief compendium:
The following alphabet is used to write the Maya language: a, b, c, ç, z, tz, ɔ, cti, ch, e, h, i, y, k, l, m, n, o, p, pp, t, th, u, x.
The letter ç is pronounced like the English z, or as if for example the word cambeç, were spelled cambez. The ɔ is pronounced as if spelled dj, ɔib is pronounced as if written djib, to write; h, not aspirated, and very frequently omitted; k, rather guttural; pp and p, sharp and with force; th, hard, at the same time approximating slightly the English tt. The gender of rational beings is denoted by the prefixes ah, for masculine, and ix, for feminine;—ah cambezah, master; ix cambezah, mistress. With animals the particles xibil, for males, and chupul, for females, is prefixed. An exception to this rule is the word pal;—xibil pal, the boy; and chupal pal, the girl. Nouns form the plural by adding the particle ob;—ich, eye; ich ob, eyes. Adjectives ending in nac, in the plural lose their two last syllables and substitute for them the syllable lac;—kakatnác, an idle thing; kaklác, idle things. When an adjective and substantive are joined together, the adjective is always placed before the substantive, but the plural is expressed only in the substantive;—man, uinic; good, utzul; utzúl uinicob, good men. To form the comparative, the last vowel of the adjective with the letter l added to it is affixed; frequently, the particle il is simply affixed;—further, the pronoun of the third person u or y is always prefixed, in the comparative;—tibil, a good thing; ú tibilil, a better thing; utz, good; yutzil, or yutzul, better; lob, bad; ulobol, or ulobil, worse; kaz, ugly; ukazal, or ukazil, uglier. The superlative is expressed by the particle hach, which is prefixed;—lob, bad; hachlob, very bad. Il added to nouns and adjectives serves to make them abstracts, uinic, man; uinicil, humanity.
MAYA CONJUGATIONS.
There are four kinds of pronouns used in the Maya, all of which are used in conjugating verbs. But the two last are also used, united with nouns, or as possessive pronouns, and never alone, or as absolute pronouns.