Chinantecan languages

Last updated
Chinantec
Tsa Jujmi
Native to Mexico
Region Oaxaca
Ethnicity Chinantecs
Native speakers
140,000 (2020 census) [1]
Oto-Manguean
  • Western
    • Oto-Pame–Chinantecan
      • Chinantec
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
cco    Comaltepec Chinantec
chj    Ojitlán Chinantec
chq    Quiotepec Chinantec
chz    Ozumacín Chinantec
cle    Lealao Chinantec
cnl    Lalana Chinantec
cnt    Tepetotutla Chinantec
cpa    Palantla Chinantec
csa    Chiltepec Chinantec
cso    Sochiapan Chinantec
cte    Tepinapa Chinantec
ctl    Tlacoatzintepec Chinantec
cuc    Usila Chinantec
cvn    Valle Nacional Chinantec
Glottolog chin1484
ELP Central Chinantec
Otomanguean Languages.png
The Chinantecan languages, number 9 (chartreuse), east.

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. [2] 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. [3]

Contents

Internal classification

Egland and Bartholomew (1978) [4] established fourteen Chinantec languages on the basis of 80% mutual intelligibility. Ethnologue found that one that had not been adequately compared (Tlaltepusco) was not distinct, but split another (Lalana from Tepinapa). At a looser criterion of 70% intelligibility, Lalana–Tepinapa, Quiotepec–Comaltepec, Palantla–Valle Nacional, and geographically distant Chiltepec–Tlacoatzintepec would be languages, reducing the count to ten. Lealao Chinantec (Latani) is the most divergent.

70%Language (80% intelligibility)Distribution
* Chinantec of Lealao Northeastern Oaxaca, San Juan Lealao, Latani, Tres Arroyos, and La Hondura
* Chinantec of Chiltepec San José Chiltepec, Oaxaca
Chinantec of Tlacoatzintepec Northern Oaxaca
* Chinantec of Comaltepec Comaltepec, Northern Oaxaca
Chinantec of Quiotepec
(Highland Chinantec)
San Juan Quiotepec and surrounding towns, Oaxaca
* Chinantec of Lalana 25 towns on the border between Oaxaca and Veracruz
Chinantec of Tepinapa Northern Oaxaca, Choapan District. Very remote area.
* Chinantec of Ojitlán Northern Oaxaca and Veracruz municipios of Minatitlán and Hidalgotitlán
* Chinantec of Ozumacín San Pedro Ozumacín and surrounding towns, Oaxaca
* Chinantec of Palantla San Juan Palantla and surrounding towns, Oaxaca
Chinantec of Valle Nacional Yetla, North Oaxaca
* Chinantec of Sochiapan Northern Oaxaca
* Chinantec of Tepetotutla Northern Oaxaca
* Chinantec of Usila Oaxaca one town in Veracruz

Phonology

the register-tone inventory of Usila Chinantec Chinantec.png
the register-tone inventory of Usila Chinantec

Chinantecan languages have ballistic syllables, apparently a kind of phonation. [5] [6] [7]

All Chinantec languages are tonal. Some, such as Usila Chinantec and Ojitlán Chinantec, have five register tones (in addition to contour tones), with the extreme tones deriving historically from ballistic syllables. [8]

Grammar

Grammars are published for Sochiapam Chinantec, [9] and a grammar and a dictionary of Palantla (Tlatepuzco) Chinantec. [10] [11]

Example phrase:

ca¹-dsén¹=jni chi³ chieh³
‘I pulled out the hen (from the box). [11]

The parts of this sentence are: ca¹ a prefix which marks the past tense, dsén¹ which is the verb stem meaning "to pull out an animate object", the suffix -jni referring to the first person, the noun classifier chi³ and the noun chieh³ meaning chicken.

