Ethnologue:
Languages of Honduras
Eighteenth edition data
M. Paul Lewis, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig, Editors
Based on information from the Ethnologue, 18th edition:
Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2015.
Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Eighteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL
International. Online:
http://www.ethnologue.com
.
For personal use only
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may be obtained through the Copyright Clearance Center at
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.
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Contents
List of Abbreviations
3
How to Use This Report
4
Country Overview
6
Language Status Profile
7
Statistical Summaries
8
Alphabetical Listing of Languages
11
Language Map
14
Languages by Population
15
Languages by Status
16
Languages by Department
18
Languages by Family
19
Language Code Index
20
Language Name Index
21
Bibliography
22
Copyright © 2015 by SIL International
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, or
transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of SIL International,
with the exception of brief excerpts in articles or reviews.
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
2
List of Abbreviations
alt.
alternate name for
alt. dial.
alternate dialect name for
Class
Language classification
dial.
primary dialect name for
km
kilometer(s)
L1 / L2
first language / second (or other additional) language
Lg Dev
Language development
Lg Use
Language use
m
meter(s)
pej.
pejorative
pl.
plural
sg.
singular
SIL
SIL International
SOV
Subject-Object-Verb
SVO
Subject-Verb-Object
Type
Typological information
UNDESA
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
VOS
Verb-Object-Subject
VSO
Verb -Subject-Object
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
3
How to Use This Report
This Ethnologue country report provides an extract of the information about the language situation
in Honduras that is published in the 18th edition of Ethnologue: Languages of the World (see
http://www.ethnologue.com
), including some ways of presenting the information that are not
available in the online version. The report begins with a “Country Overview” (page
6
) and
“Statistical Summaries” (page
8
) of languages and number of speakers by language size, by
language status, and by language family.
The “Alphabetical Listing of Languages” (page
11
) provides detailed information on the 10
languages listed in the Ethnologue for the country of Honduras. This includes languages that are
either indigenous to the country or which immigrated in the past resulting in well-established
multigenerational speaker communities. A complete language entry has the following form and
content:
Primary language name
[ISO 639-3 code] (Alternate names). Country speaker
population. Population stability comment. Population in all countries. Monolingual
population. Population remarks. Ethnic population. Location. Status: EGIDS level.
Language function in country. Class: Linguistic classification. Macrolanguage
membership. Dialects: Dialect names. Intelligibility and dialect relations. Lexical
similarity. Type: Linguistic typology information. Lg Use: Viability remarks.
Domains of use. User age groups. Language attitudes. Bilingualism remarks. Use
as second language. Lg Dev: Literacy rates. Literacy remarks. Use in elementary or
secondary schools. Publications and use in media. Language development agencies.
Writing: Scripts used. Other: General remarks. Religion.
See
http://www.ethnologue.com/about/language-info
for a full description of these information
elements.
Many ways of finding languages are provided. “Languages by Population” (page
15
) lists the
languages in order of their first-language speaker populations. “Languages by Status” (page
16
)
lists the languages by their level of development or endangerment as measured on EGIDS, the
Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (Lewis and Simons 2010). “Languages by
Department” (page
18
) lists the top-level administrative subdivisions of Honduras and the
languages located within each. “Languages by Family” (page
19
) lists the languages by their
linguistic classifications. “Language Code Index” (page
20
) gives an alphabetical listing of all the
three-letter codes from ISO 639-3 that are used in this report to uniquely identify languages.
“Language Name Index” (page
21
) lists every name that appears in the language listings as a
primary or alternate name of a language or dialect. A total of 33 unique names are associated with
the 10 languages described in this report.
Finally, a listing of all the published sources cited within this report is found in “Bibliography”
(page
22
). The published sources are cited using standard in-text citations enclosed in parentheses,
consisting of the author’s or editor’s surname followed by the year of publication. Unpublished
sources including personal communications and unpublished reports are also acknowledged when
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
4
specific statements or facts are attributed to them. They are identified using in-text citations
enclosed in parentheses in which the year of the communication is given first, followed by the
source’s first initial and surname. In such a case, there is no corresponding entry in the
bibliography.
This report is designed for use in both digital and print formats. The cross-references are thus
rendered as page numbers that are hyperlinks. When using the document in printed form, simply
turn to the referenced page by number. When using it in digital form, click on the blue text to jump
to the cross-referenced location.
