Phonology
Like other Chinantecan and Mazatec languages, Usila Chinantec is a tonal language noted for having whistled speech. Its tone system is unusually finely graded, however, with five register tones and four contour tones. [3]
| Usila | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Mexico |
| Region | Oaxaca, one town in Veracruz |
| Ethnicity | Chinantecs |
Native speakers | 7,400 (2000) [1] |
Oto-Mangue
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cuc |
| Glottolog | usil1237 |
| ELP | Upper West-Central Chinantec |
Usila is a Chinantec language of Mexico. It is most similar to Tlacoatzintepec Chinantec, with which it has 50% intelligibility (intelligibility in the reverse direction is 85%, presumably due to greater familiarity in that direction). [2]
Like other Chinantecan and Mazatec languages, Usila Chinantec is a tonal language noted for having whistled speech. Its tone system is unusually finely graded, however, with five register tones and four contour tones. [3]
Whistled languages are linguistic systems that use whistling to emulate speech and facilitate communication between individuals. More than 80 languages have been found to practice various degrees of whistling, most of them in rugged topography or dense forests, where whistling expands the area of communication while movement to carry messages is challenging. The practice is generally threatened by increased modernization and faster roads, but successful conservation efforts are recorded.
The Chinantec or Chinantecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean family. Though traditionally considered a single language, Ethnologue lists 14 partially mutually unintelligible varieties of Chinantec. The languages are spoken by the indigenous Chinantec people who live in Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico, especially in the districts of Cuicatlán, Ixtlán de Juárez, Tuxtepec and Choapan, and in Staten Island, New York.
Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language and the national language of Burundi. It is a dialect of Rwanda-Rundi dialect continuum that is also spoken in Rwanda and adjacent parts of Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, as well as in Kenya. Kirundi is mutually intelligible with Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, and the two form parts of the wider dialect continuum known as Rwanda-Rundi.
The Oto-Manguean or Otomanguean languages are a large family comprising several subfamilies of indigenous languages of the Americas. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the family, which is now extinct, was spoken as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Oto-Manguean is widely viewed as a proven language family.
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The Jino language constitutes a pair of Loloish language varieties spoken by the Jino people of Yunnan, China.
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Aushi, known by native speakers as Ikyaushi, is a Bantu language primarily spoken in the Lwapula Province of Zambia and the (Haut-)Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although many scholars argue that it is a dialect of the closely related Bemba, native speakers insist that it is a distinct language. Nonetheless, speakers of both linguistic varieties enjoy extensive mutual intelligibility, particularly in the Lwapula Province.
Sochiapam is a Chinantec language of Mexico. It is most similar to Tlacoatzintepec Chinantec, with which it has 66% intelligibility.
Kyirong–Kagate is a subgroup of Tibetic languages spoken primarily in Nepal, with a hundred or so speakers across the border in Tibet.
Kyirong is a language from the subgroup of Tibetic languages spoken in the Gyirong County of the Shigatse prefecture, of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
Highland Chinantec is a Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in Comaltepec, San Juan Quiotepec, and surrounding towns in northern Oaxaca. It has a complex system of tone and vowel length compared to other Chinantec languages. The two principal varieties, Quiotepec and Comaltepec, have marginal mutual intelligibility. Yolox Chinantec is somewhat less divergent.
Ojitlán Chinantec is a major Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in four towns in San Lucas Ojitlán of northern Oaxaca, and in the Veracruz municipos of Minatitlán and Hidalgotitlán.
Ozumacín Chinantec is a Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in northern Oaxaca in the towns of San Pedro Ozumacín, Ayotzintepec, Santiago Progreso.
Tepetotutla Chinantec is a minor Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in northern Oaxaca in the towns of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, San Antonio del Barrio, San Pedro Tlatepusco, Santo Tomás Texas, Vega del Sol, and El Naranjal. It has 60% intelligibility with Quiotepec Chinantec and Palantla Chinantec.
Palantla Chinantec, also known as Chinanteco de San Pedro Tlatepuzco, is a major Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in San Juan Palantla and a couple dozen neighboring towns in northern Oaxaca. The variety of San Mateo Yetla, known as Valle Nacional Chinantec, has marginal mutual intelligibility.
Chiltepec-Tlacoatzintepec Chinantec is a Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in northern Oaxaca in the towns of San José Chiltepec, San Juan Bautista Tlacoatzintepec, San Pedro Alianza, Santiago Quetzalapa, and San Juan Zapotitlán. The two principal varieties, Chinantec and Tlacoatzintepec, have marginal mutual intelligibility. They are close to Sochiapan Chinantec.
Lalana-Tepinapa Chinantec is a Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in 30 towns in a remote region along the Oaxaca–Veracruz border. Outlying varieties of Lalana and Tepinapa Chinantec have only marginal intelligibility with each other. A third of speakers are monolingual.