Whistled speech

The Chinantec people have practiced whistled speech since the pre-Columbian era. The rhythm and pitch of normal Chinantec speech allow speakers of the language to have entire conversations only by whistling. The sound of whistling carries better than shouting across the canyons of mountainous Oaxaca. It enables messages to be exchanged over a distance of up to one kilometre (0.62 mi). Whistled speech is typically only used by Chinantec men, although women also understand it. Use of the whistled language is declining, as modern technology such as walkie-talkies and loudspeakers have made long-distance communication easier. [12]

Media

Chinantec-language programming is carried by the CDI's radio stations XEOJN, broadcasting from San Lucas Ojitlán, Oaxaca, and XEGLO, broadcasting from Guelatao de Juárez, Oaxaca.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whistled language</span> Emulation of speech by whistling

Whistled languages are linguistic systems that use whistling to emulate speech and facilitate communication between individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oto-Manguean languages</span> Language family of Mexico and, previously, Central America

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mazatecan languages</span> Group of Oto-Manguean languages of southern Mexico

The Mazatecan languages are a group of closely related indigenous languages spoken by some 200,000 people in the area known as the Sierra Mazateca, which is in the northern part of the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, as well as in adjacent areas of the states of Puebla and Veracruz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amuzgo language</span> Oto-Manguean language spoken in Mexico

Amuzgo is an Oto-Manguean language spoken in the Costa Chica region of the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca by about 44,000 speakers. Like other Oto-Manguean languages, Amuzgo is a tonal language. From syntactical point of view Amuzgo can be considered as an active language. The name Amuzgo is claimed to be a Nahuatl exonym but its meaning is shrouded in controversy; multiple proposals have been made, including 'moss-in'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zapotec languages</span> Group of related indigenous Mesoamerican languages

The Zapotec languages are a group of around 50 closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages that constitute a main branch of the Oto-Manguean language family and which is spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highlands of Mexico. A 2020 census reports nearly half a million speakers, with the majority inhabiting the state of Oaxaca. Zapotec-speaking communities are also found in the neighboring states of Puebla, Veracruz, and Guerrero. Labor migration has also brought a number of native Zapotec speakers to the United States, particularly in California and New Jersey. Most Zapotec-speaking communities are highly bilingual in Spanish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otomi language</span> Oto-Pamean language family of south-central Mexico

Otomi is an Oto-Pamean language spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central altiplano region of Mexico. Otomi consists of several closely related languages, many of which are not mutually intelligible. The word Hñähñu has been proposed as an endonym, but since it represents the usage of a single dialect, it has not gained wide currency. Linguists have classified the modern dialects into three dialect areas: the Northwestern dialects are spoken in Querétaro, Hidalgo and Guanajuato; the Southwestern dialects are spoken in the State of Mexico; and the Eastern dialects are spoken in the highlands of Veracruz, Puebla, and eastern Hidalgo and villages in Tlaxcala and Mexico states.

Ixcatec is a language spoken by the people of the Mexican village of Santa María Ixcatlan, in the northern part of the state of Oaxaca. The Ixcatec language belongs to the Popolocan branch of the Oto-manguean language family. It is believed to have been the second language to branch off from the others within the Popolocan subgroup, though there is a small debate over the relation it has to them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oto-Pamean languages</span> Branch of the Oto-Manguean languages of Mexico

The Oto-Pamean languages are a branch of the Oto-Manguean languages that includes languages of the Otomi-Mazahua, Matlatzinca, and Pamean language groups all of which are spoken in central Mexico. Like all Oto-Manguean languages, the Oto-Pamean languages are tonal languages, though most have relatively simple tone systems. Unlike many Oto-Manguean languages that tend towards an isolating typology, they are morphologically complex headmarking languages with complex systems of conjugational classes both for verbs and nouns, and in the Pamean languages there are highly complex patterns of suppletion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trique languages</span> Language family

The Triqui, or Trique, languages are a family of Oto-Manguean spoken by 30,000 Trique people of the Mexican states of Oaxaca and the state of Baja California in 2007. They are also spoken by 5,000 immigrants to the United States. Triqui languages belong to the Mixtecan branch together with the Mixtec languages and Cuicatec.