If you believe any of the information about a language in this report is in error or if you are able
to supply missing information, please send your proposed change to the editor using one of the
means given below. Provide as much information as possible about the source of your information.
Full bibliographic details of published sources are especially helpful.
The preferred means of submitting corrections and additions is to create an account at
http://www.ethnologue.com
and use the Feedback tab on the page for the relevant language or
country. The advantage of giving feedback in this way is that it becomes part of the public record
on the web site and everyone who is following the language or region will be notified of your
comments.
Alternatively, you may submit corrections and additions by means of the online contact form at:
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SIL International
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Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
5
Country Overview
Name of country
Honduras
Other names
Republic of Honduras, República de Honduras
Population
8,215,000 (2011 UNDESA)
Principal language
Spanish
Literacy rate
85% (2010 UNESCO)
Immigrant languages Arabic (42,000), Armenian (1,300), Turkish (900), Yue Chinese (1,000)
Deaf population
18,000–70,000
General references
Campbell 1997; Campbell and Oltrogge 1980; Oltrogge 1977; Rivas
1993
Language counts
The number of individual languages listed for
Honduras is 10. All are living languages. Of these, 1
is institutional, 6 are developing, and 3 are dying.
See the next page for an explanation of the summary categories for language vitality used in the
above counts and graph.
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
6
Language Status Profile
The following histogram gives a graphic profile of languages in Honduras with respect to their
status of language development versus language endangerment. Each individual language that
appears in the “Alphabetical Listing of Languages” (page
11
) is included in the profile. The
horizontal axis represents the estimated level of development or endangerment as measured on the
EGIDS scale (Lewis and Simons 2010). The height of each bar indicates the number of languages
that are estimated to be at the given level. Consult “Languages by Status” (page
16
) in order to see
the specific languages for each level.
The color coding of the bars in the histogram above matches the color scheme used in the
summary profile graph on the preceding page. In this scheme, the EGIDS levels are grouped as
follows:
• Purple = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is
used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
• Blue = Developing (EGIDS 5) — The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a
standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable.
• Green = Vigorous (EGIDS 6a) — The language is in vigorous use among all generations and
remains unstandardized.
• Yellow = In trouble (EGIDS 6b-7) — Intergenerational transmission is in the process of
being broken, but the child-bearing generation can still use the language so it is possible that
revitalization efforts could restore transmission of the language in the home.
• Red = Dying (EGIDS 8a-9) — The only fluent users (if any) are older than child-bearing age,
so it is too late to restore natural intergenerational transmission through the home; a
mechanism outside the home would need to be developed.
• Black = Extinct (EGIDS 10) — The language is no longer used and no one retains a sense of
ethnic identity associated with the language.
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
7
Statistical Summaries
The “Alphabetical Listing of Languages” (page
11
) provides a detailed listing of all the languages
of Honduras. This section steps back from the detail to offer a summary view of the language
situation in the country. Specifically, it offers numerical tabulations of living languages and
number of speakers by language size, by language status, and by language family.
Summary by language size
Table 1 summarizes the distribution of living languages in Honduras by number of L1 speakers.
The Population range column categorizes the sizes of the languages by order of magnitude (in
terms of the number of digits in the population of first-language speakers). Consult “Languages by
Population” (page
15
) for a listing of the specific languages in each range category.
The Count column gives the number of living languages within the specified population range.
The Percent column gives the share of the count for that population range as a percentage of the
total number of languages given at the bottom of the Count column. The Cumulative column gives
the cumulative sum of the percentage of languages going from top to bottom in the column.
The Total column gives the total population of all the languages in the given range category.
The second Percent column gives the percentage of the total country population as estimated at the
bottom of the Total column. Note that if the table has a row for Unknown, representing languages
for which the Ethnologue does not have a population estimate, the calculation of population
percentage is not able to take those languages into account. The final Cumulative column gives the
cumulative sums of the population percentages going from top to bottom in the column.
