Colonial Ch’olti’ — Original ANLHE Historical Language Encyclopedia and 90-Lesson Scholarly Guide
Discover Indigenous American history through original documentation and source-based language study. This encyclopedia examines the classification, historical chronology, colonial writing, grammatical structure, documentary examples and cultural history of Colonial Ch’olti’, and organizes a ninety-lesson research-based programme.
1. Historical identity and chronology
ANLHE Americas classification audit, second series (November 2026): Colonial Ch’olti’ is recorded chiefly in the seventeenth-century Morán manuscript, whose language belongs to the Ch’olan branch of Mayan. Its relationship with the prestige language reconstructed from Classic Maya inscriptions and with modern Ch’orti’ is historically important but requires precise distinctions: the Classic written tradition, Colonial Ch’olti’, and present-day Ch’orti’ represent different dated evidence and should not be treated as unrelated Mayan language families. Research reference.
Historical Ch’olan Mayan language of the southern Maya lowlands, closely connected to Ch’orti’ and valuable for comparative work on Classic Maya inscriptions; it is not identical to modern Ch’ol. The Francisco Morán manuscript tradition includes a grammar, doctrine and vocabulary compiled and copied in the seventeenth century, with portions attributed to San Lucas de Chol in 1685 and Dolores in 1695. A twentieth-century facsimile of the document is catalogued at Princeton University as Garrett-Gates Mesoamerican Manuscripts no. 252. John S. Robertson, Danny Law and Robbie A. Haertel published a critical study in 2010. The author of an early grammar, the approximate time of its composition, the oldest manuscript copy and the date of modern publication can differ by decades or centuries; record these distinct dates accurately.
2. Original alphabet and pronunciation
Spanish-influenced colonial Roman script, whose spelling of consonants, vowels and glottalization differs from both Classic Maya glyphic spelling and modern Ch’orti’ alphabets. Study source spellings and signs, their phonological interpretation and geographic variation. Historical colonial orthography is a record of its scribal context and must not be silently replaced by today’s standardized spelling. Where a consonantal contrast is absent from the original writing, a phonetic reconstruction should be labeled provisional.
3. Morphology, grammatical forms and discourse
Ch’olan ergative-absolutive person marking, verb status and aspect systems, verbal roots, noun possession and poetic parallelism. The grammar provides historical evidence for comparisons with Classic Maya and Ch’orti’ but should not be used to claim a one-to-one identity between them. Use the original grammar or dictionary as a starting point rather than assuming its Spanish or Latin categories fully describe Indigenous grammar. Analyze attested morphology with modern specialist comparison. A missionary catechism, genealogy, dictionary and everyday conversation belong to different discourse settings.
4. Historical text examples and precise identification
| Historical form, title or reference | Source-specific explanation |
|---|---|
| Arte en lengua Cholti | historical manuscript grammar title |
| San Lucas de Chol | place associated with early text compilation |
| Dolores 1695 | place and year linked with the vocabulary section |
| C0744.01 | Princeton University archival call number |
| Poetic parallelism | textual feature examined in colonial Ch’olti’ studies |
Verification practice: the examples are named as historic terms, citations, normalized forms or analyzed expressions. No manuscript identifier or work title is misrepresented as a fully quoted original-language sentence. A normalized phonemic transcription and its historic manuscript spelling are separate data.
5. How to read original texts and authentic phrases
Locate a complete original page or a published transcription, record its shelfmark, folio or printed page, copy the period’s spelling exactly and document any editorial restoration. Segment names, roots, pronouns and affixes; then supply a literal gloss and interpret the original context. Where parallel Spanish versions exist, compare them but do not assume a perfect word-for-word correspondence.
6. Historical community life and language preservation
These linguistic records were created under colonial circumstances, frequently with substantial knowledge supplied by Indigenous teachers and translators. They preserve aspects of agriculture, kinship, religion, governance, speech and local history but exclude many voices. Contemporary descendants and speech communities sustain linguistic diversity beyond the archival record.
7. Historical variation and scholarly care
Distinguish neighboring languages even when they share a family or scripts; source-specific names of regions, churches and scholars do not justify conflating them. Evaluate original documents, modern grammar, dialect comparison and archival metadata separately. State uncertainties in chronology, etymology, orthography and reported translations.
8. Comprehensive ninety-lesson learning plan
Each of nine modules includes ten individually named lessons integrating historical source literacy, script, grammatical analysis, community history, comparative scholarship and a referenced final portfolio. These are proposed learning objectives, not certification that ninety video lessons or paid course files already exist.