Huave is a language isolate spoken by the indigenous Huave people on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The language is spoken in four villages on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the southeast of the state, by around 20,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatino language</span> Indigenous Mesoamerican languages of Mexico

Chatino is a group of indigenous Mesoamerican languages. These languages are a branch of the Zapotecan family within the Oto-Manguean language family. They are natively spoken by 45,000 Chatino people, whose communities are located in the southern portion of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixtecan languages</span> Oto-Manguean language branch of Mexico

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.

Sochiapam is a Chinantec language of Mexico. It is most similar to Tlacoatzintepec Chinantec, with which it has 66% intelligibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Usila Chinantec</span> Chinantec language of Mexico

Usila is a Chinantec language of Mexico. It is most similar to Tlacoatzintepec Chinantec, with which it has 50% intelligibility.

Zaniza Zapotec is an Oto-Manguean language of western Oaxaca, Mexico. It is one of several Zapotec languages called Papabuco. It has only 10% intelligibility with Texmelucan Zapotec, its closest important relative.

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matlatzinca language</span> Endangered Oto-Manguean language of Mexico

Matlatzinca, or more specifically San Francisco Matlatzinca, is an endangered Oto-Manguean language of Western Central Mexico.[3] The name of the language in the language itself is pjiekak'joo.[4] The term "Matlatzinca" comes from the town's name in Nahuatl, meaning "the lords of the network." At one point, the Matlatzinca groups were called "pirindas," meaning "those in the middle."[5]

References

  1. "Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020". Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020. INEGI.
  2. Palancar, Enrique L. (2014). "Revisiting the Complexity of the Chinantecan Verb Conjugation Classes". In Léonard, Jean-Léo; Kihm, Alain (eds.). Patterns in Mesoamerican Morphology. pp. 77–102. HAL 01100738.
  3. Torrens, Claudio (2011-05-28). "Some NY immigrants cite lack of Spanish as barrier". UTSanDiego.com. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  4. Egland, S.; Bartholomew, D. (1978). La inteligibilidad inter-dialectal en Mexico: Resultados de algunos sondeos (PDF). Mexico, D.F.: Instituto Linguistico de Verano. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-12-02.
  5. Merrifield, William; Rensch, Calvin R., eds. (1990). Syllables, Tone, and Verb Paradigms (PDF). Studies in Chinantec Languages. Vol. 4 Summer Institute of Linguistics and The University of Texas at Arlington. ISBN   0-88312-105-0. LCCN   90-71408. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-12.
  6. Mugele, R. L. (1982). Tone and Ballistic Syllables in Lalana Chinantec (Ph.D. dissertation). Austin: University of Texas.
  7. Rensch, Calvin (1978). "Ballistic and controlled syllables in Otomanguean Languages". In Bell, Alan; Hooper, Joan B. (eds.). Syllables and Segments. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company. pp. 85–92.
  8. Edmondson, Jerold A.; Gregerson, Kenneth J. (1992). "On Five-level Tone Systems". In Hwang, Shin Ja J.; Merrifield, William R. (eds.). Language in Context: Essays for Robert E. Longacre. Dallas, TX: Summer Institute of Linguistics. pp. 555–576.
  9. Foris, David Paul (2000). A grammar of Sochiapam Chinantec. Studies in Chinantec languages. Vol. 6. Dallas, TX: SIL International and The University of Texas at Arlington.
  10. Merrifield, William R. (1968). "Palantla Chinantec grammar". Papeles de la Chinantla 5. Serie Científica. Vol. 9. México: Museo Nacional de Antropología.
  11. 1 2 Merrifield, William R.; Anderson, Alfred E. (2007). Diccionario Chinanteco de la diáspora del pueblo antiguo de San Pedro Tlatepuzco, Oaxaca (PDF). Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”. Vol. 39 (2nd ed.). Mexico DF: Summer Linguistic Institute.
  12. Schachar, Natalie (8 September 2017). "The decline of Chinantec whistled speech in Mexico". Al Jazeera . Retrieved 15 July 2019.