Tektitek language

Tektitek (name in Guatemala) or Teko (name in Mexico), called b'a'aj by native speakers, (also known as Tectiteco, Teco, Kʼontiʼl, Qyool, among others) is a Mayan language classified under the Mamean branch, spoken by the Teko people of Chiapas, Mexico and southern Huehuetenango Department, Guatemala. It is very closely related to the Mam language. A number of Tektitek speakers from Huehuetenango have settled in Mexico. Due to the close proximity of Huehuetenango to the Mexican border the speakers of the language have appropriated aspects of Mexican Spanish into the language. While 4,900 speakers were recorded in 2010 by Ethnologue, Juventino de Jesus Perez Alonzo estimated that there were just 2,000 speakers of the language left at that time. He noted however, that measures are being taken to teach the children in Huehuetenango the Tekitek language. According to the Endangered Languages Project, the language is currently threatened. Little is known about the culture, but there are resources that provide vocabulary as well as other educational tools.