Cuitlatec language

Last updated
Cuitlatec
Uhpɨnéʔlu
Native to Mexico
Region Guerrero
Ethnicity Cuitlatec people
Extinct 1960s, with the death of Juana Can
Language codes
ISO 639-3 cuy
qpb
Glottolog cuit1236
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Cuitlatec, or Cuitlateco, is an extinct language isolate of Mexico, formerly spoken by an indigenous people known as Cuitlatec.

Contents

Classification

Cuitlatec has not been convincingly classified as belonging to any language family. It is believed to be a language isolate. In their controversial classification of the indigenous languages of the Americas, Greenberg and Ruhlen include Cuitlatec in an expanded Chibchan language family (Macro-Chibchan), along with a variety of other Mesoamerican and South American languages. [1] Escalante Hernández suggests a possible relation to the Uto-Aztecan languages. [2]

Geographic distribution

Cuitlatec was spoken in the state of Guerrero. By the 1930s, Cuitlatec was spoken only in San Miguel Totolapan. The last speaker of the language, Juana Can, is believed to have died in the 1960s. [2] In 1979, only two elderly women, Florentina Celso and Apolonia Robles, were able to remember about fifty words of the language. [3]

Phonology

Consonants

Cuitlatec consonant phonemes
Labial Dental Palatal Velar Labio-velar Glottal
Plosive p b t d k ɡ ʔ
Fricative ɬ ʃ h
Approximant l j w
Nasal m n

Vowels

Cuitlatec vowel phonemes
  Front Central Back
High i ɨ u
Low e a o

Grammar

Sentences generally follow SVO word order. Adjectives precede the nouns they modify.

Vocabulary

CuitlatecEnglish
aʔnelgái Cuitlatec people
uhpɨnéʔluCuitlatec language
aikimɨhello
šelopɨlʔmɨthanks
aʃkɨliman
ɬɨnóʔowoman, wife
cɨʔɨchildren
iwililúmɨriver
úmɨwater
ahpúʔɬɨsun
tuɬíʔimoon, month
kúʔliland
ɬahouse
ihʃɨɬɨsky
iʔkɨʔɨtomb
iʔyɨʔléɬɨdoor

Trees

CuitlatecCommon nameScientific name
citakáʔli Sweet acacia, Cascalote Vachellia farnesiana , Caesalpinia coriaria
éhciCapire Sideroxylon cartilagineum
nempáʔaMonkeypod tree, Camachile Pithecellobium dulce
ɨncipéʔɬu Charamasca Tanacetum annuum
puɬɨʔmelpɨmɨ Nanche, hogberry Byrsonima crassifolia
ɬɨmʃíli; ʃemɨʔʃilíTololote Andira inermis
ʃiɬiʔá Tepemesquite Lysiloma divaricatum
wíhci Chupandia Cyrtocarpa procera
yóʔo White leadtree Leucaena leucocephala
mɨnɨmɨli Gliricidia Gliricidia sepium''

Placenames

CuitlatecEnglish
ʃamigéli San Miguel Totolapan
ʃiʃmɨwɨ Ajuchitlán
pulkúʔwɨ Mexico City

Body Parts

CuitlatecEnglish
kwérpubody
íhcɨarm
ɨmtéhead
úlihair
kúʔbeneck
ʃuwéʔenose
ʃúhpemouth
kahcíʔdiears
ihpɨlélastomach
puɬkéback
álmɨheart
ehtɨʔitongue
díʃcileg
iʃkélɨfoot
dehpɨlkoyóankle
ihtalóiwaist
daʃíʔiknee
daʃilapɨelbow
gɨléwɨface
enhkeyátathe whole face

Numerals

CuitlatecNumbers
tɨʔɨ, tɨwɨlɨ, téʔɬi1
káɬɨ2
kalíɬɨ3
páɬa4
puwáɬɨ5
daʃíɬa6
wɨʃíɬɨ7
puhtalíɬa8
nɨɬɨ9
ʃɨɬɨ10
pɨli11
méɬi20
kɨɬmɨli30
kaltɨwɨlméɬi40
puhmé100

References

  1. Greenberg, Joseph; Ruhlen, Merritt (2007-09-04). "An Amerind Etymological Dictionary" (PDF) (12 ed.). Stanford: Dept. of Anthropological Sciences Stanford University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2008-06-27.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 Escalante Hernández, Robert (1962). El Cuitlateco. México, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
  3. Valiñas Coalla, Leopoldo; Cortina Borja, Mario; Mireles Padilla, Miguel (2010-03-11). "Notas sobre el cuitlateco". Anales de Antropología (in Spanish). 21 (1). doi:10.22201/iia.24486221e.1984.1.15915 (inactive 11 July 2025). ISSN   2448-6221.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)

Bibliography