Table 1: Distribution of languages by number of first-language speakers
Living languages
Number of speakers
Population range
Count Percent Cumulative
Total
Percent
Cumulative
1,000,000 to 9,999,999
1
10.0
10.0% 5,900,000
97.35090
97.35090%
10,000 to 99,999
3
30.0
40.0%
158,500
2.61527
99.96617%
100 to 999
3
30.0
70.0%
2,040
0.03366
99.99983%
10 to 99
1
10.0
80.0%
10
0.00017 100.00000%
0
1
10.0
90.0%
0
0.00000 100.00000%
Unknown
1
10.0
100.0%
Totals
10
100.0
6,060,550 100.00000
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
8
Summary by language status
Table 2 summarizes the distribution of living languages in Honduras by their status in terms of
language development or language endangerment. The EGIDS column categorizes the languages
by their level on the EGIDS scale. Consult “Languages by Status” (page
16
) for a listing of the
specific languages that have been assigned to each level. Note that the EGIDS level reported here
is for the status of the language in Honduras. Languages that are also used in other countries may
be assigned to a different EGIDS level in those countries.
The next six columns are as in Table 1. In addition, the Mean column gives the average
population of all the languages with the given EGIDS level and the Median column gives the
median population for the languages at that level, that is, half of the languages at that level have a
higher population and half have a lower population. If there are any languages with an unknown
population, these are ignored in the calculation of the mean and the median.
Table 2: Distribution of languages by vitality status
Living languages
Number of speakers
EGIDS
Count Percent Cumulative
Total
Percent
Cumulative
Mean
Median
1
1
10.0
10.0% 5,900,000
97.3509
97.3509% 5,900,000 5,900,000
5
6
60.0
70.0%
159,550
2.6326
99.9835%
26,592
29,000
8a
1
10.0
80.0%
990
0.0163
99.9998%
990
990
8b
1
10.0
90.0%
10
0.0002
100.0000%
10
10
9
1
10.0
100.0%
0
0.0000
100.0000%
0
0
Totals
10
100.0
6,060,550 100.0000
Summary by language family
The genetic classifications given in the language entries of the “Alphabetical Listing of
Languages” (page
11
) name 8 different top-level genetic groups. Table 3 summarizes the
distribution of living languages and their populations within these families. The columns are as for
table 2, with the exception that Cumulative is excluded since there is no inherent ordering of the
families.
Table 3: Distribution of languages by language family
Living languages Number of speakers
Language family
Count
Percent
Total
Percent
Mean
Median
Chibchan
1
10.0
990
0.0
990
990
Deaf sign language
1
10.0 Unknown
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
9
Living languages Number of speakers
Language family
Count
Percent
Total
Percent
Mean
Median
Indo-European
2
20.0 5,931,500
97.9 2,965,750 2,965,750
Jicaquean
1
10.0
350
0.0
350
350
Lencan
1
10.0
0
0.0
0
0
Maipurean
1
10.0
98,000
1.6
98,000
98,000
Mayan
1
10.0
10
0.0
10
10
Misumalpan
2
20.0
29,700
0.5
14,850
14,850
Totals
10
100.0 6,060,550
100.0
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
10
Alphabetical Listing of Languages
Ch’orti’
[caa]. 10 in Honduras (1997 R. Reeck). Population total all countries: 30,010. Copán
Department, along the Guatemala border. Also in: Guatemala. Status: 8b (Nearly extinct).
Class: Mayan, Yucatecan-Core Mayan, Core Mayan, Cholan-Tzeltalan, Cholan, Chorti-Cholti.
Type: VOS. Lg Dev: Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1997–2012. Writing: Latin script. Map:
14
.
English
[eng]. 31,500 in Honduras (2001). 22,500 Bay Islands English speakers on the north
coast. Population total all countries: 335,491,748. Islas de la Bahía Department, and large
cities along north mainland coast. Also in: American Samoa, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and
Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda,
Bhutan, Botswana, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Canada, Caribbean Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Chile, China–Hong Kong,
China–Macao, Cook Islands, Curacao, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, The Gambia,
Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Guyana, India, Indonesia,
Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall
Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal,
New Zealand, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman,
Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Saint
Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint
Maarten, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,
Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and
Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, U.S.
Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Status: 5 (Dispersed). Class: Indo-
European, Germanic, West, English. Dialect: Bay Islands English. Type: SVO; prepositions;
genitives after noun heads; articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; question word
initial; word order distinguishes subject, object, indirect objects, given and new information,
topic and comment; active and passive; causative; comparative; consonant and vowel clusters;
nontonal. Lg Use: Used as L2 by Garifuna [
cab
]. Lg Dev: Fully developed. Bible: 1382–2002.
