Ocuiltec language

Last updated
Ocuiltec
Tlahuica
pjyɇkakjó [1] [2]
Native to Mexico
Region State of Mexico
Ethnicity Matlatzinca (Tlahuica)
Native speakers
100 (2011) [3]
2,238 (2020) [4]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 ocu
Glottolog atzi1235
ELP
Matlatzinca-Atzinca-Pirinda languages. Extension at the beginning of 20th century and earlier extension in 16th century Matlatzinca languages.png
Matlatzinca-Atzinca-Pirinda languages. Extension at the beginning of 20th century and earlier extension in 16th century

Ocuiltec, also known as Tlahuica and Atzingo Matlatzinca, is a moribund language of Central Mexico closely related to Matlatzinca and Pirinda. [5]

Contents

Ocuiltec is spoken primarily in the municipality of Ocuilan in the villages Cinco Caminos, Colonia Doctor Gustavo Baz, El Capulín, El Totoc (San José Totoc), Lomas de Teocaltzingo (Loma de Tecalzingo), Ocuilán de Artéaga, San Juan Atzingo, Santa Lucía, Santa Martha, and Santa María Nativitas. [1] [4] [6] It may have been spoken in the adjacent area of Morelos, though Matlatzinca could have also existed in it. [7]

Due to the extremely small speaking population and the unfavourable age structure, Ocuiltec is highly endangered. In the 2000 census, only 26 persons under the age of 20 were registered as speakers of Ocuiltec.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Nasal m n ( ɲ )( ŋ )
Plosive p t k ʔ
Affricate t͡s t͡ʃ
Fricative β s ʃ h
Rhotic ɾ
Approximant l j w

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː ɨ ɨː u uː
Mid ɛ ɛː ə əː ɔ ɔː
Open a aː

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Tlahuica", Catálogo de las lenguas indígenas nacionales: Variantes lingüísticas de México con sus autodenominaciones y referencias geoestadísticas (PDF), Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indigenas, 14 January 2008, p. 105 via Diario Oficial de la Federación
  2. Sabino Nava, Rocío, "¿Somos Ocuiltecos, Atzincas, Tlahuicas o Pjiekakjo?", Estudios de Cultura Otopame, vol. 7, no. 1
  3. Ocuiltec at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  4. 1 2 Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.
  5. Muntzel, M. C (2003). The structure of Ocuilteco (PhD). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
  6. Palancar, Enrique L (2016), Oto-Pamean
  7. Maldonado, Druzo (1990), Cuauhnáhuac y Huaxtepec (tlahuicas y xochimilcas en el Morelos Prehispánico), p. 25, En relación a la lengua que probablemente se hablaba en Morelos antes de la llegada del náhuatl, Smith sugiere en base a inferencias arqueológicas y documentales que, matlatzinca [y/o ocuilteca] se hablaba en el oeste, y mixteco y/o popoloca al este (1983:21)
  8. Muntzel, Martha C.; Nestor, Natividad González (2017). Tlahuica de San Juan Atzingo, Ocuilan, Estado de México. México: El Colegio de México.


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