0.0. This paper' seeks to examine the close linguistic relationship existing between two of the Quichean languages of western Guatemala.2 At the time of the conquest there existed distinct political divisions among the speakers of the languages in the Quichean branch of the Mayan family. Each of the great political centers, the Cakchiquel capital of Iximch6, the capital of the Tzutujil at Santiago Atitlin, and the Quich6 capital of Utatlan, was ruled by separate governing bodies.3 Brinton states that these people were 'a group of four closely related nations, adjacent in territory and speaking dialects so nearly alike as to be mutually intelligible'.4