Writing: Braille script. Deseret Alphabet, developed in 1854 with limited usage until 1877.
Latin script, primary usage. Shavian (Shaw) script, no longer in use. Other: Some creole
influence. Map:
14
.
Garifuna
[cab] (Black Carib, Caribe, Central American Carib, Garífuna, Island Carib). 98,000 in
Honduras (Rivas 1993). Population total all countries: 195,800. 100 monolinguals. North coast
between Masca, Cortes Department, and Plaplaya, Gracias a Dios Department; also includes
Atlántida, Colón, and Islas de la Bahía (Roatan island) departments, as well as cities La Ceiba,
San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, and Puerto Cortés; 37 villages in Honduras, 46 elsewhere in
Central America. Also in: Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, United States. Status: 5
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
11
(Developing). Class: Maipurean, Northern, Maritime, Ta-Maipurean, Iñeri. Dialect: Eastern
Garifuna, Western Garifuna. Eastern Garifuna dialect is in Honduras and Nicaragua (leaves
out, r, and tends to shorten words), Western Garifuna in Guatemala and Belize. Related to
Island Carib [car], with Spanish [
spa
], English [
eng
], and French [fra] borrowings. Type: VSO.
Lg Use: Shifting to Spanish [
spa
] in some villages. All domains. Mostly positive attitudes.
Also use English [
eng
], Spanish [
spa
]. Lg Dev: Literacy rate in L1: 1%–5%. Literacy rate in
L2: 5%–15%. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 2002. Writing: Latin script.
Other: Christian, traditional religion. Map:
14
.
Honduras Sign Language
[hds] (Honduran Sign Language, Lengua de Señas Hondureñas,
LESHO). Scattered. Status: 5 (Developing). Class: Deaf sign language. Dialects: None
known. Regional variations: deaf people along the North coast have some distinct signs from
deaf people in the southern part of the country. Lg Dev: At least 12 institutions offer primary
education for deaf Hondurans with Honduran Sign Language as their communication
philosophy.
Lenca
[len]. No known L1 speakers. Some semi-speakers (Adelaar 2007). Ethnic population:
100,000. La Paz, Intibucá, Lempira, Comayagua, Valle and Francisco Morazán departments.
Status: 9 (Dormant). Class: Lencan. Dialects: None known. Some considered it Macro-
Chibchan.
Mayangna
[yan] (Sumu). 700 in Honduras (1997 SIL). Population total all countries: 8,700.
Ethnic population: 1,030 (McSweeney 2002). Gracias a Dios and Olancho departments,
between the Patuca and Wanki rivers; also in Colón Department, southeast corner. Also in:
Nicaragua. Status: 5 (Developing). Class: Misumalpan. Dialect: Twahka. Type: SOV. Lg Use:
All ages. Lg Dev: Literacy rate in L1: 10%–30%. Dictionary. Bible: 1999. Writing: Latin
script. Map:
14
.
Mískito
[miq] (Marquito, Mískitu, Mísquito, Mosquito). 29,000 in Honduras (Rivas 1993).
Population total all countries: 183,000. Gracias a Dios and Olancho departments, south, Coco
river watershed; coastal area, northwest from Puerto Lempira into Colón Department. Also in:
Nicaragua. Status: 5 (Developing). Class: Misumalpan. Type: SOV; articles, relatives after
noun heads, word order distinguishes subject and object; verb affixes mark person and
number; ergative; passive; CVC; nontonal. Lg Use: All ages. Also use Spanish [
spa
]. Lg Dev:
Literacy rate in L1: 1%–10%. Literacy rate in L2: 5%–25%. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible:
1999. Writing: Latin script. Map:
14
.
Pech
[pay] (Paya, Seco). 990 (Rivas 1993). Ethnic population: 2,590 (Rivas 1993). North central
coast, Colón Department, near Caribbean coast, inland; Olancho Department, Dulce Nombre
de Culmi and Catamacas municipalities. Status: 8a (Moribund). Class: Chibchan, Chibchan B.
Type: SOV. Lg Use: Use Pech more in Agua Amarilla and La Laguna in El Carbón. Older
adults. Shifting to Spanish [
spa
]. Other: Much community interest to preserve the Pech
language, and some work is being done to preserve it. Map:
14
.
