Mayo language

Last updated
Mayo
Native to Sonora, Sinaloa, and parts in Durango, Mexico
Ethnicity100,000 Mayo (1983) [1]
Native speakers
39,000 (2020 census) [2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mfy
Glottolog mayo1264
ELP Mayo
Lang Status 20-CR.svg
Mayo is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Mayo is an Uto-Aztecan language. It is spoken by about 40,000 people, the Mexican Mayo or Yoreme Indians, who live in the South of the Mexican state of Sonora and in the North of the neighboring state of Sinaloa. Under the General Law of Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples" Law of Linguistic Rights, it is recognized as a "national language" along with 62 other indigenous languages and Spanish which all have the same validity in Mexico. The language is considered 'critically endangered' by UNESCO. [3]

Contents

The Mayo language is partially intelligible with the Yaqui language, and the division between the two languages is more political, from the historic division between the Yaqui and the Mayo peoples, than linguistic.

Programming in both Mayo and Yaqui is carried by the CDI's radio station XEETCH, broadcasting from Etchojoa, Sonora.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n
Plosive p , t t͡ʃ k ʔ
Fricative β s h
Trill r
Lateral l
Semivowel w j

Vowels

Front Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

[4]

Morphology

Mayo is an agglutinative language, where words use suffix complexes for a variety of purposes with several morphemes strung together.

Nominal and Adjectival Predication in Yoreme/Mayo of Sonora and Sinaloa

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References

  1. Mayo language at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.
  3. "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger". www.unesco.org.
  4. Freeze, Ray A. (1989). Mayo de los Capomos, Sinaloa.

Sources