| Geographic location: | Mexico |
| Number of Languages: | 238 |
| Number of Genetic Units: | 19 |
| Genetic Index: | .080 |
| Endangerment Index: | 3.89 |
| Research Index: | to be determined |
| Threat Level: | low |
Description:
Mesoamerica is an area of Mexico that held a large number of early civilizations before the arrival of Europeans, such as the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, and Aztec. The region now holds many of Mexico's indigenous groups, who continue to speak ancestral languages despite cultural pressure to speak Spanish.
Mesoamerica is a linguistic area or Sprachbund, meaning it is an area of the world where speakers of different languages have been in contact with each other for so long that their languages have acquired traits from nearby unrelated languages. Long periods of contact and bilingualism led Mesoamerican languages to borrow many words from each other (as English has borrowed the word lava from Hawaiian and schmooze from Yiddish). Even more dramatically, no Mesoamerican languages have basic word orders that place the verb at the end of the sentence, even though languages near Mesoamerica that are related to Mesoamerican languages do have verb-final word order. This change in word order is probably a result of language contact.
Languages and genetic units in this hotspot:
- Amuzgoan
- Chinantecan
- Chiapanec-Mangue
- Huavean
- Mayan
- Mixe
- Mixtecan
- Otomian
- Otopamean > Chichimec
- Otopamean > Matlatzincan
- Pamean
- Popolocan
- Subtiapa-Tlapanec
- Tarascan
- Tequistlatecan
- Totonac-Tepehua
- Uto-Aztecan
- Zapotecan
- Zoque
- Acatepec Tlapanec
- Alacatlatzala Mixtec
- Alcozauca Mixtec
- Aloápam Zapotec
- Amatlán Zapotec
- Amoltepec Mixtec
- Ascunción Mixtepec Zapotec
- Atatláhuca Mixtec
- Ayautla Mazatec
- Ayoquesco Zapotec
- Ayutla Mixtec
- Azoyú Tlapanec
- Aztingo Matlatzinca
- Cacaloxtepec Mixtec
- Cajonos Zapotec
- Central Hausteca Nahuatl
- Central Nahuatl
- Central Pame
- Central Puebla Nahuatl
- Chaopan Zapotec
- Chayuco Mixtec
- Chazumba Mixtec
- Chiapanec
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui
- Chichicapan Zapotec
- Chichimeca-Jonaz
- Chigmecatitlan Mixtec
- Chiltepec Chinantec
- Chimalapa Zoque
- Chiquihuitlán Mazatec
- Chochotec
- Coatecas Altas Zapotec
- Coatepec Nahuatl
- Coatlán Mixe
- Coatlán Zapotec
- Coatzospan Mixtec
- Comaltepec Chinantec
- Copala Triqui
- Coyotepec Popoloca
- Coyutla Totonac
- Cuyamecalco Mixtec
- Diuxi-Tilantongo Mixtec
- East Highland Chatino
- East Highland Otomi
- Eastern Hausteca Nahuatl
- El Alto Zapotec
- Elotepec Zapotec
- Estado de Mexico Otomi
- Filomena Mata-Coahuitlán Totonac
- Guerrero Amuzgo
- Guerrero Nahuatl
- Guevava de Humboldt Zapotec
- Güilá Zapotec
- Highland Oaxaca Chontal
- Highland Popoluca
- Highland Puebla Nahuatl
- Highland Totonac
- Huautla Mazatec
- Huaxcaleca Nahuatl
- Huehuetla Tepehua
- Huitepec Mixtec
- Ipalapa Amuzgo
- Isthmus Mecayapan Nahuatl
- Isthmus Mixe
- Isthmus Zapotec
- Isthmus-Cosoleacaque Nahuatl
- Isthmus-Pajapan Nahuatl
- Itundujia Mixtec
- Ixcatec
- Ixcatlan Mazatec
- Ixtayutla Mixtec
- Ixtenco Otomí
- Jalapa de Díaz Mazatec
- Jamiltepec Mixtec
- Juquila Mixe
- Juxtlahuaca Mixtec
- Lachiguiri Zapotec
- Lachirioag Zapotec
- Lachixió Zapotec
- Lalana Chinantec
- Lealao Chinantec
- Lowland Oaxaca Chontal
- Loxicha Zapotec
- Magdalena Peñasco Mixtec
- Malinaltepec Tlapanec
- Mazahua Central
- Mazaltepec Zapotec
- Mazatlan Mazatec
- Mazatlan Mixe
- Metlatónoc Mixtec
- Mezontla Popoloca
- Mezquital Otomi
- Miahuatlán Zapotec
- Michoacan Mazahua
- Michoacán Nahuatl
- Mitla Zapotec
- Mitlatongo Mixtec
- Mixtepec Mixtec
- Mixtepec Zapotec
- Morelos Nahuatl
- Northern Oaxaca Nahuatl
- Northern Tlaxiaco Mixtec
- North Central Mixe
- Nopala Chatino
- Northern Pame
- Northwest Oaxaca Mixtec
- Ocotepec Mixtec
- Ocotlán Zapotec
- Ojitlán Chinantec