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
12
Spanish
[spa] (Castellano, Español). 5,900,000 in Honduras (2014). Population total all countries:
398,931,840. L2 users: 112,000 in Honduras (2014). Also in: Algeria, Andorra, Argentina,
Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Caribbean
Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia,
Cuba, Curacao, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Morocco,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland,
Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, U.S.
Virgin Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela, Western Sahara. Status: 1 (National). Statutory national
language (1982, Constitution, Article 6). Class: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-
Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, West Iberian, Castilian. Type: SVO;
prepositions; genitives, relatives after noun heads; articles, numerals before noun heads;
adjectives before or after noun heads depending on whether it is evaluative or descriptive;
question word initial; (C(C))V(C); nontonal. Silbo Gomero whistled variety of Spanish used in
Canary Islands. Lg Dev: Fully developed. Bible: 1553–2012. Writing: Braille script. Latin
script, primary usage.
Tol
[jic] (Jicaque, Tolpan, Xicaque). 350 (1997). Ethnic population: 19,600 (1990 Educación
Comunitaria para la Salud-Honduras). 19,000 in Yoro Department. North-central, northern
Francisco Morazán Department, Montaña de la Flor; Yoro. Status: 5 (Developing). Class:
Jicaquean. Dialects: No distinct dialects. It may be distantly related to Subtiaba [sut] of
Nicaragua (no remaining speakers), Malinaltepec Me’phaa [tcf] of Mexico, or the Hokan
languages. Type: SOV. Lg Use: All ages. Also use Spanish [
spa
]. Lg Dev: Literacy rate in L1:
5%–10%. Literacy rate in L2: 5%–15%. Dictionary. NT: 1993–2010. Writing: Latin script.
Other: Christian, traditional religion. Map:
14
.
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
13
Language Map
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
14
Languages by Population
In this section the languages of Honduras are listed in order of their population of first-language
speakers within the country, from highest to lowest. The entries report just the population and
status elements.
1,000,000 to 9,999,999
Spanish
[
spa
] 5,900,000 in Honduras (2014). L2 users: 112,000 in Honduras (2014). Status: 1
(National). Statutory national language (1982, Constitution, Article 6).
10,000 to 99,999
Garifuna
[
cab
] 98,000 in Honduras (Rivas 1993). Population total all countries: 195,800. 100
monolinguals. Status: 5 (Developing).
English
[
eng
] 31,500 in Honduras (2001). 22,500 Bay Islands English speakers on the north coast.
Status: 5 (Dispersed).
Mískito
[
miq
] 29,000 in Honduras (Rivas 1993). Status: 5 (Developing).
100 to 999
Pech
[
pay
] 990 (Rivas 1993). Ethnic population: 2,590 (Rivas 1993). Status: 8a (Moribund).
Mayangna
[
yan
] 700 in Honduras (1997 SIL). Ethnic population: 1,030 (McSweeney 2002).
Status: 5 (Developing).
Tol
[
jic
] 350 (1997). Ethnic population: 19,600 (1990 Educación Comunitaria para la Salud-
Honduras). 19,000 in Yoro Department. Status: 5 (Developing).
10 to 99
Ch’orti’
[
caa
] 10 in Honduras (1997 R. Reeck). Status: 8b (Nearly extinct).
0
Lenca
[
len
] No known L1 speakers. Some semi-speakers (Adelaar 2007). Ethnic population:
100,000. Status: 9 (Dormant).
Unknown
Honduras Sign Language
[
hds
] Status: 5 (Developing).
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
15
Languages by Status
In this section the languages of Honduras are listed in order of their status within the country as
represented by their level on the EGIDs scale (Lewis and Simons 2010). The language entries are
reduced to just the information elements that are relevant to assessing the EGIDS level:
population, status, language use, language development, and writing.
1 (National)
Spanish
[
spa
] 5,900,000 in Honduras (2014). L2 users: 112,000 in Honduras (2014). Status:
Statutory national language (1982, Constitution, Article 6). Writing: Braille script. Latin script,
primary usage.
5 (Developing)
Garifuna
[
cab
] 98,000 in Honduras (Rivas 1993). Population total all countries: 195,800. 100
monolinguals. Lg Use: Shifting to Spanish [
spa
] in some villages. All domains. Mostly
positive attitudes. Also use English [
eng
], Spanish [
spa
]. Lg Dev: Literacy rate in L1: 1%–5%.
Literacy rate in L2: 5%–15%. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 2002. Writing:
Latin script.
