40 TRANS. ST. LOUIS ACAD. SCIENCE. 



they call the Maya-Qiiiche, and mention the Maya-Tzendal as the 

 oldest and the classic language of the family of tongues. 



I know not upon what particular resemblances this claim is 

 based. It is undeniable that there are similar forms in the struc- 

 "ture of a number of the languages spoken by the so-called Maya- 

 Quiche nations ; but in vocabulary, in structure, and in other 

 respects, the distance between the most nearly related of the lan- 

 guages spoken by the people who inhabit Yucatan and Chiapas 

 is further apart than the English and the Swedish. Between 

 some of the languages the resemblance is about the same as that 

 between Chinese and French ; that is, none at all. 



The Zoques — a tolerably full vocabulary of whose language is 

 here presented — appear to have no relationship with their imme- 

 diate neighbors the Zapotecs, whose language appears much bet- 

 ter developed, and is smoother and far more copious. 



Let us take the words beginning the Lord's prayer in the several 

 languages to be compared. Thus in Chanabal, spoken in Chia- 

 pas, the words for "Our Father" are Tattic haya. Culchahan 

 signifies "the high heavens." In Chiapanec we find Ptia man- 

 gueme for " our Father"; in Choi the same meaning is expressed 

 by Tiat te lojon; while in Tzendal the words used to express 

 the idea are Tatic ta nacalat tachulchan — " Our Father in the 

 high heavens art, who." In the Zotzil the difference is still more 

 marked ; thus, Totit ot-te nacal oi ta vinagel-utzilaluc — "In the 

 great heavens let our Father be." The Pokonchi is another lan- 

 guage said to belong to the same family of tongues ; the prayer 

 begins thus in that speech — Catat taxah vilcat. A still greater 

 difference is noted in the Maya language as spoken in the region 

 of Palenque. The author of "Rambles in Yucatan" furnishes the 

 following : 



Cayum ianech ti caannob cilichthantabac akaba : tac a 



Our Father who art in heaven, blessed be thy name ; it may come thy 

 ahaulil ci okol. Mancahac a uolah uai ti luun bat ti caane. Zanza- 

 kingdom us over. Be done thv will as on earth as in heaven. Daily 

 mal uah ca azotoon heleae. Caazaatez ci ziipil he bik c" zaatzic uzii- 

 bread us give to-day. Us forgive our sins as we forgive their 

 pil ahziifiloobtoone ma ix appatic c' lubul ti tuntah, caatocoon 

 sins to sinners; not also let us fall in temptation, us deliver 



// lob. 

 from evil. 