- Oluta Popoluca
- Ometepec Nahuatl
- Orizaba Nahuatl
- Ozolotepec Zapotec
- Ozumacín Chinantec
- Ozumatlan Totonac
- Palantla Chinantec
- Papantla Totonac
- Patla-Chicontla Totonac
- Peñoles Mixtec
- Petapa Zapotec
- Pinotepa Nacional Mixtec
- Pisaflores Tepehua
- Purepecha
- Querétaro Otomi
- Quetzaltepec Mixe
- Quiavicuzas Zapotec
- Quioquitani-Quierí Zapotec
- Quiotepec Chinantec
- Rayón Zoque
- Rincón Zapotec
- South Puebla Mixtec
- South Rincon Zapotec
- San Augustín Mixtepec Zapotec
- San Baltazar Loxicha Zapotec
- San Dionisio del Mar Huave
- San Felipe Otlaltepec Popoloca
- San Francisco del Mar Huave
- San Francisco Matlatzinca
- San Jerónimo Tecóatl Mazatec
- San Juan Atzingo Popoloca
- San Juan Colorado Mixtec
- San Juan Guelavía Zapotec
- San Juan Teita Mixtec
- San Luis Potosí Haustec
- San Luis Temalacayuca Popoloca
- San Marcos Tlalcoyalco Popoloca
- San Martin Itunyoso Triqui
- San Mateo del Mar Huave
- San Miguel El Grande Mixtec
- San Miguel Piedras Mixtec
- San Pedro Amuzgos Amuzgo
- San Pedro Quiatoni Zapotec
- San Vicente Coatlán Zapotec
- Santa Maria Zacatepec Mixtec
- Santa Catarina Albarradas Zapotec
- Santa Inés Ahuatempan Popoloca
- Santa Inés Yatzechi Zapotec
- Santa Lucia Moneteverde Mixtec
- Santa Lucia Monteverde Mixtec
- Santa Maria del Mar Huave
- Santa Maria la Alta Nahuatl
- Santa Maria Quiegolani Zapotec
- Santiago Xanica Zapotec
- Santo Domingo Albarradas Zapotec
- Sayula Popoluca
- South Peubla Mixtec
- Southeast Huastec
- Southeast Ixtlan Zapotec
- Southeast Nochixtlán Mixtec
- Southeast Puebla Nahuatl
- Sierra de Juarez Zapotec
- Silacayoapan Mixtec
- Sindihui Mixtec
- Sinicahua Mixtec
- Sochiapan Chinantec
- Soyaltepec Mazatec
- Soyaltepec Mixtec
- Southwest Tlaxiaco Mixtec
- Tabaa Zapotec
- Tabasco Zoque
- Tacahua Mixtec
- Tamazola Mixtec
- Tataltepec Chatino
- Tejalapan Zapotec
- Temascaltepec Nahuatl
- Temoaya Otomi
- Tenango Nahuatl
- Tenango Otomi
- Tepeuxila Cuicatec
- Tepinapa Chinantec
- Tepetotutla Chinantec
- Tetelcingo Nahuatl
- Teutila Cuicatec
- Texistepec Popoluca
- Texmelucan Zapotec
- Tezoatlán Mixtec
- Tidaá Mixtec
- Tijaltepec Mixtec
- Tilapa Otomí
- Tilquiapan Zapotec
- Tlachichilco Tepehua
- Tlacoapa Tlapanec
- Tlacoatzintepec Chinantec
- Tlacolulita Zapotec
- Tlahuitoltepec Mixe
- Tlalitzlipa Nahuatl
- Tlamacazapa Nahuatl
- Tlazoyaltepec Mixtec
- Totomachapan Zapotec
- Totontepec Mixe
- Tututepec Mixtec
- Usila Chinantec
- Valle Nacional Chinantec
- Venustiano Carranza Tzotzil
- Veracruz Haustec
- West Highland Chatino
- West Juxtlahuaca Mixtec
- West Highland Purepecha
- Western Hausteca Nahuatl
- Xadani Zapotec
- Xanaguía Zapotec
- Xicotepec de Juárez Totonac
- Yalálag Zapotec
- Yareni Zapotec
- Yatee Zapotec
- Yatzachi Zapotec
- Yautepec Zapotec
- Yecuatla-Misantla Totonac
- Yoloxochitl Mixtec
- Yosondúa Mixtec
- Yucuañe Mixtec
- Yutanduchi Mixtec
- Zaachila Zapotec
- Zacatepec Chatino
- Zaniza Zapotec
- Zezontepec Chatino
- Zoogocho Zapotec
- Spanish
Endangered languages include:
- Asunción Mixtepec Zapotec (< 100 speakers, Zapotecan)
- Comaltepec Chinantec (< 150 speakers, Chinantec)
- Ixcatec (< 120 speakers, Popolocan)
- Sindihui Mixtec (< 140 speakers, Mixtecan)
- Tabasco Zoque (< 40 speakers, Zoquean)
Revitalization efforts include:
- Nawat: http://www.compapp.dcu.ie/~mward/nawat.html
- Mixtec (in English and Spanish): http://mixtec.nativeweb.org/
Some features of languages include:
- Counting system based on 20
- Non-verb-final word order
Trivia:
Media:
A family of Mixtec speakers from Corral de Piedra, Catarina Estetla, Oaxaca. From left to right, Brigida, Hernan, Perla and Ofelia. From http://mixtec.nativeweb.org/
Sources:
Campbell, Lyle, Terrence Kaufman and Thomas C. Smith-Stark. 1986. Meso-America as a Linguistic Area. Language. 62:3, pp. 530-570.
Campbell, Lyle. 1997. American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