Honduras Sign Language
[
hds
] Lg Dev: At least 12 institutions offer primary education for deaf
Hondurans with Honduran Sign Language as their communication philosophy.
Mayangna
[
yan
] 700 in Honduras (1997 SIL). Ethnic population: 1,030 (McSweeney 2002). Lg
Use: All ages. Lg Dev: Literacy rate in L1: 10%–30%. Writing: Latin script.
Mískito
[
miq
] 29,000 in Honduras (Rivas 1993). Lg Use: All ages. Also use Spanish [
spa
]. Lg
Dev: Literacy rate in L1: 1%–10%. Literacy rate in L2: 5%–25%. Writing: Latin script.
Tol
[
jic
] 350 (1997). Ethnic population: 19,600 (1990 Educación Comunitaria para la Salud-
Honduras). 19,000 in Yoro Department. Lg Use: All ages. Also use Spanish [
spa
]. Lg Dev:
Literacy rate in L1: 5%–10%. Literacy rate in L2: 5%–15%. Dictionary. NT: 1993–2010.
Writing: Latin script.
5 (Dispersed)
English
[
eng
] 31,500 in Honduras (2001). 22,500 Bay Islands English speakers on the north coast.
Lg Use: Used as L2 by Garifuna [
cab
]. Writing: Braille script. Deseret Alphabet, developed in
1854 with limited usage until 1877. Latin script, primary usage. Shavian (Shaw) script, no
longer in use.
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
16
8a (Moribund)
Pech
[
pay
] 990 (Rivas 1993). Ethnic population: 2,590 (Rivas 1993). Lg Use: Use Pech more in
Agua Amarilla and La Laguna in El Carbón. Older adults. Shifting to Spanish [
spa
].
8b (Nearly extinct)
Ch’orti’
[
caa
] 10 in Honduras (1997 R. Reeck). Writing: Latin script.
9 (Dormant)
Lenca
[
len
] No known L1 speakers. Some semi-speakers (Adelaar 2007). Ethnic population:
100,000.
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
17
Languages by Department
This index gives an alphabetical listing of the top-level administrative subdivisions within
Honduras. Under the name of each department is a list of the language communities that are
located within its area.
Atlántida
Garifuna [cab],
11
Colón
Garifuna [cab],
11
Mayangna [yan],
12
Mískito [miq],
12
Pech [pay],
12
Comayagua
Lenca [len],
12
Copán
Ch’orti’ [caa],
11
Cortés
Garifuna [cab],
11
Francisco Morazán
Lenca [len],
12
Tol [jic],
13
Gracias a Dios
Garifuna [cab],
11
Mayangna [yan],
12
Mískito [miq],
12
Intibucá
Lenca [len],
12
Islas de la Bahía
English [eng],
11
Garifuna [cab],
11
La Paz
Lenca [len],
12
Lempira
Lenca [len],
12
Olancho
Mayangna [yan],
12
Mískito [miq],
12
Pech [pay],
12
Valle
Lenca [len],
12
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
18
Languages by Family
This index gives an alphabetical listing of the linguistic classifications used for the languages of
Honduras. The entries in this index represent the full path in the linguistic family tree from the
highest level grouping down to the lowest. All the languages listed in the same entry are members
of the same lowest-level subgroup. The referenced page contains the main entry that describes the
language.
Chibchan, Chibchan B
Pech [pay],
12
Deaf sign language
Honduras Sign Language [hds],
12
Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
English [eng],
11
Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance,
West Iberian, Castilian
Spanish [spa],
13
Jicaquean
Tol [jic],
13
Lencan
Lenca [len],
12
Maipurean, Northern, Maritime, Ta-Maipurean, Iñeri
Garifuna [cab],
11
Mayan, Yucatecan-Core Mayan, Core Mayan, Cholan-Tzeltalan, Cholan, Chorti-Cholti
Ch’orti’ [caa],
11
Misumalpan
Mayangna [yan],
12
Mískito [miq],
12
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
19
Language Code Index
This index gives an alphabetical listing of all 10 three-letter codes that are used in this work to
uniquely identify languages. The referenced page contains the main entry that describes the
language. All codes listed are part of the ISO 639-3 standard; see
http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/
.
caa
Ch’orti’,
11
cab
Garifuna,
11
eng
English,
11
hds
Honduras Sign Language,
12
jic
Tol,
13
len
Lenca,
12
miq
Mískito,
12
pay
Pech,
12
spa
Spanish,
13
yan
Mayangna,
12
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
20
Language Name Index
This index lists every name that appears in the language listings as a primary or alternate name of
a language or dialect. The following abbreviations are used in the index entries: alt. ‘alternate
name for’; alt. dial. ‘alternate dialect name for’; dial. ‘primary dialect name for’; pej. alt.
