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The Mixtec languages belong to the Mixtecan group of the Oto-Manguean language family. Mixtec is spoken in Mexico and is closely related to Trique and Cuicatec. The varieties of Mixtec are spoken by over half a million people. Identifying how many Mixtec languages there are in this complex dialect continuum poses challenges at the level of linguistic theory. Depending on the criteria for distinguishing dialects from languages, there may be as few as a dozen or as many as fifty-three Mixtec languages.
Mixtec writing originated as a logographic writing system during the Post-Classic period in Mesoamerican history. Records of genealogy, historic events, and myths are found in the pre-Columbian Mixtec codices. The arrival of Europeans in 1520 AD caused changes in form, style, and the function of the Mixtec writings. Today these codices and other Mixtec writings are used as a source of ethnographic, linguistic, and historical information for scholars, and help to preserve the identity of the Mixtec people as migration and globalization introduce new cultural influences.
The Mixtecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean language family of Mexico. They include the Trique languages, spoken by about 24,500 people; Cuicatec, spoken by about 15,000 people; and the large expanse of Mixtec languages, spoken by about 511,000 people. The relationship between Trique, Cuicatec, and Mixtec, is an open question. Unpublished research by Terrence Kaufman in the 1980s supported grouping Cuicatec and Mixtec together.
The internal classification of Mixtec is controversial. Many varieties are mutually unintelligible and by that criterion separate languages. In the 16th century, Spanish authorities recognized half a dozen lenguas comprising the Mixtec lengua. It is not clear to what extent these were distinct languages at the time. Regardless, the colonial disintegration of the Mixtec nation and resulting isolation of local communities led to the rapid diversification of local dialects into distinct languages. Below are some attempts at Mixtec classification by various scholars.
Silacayoapan is one of the more extensive Mixtec languages. It is spoken by 150,000 people in Puebla and across the border in Guerrero, as well as by emigrants to the United States.
Soyaltepec Mixtec is a moribund Mixtec language of Oaxaca spoken in the villages of San Bartolo Soyaltepec and Guadalupe Gabilera. It is not close to other varieties of Mixtec.
Chigmecatitlán Mixtec is a Mixtec language of Puebla, Mexico, spoken in the municipalities of Chigmecatitlán and Acatlán de Osorio.
Cacaloxtepec Mixtec, also Huajuapan Mixtec, is a Mixtec language spoken in the town of Santiago Cacaloxtepec in Oaxaca, Mexico. It is most intelligible with Silacayoapan Mixtec.
Cuyamecalco Mixtec is a Mixtec language of Oaxaca spoken in Cuyamecalco, San Miguel Santa Flor, and Santa Ana Cuauhtémoc. Egland & Bartholomew had found Cuauhtémoc to be more intelligible with Coatzospan Mixtec, which in any case is close to Cuyamecalco.
Coatzospan Mixtec is a Mixtec language of Oaxaca spoken in the town of San Juan Coatzospan.
Chayuco-Jamiltepec Mixtec is a Mixtec language of Oaxaca, spoken in the towns of San Agustín Chayuco, Santa Catarina Mechoacán, Santiago Jamiltepec, San Andrés Huaxpaltepec, Santa María Huazolotitlán, Santiago Tetepec, and Santa Elena Comaltepec.
Zacatepec Mixtec, or Tacuate, is a Mixtec language of Oaxaca. It is spoken in the town of Santa María Zacatepec and other towns in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Tututepec Mixtec is a Mixtec language of Oaxaca, spoken in Santa María Acatepec, Santa Cruz Tututepec, San Pedro Tututepec and other towns. It is not close to other varieties of Mixtec.
Pinotepa Mixtec is a Mixtec language of southern Oaxaca. Ethnologue lists the variety of San Juan Colorado / San Pedro Atoyac as a separate language.
(Magdalena) Peñasco Mixtec, also known as Tlacotepec Mixtec, is a Mixtec language of Oaxaca spoken in the towns of Santa María Magdalena Peñasco, San Cristobal Amoltepec, San Mateo Peñasco, and San Agustín Tlacotepec. It has closer unidirectional intelligibility with other varieties, but may be closest to Ñumí Mixtec.
Ayutla Mixtec is a Mixtec language of Guerrero. It's divergent, with a number of words unlike other varieties of Mixtec. It is spoken mainly by people living in the outlying settlements of Ayutla de los Libres, Guerero, Mexico.
Ñumí Mixtec is a diverse Mixtec language of Oaxaca. It may be closest to Peñasco Mixtec.
Mixtepec Mixtec is a Mixtec language that is spoken in the lower Mixteca region. Mixtec language is largely spoken in the area of San Juan Mixtepec, district of Juxtlahuaca, state of Oaxaca. However, the language is also spoken in other areas including Tlaxiaco, San Quintín Baja California, Santa María California, and Oregon. In 2004, it was reported that approximately 12,000 people spoke the Mixtepec Mixtec language. While most speakers of the language refer to it as 'sa'an ntavi' meaning 'language of the poor' or 'poor people's language,' others refer to it as 'sa'an save' which means 'rain language.' It is not closely related to other varieties of Mixtec.
Chazumba Mixtec is a Mixtec language of Puebla and Oaxaca, spoken in the towns of Santiago Chazumba, San Pedro y San Pablo Tequixtepec, Zapotitlán, Santa Gertrudis Cosoltepec, Petlalcingo, and Totoltepec de Guerrero.
Southern Puebla Mixtec, denominated by INALI as Puebla-Oaxaca borderline Mixtec, and also known as Acatlán Mixtec, is a Mixtec language of Puebla and Oaxaca State in Mexico. It is spoken in the towns of Acatlán, Xayacatlán de Bravo, San Jerónimo Xayacatlán, Petlalcingo, and Zapotitlán Palmas.
References
- ↑ Sindihui Mixtec at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)