Excerpt from change request document:

The “languages” to be merged are in fact dialects or dialect groups within a single language. All historical linguists who work on Mayan agree on almost all of the actual languages in terms of identity (there is some disagreement about how the family is ramified), and agree that there are many fewer than are listed in Ethnologue or by ISO. The ISO codes taken from Ethnologue represent some of the dialects of different Mayan languages, but are not even a complete or accurate listing of dialects. At any rate, the distinctions they make need to be made at the level of dialect designations or codes, not language codes. If for some reason it is decided to maintain dialect distinctions in the codes for Mayan languages instead of merging the separate codes, then each language needs a separate general code to designate the language as a whole rather than one of its dialects. The languages about which there is still some discussion are: Achi (most linguists agree that it is a dialect (group) of K’ichee’, but speakers have chosen overwhelmingly to identify it as a separate language), Cholti’ (separate extinct language or ancestral language?), Motozintlec and Tuzantec (dialects of Mocho’ or separate languages?). The classification originally made by Terrence Kaufman and supported by the work of Lyle Campbell is that which is generally accepted, while the classification made by John Robertson is in agreement on most of the language names but disagrees on some of the family divisions. The list of currently accepted names of Mayan languages, arranged according to the family divisions and branches proposed by Kaufman, follows. I am using Mayan spelling for the Guatemalan languages, since there is general agreement among speakers of these languages to use these spellings. Language names are preceded by a hyphen.

Huastecan division: -Huastec, -Chicomuceltec (extinct) Yucatecan division: -Yucatec Maya, -Lacandon, -Itzaj, -Mopan

Western division, Greater Tzeltalan branch, Cholan: -Ch’olti’ (ancestral form of Ch’orti’ or extinct lg?), -Ch’orti’, -Chol, -Chontal

Western division, Greater Tzeltalan branch, Tzeltalan: -Tzotzil, -Tzeltal Western division, Greater Q’anjob’alan branch, Chujean: -Tojolab’al, -Chuj

Western division, Greater Q’anjob’alan branch, Q’anjob’alan Proper, Q’anjob’al complex: -Q’anjob’al, -Akateko, -Popti’ (Jakalteko)

Western division, Greater Q’anjob’alan branch, Cotoque complex (2 languages or 2 dialects?): -Mocho’ (Motozintleco, Tuzanteco)

Eastern division, Greater Mamean branch, Mamean Proper: -Teko, -Mam Eastern division, Greater Mamean branch, Ixilan: -Awakateko, -Ixil Eastern division, Greater K’ichee’an branch: -Uspanteko

Eastern division, Greater K’ichee’an branch, K’ichee’an Proper: -Sipakapense, -Sakapulteko, -K’ichee’, -Achi (also considered a dialect group within K’ichee’), -Tz’utujiil, -Kaqchikel

Eastern division, Greater K’ichee’an branch, Poqom: -Poqomam, -Poqomchi’ Eastern division, Greater K’ichee’an branch:-Q’eqchi’