Yupiltepeque Xinka

language

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July 21, 2026

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Yupiltepeque Xinka is one of four languages belonging to the Xinkan language family, spoken in southeastern Guatemala. This language is now extinct, as is Chiquimulilla Xinka. Guazacapán Xinka and Jumaytepeque Xinka have a few elderly semi-speakers, but a younger generation is actively working to revitalize the Xinka language.1

Evidence suggests that Xinkan languages were once more widespread. It is hypothesized that Xinkan speakers were not originally agriculturalists, acquiring this knowledge and related terms from neighboring Mayan languages. Xinkan languages are distinct and have no known relatives, though they are sometimes mistakenly grouped with the Lencan languages.1

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Xinkan languages
Yupiltepeque Xinka. Extinct and poorly attested Jutiapa Xinka may have been a dialect of Yupiltepeque Xinka or possibly an additional distinct language. Chiquimulilla Xinka and Yupiltepeque Xinka are extinct. The last speaker of Chiquimulilla Xinka died in the late 1970s. There are one or two…
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Yupiltepeque Xinka. Extinct and poorly attested Jutiapa Xinka may have been a dialect of Yupiltepeque Xinka or possibly an additional distinct language. Chiquimulilla Xinka and Yupiltepeque Xinka are extinct. The last speaker of Chiquimulilla Xinka died in the late 1970s. There are one or two…
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