Module 1: Chronology, geography and language identity — Lessons 1–10
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 1: Ch’olan family. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 2: Ch’olti’ historical identity. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 3: Ch’orti’ relationship. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 4: Classic Maya comparison. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 5: Francisco Morán. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 6: 1685 San Lucas de Chol. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 7: 1695 Dolores vocabulary. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 8: Princeton manuscript facsimile. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 9: 2010 critical edition. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 10: Chronology of sources. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
Module 2: Colonial script and historical orthography — Lessons 11–20
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 11: Spanish-derived script. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 12: Colonial vowel spelling. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 13: Consonantal distinctions. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 14: Glottal consonants. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 15: Manuscript page structure. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 16: Grammar hands. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 17: Vocabulary hand. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 18: Facsimile pagination. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 19: Modern editorial normalization. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 20: Script comparison with glyphs. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
Module 3: Vocabulary, sound and lexical sources — Lessons 21–30
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 21: Religious vocabulary. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 22: Historical names. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 23: Mayan cognates. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 24: Lexical roots. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 25: Poetic synonyms. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 26: Colonial loanwords. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 27: Regional terms. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 28: Original spelling variations. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 29: Dictionary organization. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 30: Vocabulary notebook. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
Module 4: Noun phrases, pronouns and possession — Lessons 31–40
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 31: Ergative reference. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 32: Absolutive reference. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 33: Noun possession. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 34: Nominal modifiers. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 35: Relational nouns. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 36: Plurality. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 37: Demonstratives. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 38: Names in texts. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 39: Nominal derivation. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 40: Phrase annotation. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
Module 5: Verbal morphology and predicates — Lessons 41–50
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 41: Aspect marking. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 42: Verb status suffixes. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 43: Transitive patterns. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 44: Intransitive patterns. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 45: Negation. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 46: Imperative constructions. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 47: Agreement. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 48: Verbal derivation. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 49: Colonial grammar terminology. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 50: Parse predicates. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
Module 6: Documented manuscript and book reading — Lessons 51–60
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 51: Morán grammatical example. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 52: Vocabulary entry. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 53: Religious doctrine prose. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 54: Poetic parallelism. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 55: Formulaic repetition. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 56: Colonial narrative. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 57: Phrase segmentation. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 58: Literal English gloss. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 59: Translation alternatives. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 60: Edition comparison. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
Module 7: Community culture and colonial historical context — Lessons 61–70
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 61: Southern Maya lowlands. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 62: Community speech traditions. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 63: Colonial missionary institutions. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 64: Indigenous contributors. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 65: Mayan religious life. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 66: Manuscript literacy. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 67: Place-name evidence. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 68: Oral literary conventions. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 69: Language contact. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 70: Cultural context. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
Module 8: Source criticism and comparative linguistics — Lessons 71–80
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 71: Princeton C0744.01. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 72: LOC 2010 review. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 73: Danny Law poetry study. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 74: Classic Maya correlation. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 75: Modern Ch’orti’ contrast. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 76: Manuscript attribution debate. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 77: Facsimile reproduction. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 78: Editorial restoration. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 79: Scholarly limitations. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 80: Bibliography. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
Module 9: Independent annotated research project — Lessons 81–90
Study each of the following topics using the described historical book, manuscript or a specialist comparative study. Record the relevant document locator and one original linguistic observation.
- Lesson 81: Choose an original folio. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 82: Cite call number. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 83: Transcribe colonial spelling. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 84: Gloss terms. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 85: Analyze verb suffix. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 86: Identify parallel lines. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 87: Compare 2010 edition. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 88: Discuss manuscript history. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 89: Document uncertainty. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
- Lesson 90: Final portfolio. Examine the historical form or scholarly claim in its specific source context, then write an annotated note distinguishing documentary spelling, linguistic interpretation and modern comparison.
9. Academic source and bibliography
Open an institutional or academic reference for Colonial Ch’olti’. Research should draw on archival photographs, identifiable original printed editions, specialist grammars, comparative dictionaries and documentation from present-day speech communities. Every directly quoted historical expression needs a specific page or manuscript location.
10. Final source-based assignment
Choose one dictionary entry, manuscript example or historical grammatical statement; provide its original bibliographic details, transcribe it, analyze word structure, explain the historical and community setting, compare responsible scholarly interpretations and document uncertainty. Return to the ANLHE language index.