‘pejorative alternate name for’; and pej. alt. dial. ‘pejorative alternate dialect name for’. The index
entry gives the primary name for the language with which the given name is associated, followed
by the unique three-letter ISO 639 language code in square brackets. The referenced page contains
the main entry that describes the language.
Bay Islands English
, dial. English [eng],
11
Black Carib
, alt. Garifuna [cab],
11
Caribe
, alt. Garifuna [cab],
11
Castellano
, alt. Spanish [spa],
13
Central American Carib
, alt. Garifuna [cab],
11
Ch’orti’
[caa],
11
English
[eng],
11
Español
, alt. Spanish [spa],
13
Garifuna
[cab],
11
Garífuna
, alt. Garifuna [cab],
11
Honduran Sign Language
, alt. Honduras Sign
Language [hds],
12
Honduras Sign Language
[hds],
12
Island Carib
, alt. Garifuna [cab],
11
Jicaque
, alt. Tol [jic],
13
Lenca
[len],
12
Lengua de Señas Hondureñas
, alt. Honduras
Sign Language [hds],
12
LESHO
, alt. Honduras Sign Language [hds],
12
Marquito
, alt. Mískito [miq],
12
Mayangna
[yan],
12
Mískito
[miq],
12
Mískitu
, alt. Mískito [miq],
12
Mísquito
, alt. Mískito [miq],
12
Mosquito
, alt. Mískito [miq],
12
Paya
, alt. Pech [pay],
12
Pech
[pay],
12
Seco
, alt. Pech [pay],
12
Spanish
[spa],
13
Sumu
, alt. Mayangna [yan],
12
Tol
[jic],
13
Tolpan
, alt. Tol [jic],
13
Twahka
, dial. Mayangna [yan],
12
Western Garifuna
, dial. Garifuna [cab],
11
Xicaque
, alt. Tol [jic],
13
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
21
Bibliography
Adelaar, W. F. H. 2007. Meso-America. In C. Moseley (ed.), Encyclopedia of the world’s
endangered languages, pp. 197–210. London: Routledge.
Campbell, L. 1997. Languages in the Americas. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Campbell, L. and D. Oltrogge. 1980. Proto-Tol (Jicaque). International Journal of American
Linguistics 46:205–223.
Johnstone, P. and J. Mandryk. 2001. Operation world. Waynesboro: Paternoster Lifestyle.
Lewis, M. P. and G. F. Simons. 2010. Assessing endangerment: Expanding Fishman’s GIDS.
Revue Roumaine de Linguistique 55(2):103–120.
http://www.lingv.ro/RRL 2 2010
art01Lewis.pdf
. Accessed 11 January 2011.
McSweeney, K. 2002. A demographic profile of the Tawahka Amerindians of Honduras.
Geographical Review 92(3):398–414.
Oltrogge, D. 1977. Proto-Jicaque Subtiaba-Tequistlateco: A comparative reconstruction. M.A.
thesis, University of Texas at Arlington.
Rivas, R. D. 1993. Pueblos indígenas y garífuna de Honduras: Una caracterización. Tegucigalpa,
Honduras: Editorial Guaymuras.
Ethnologue: Languages of Honduras
22
Document Outline - Contents
- List of Abbreviations
- How to Use This Report
- Country Overview
- Language Status Profile
- Statistical Summaries
- Summary by language size
- Summary by language status
- Summary by language family
- Alphabetical Listing of Languages
- Language Map
- Languages by Population
- 1,000,000 to 9,999,999
- 10,000 to 99,999
- 100 to 999
- 10 to 99
- 0
- Unknown
- Languages by Status
- 1 (National)
- 5 (Developing)
- 5 (Dispersed)
- 8a (Moribund)
- 8b (Nearly extinct)
- 9 (Dormant)
- Languages by Department
- Languages by Family
- Language Code Index
- Language Name Index
- Bibliography
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