Totonac-Tepehua languages

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Totonac-Tepehua (also Totonacan ) is an indigenous American language family in central Mexico that consists of two branches.

The two branches are alternatively understood as two individual languages, but since the different dialects are not always mutually understandable, it is better to regard Tepehua and Totonak as two related branches of a language family. Highland Totonak is the variety with the most speakers, with around 120,000 speakers.

Varieties

Totonacic (English Totonac , Spanish Totonaco , derived from Mexica word: 'Totonacapan', speaker: 196,000, 9 languages)

  • Coyutla Totonac (Region: in the mountain foothills north of the so-called 'Sierra Totonaca' and the Olintla River in the state of Puebla, most similar to the highlands of Totonac , speakers: 48,100)
    • Coyutla Totonac
    • Cerro Grande Totonac
  • Filomena Mata-Coahuitlán Totonac (also Santo Domingo Totonac , region: in the highlands of Veracruz, greatest similarity with Nonacatlán Totonac , linguistically a transitional form between the highlands of Totonac and Northern Totonac , also speak Coyutla Totonac , speaker: 15,100)
  • Highlands Totonac (also Sierra Totonac , region: around the city of Zacatlán in the Sierra Norte de Puebla in the north of Puebla as well as in Veracruz, some also speak Nahuatl, speakers: 120,000)
  • Papantla Totonac (also lowland Totonac , region: Veracruz, most similar to highland Totonac , speakers: 80,000)
  • Tecpatlán Totonac (Region: around the village Tecpatlán and two communities northwest along a tributary of the Necaxa River in the northeast of Puebla, greatest similarity with Patla-Chicontla Totonac , many are bilingual with Nahuatl, some probably use Nahuatl as their first language, 20% - 30% are monolingual, 70% - 80% use Spanish as a second language, speakers: 2,000)
  • Patla-Chicontla Totonac (also Upper Necaxa Totonac , region: Necaxa River Valley and in the cities of Chicontla, Patla, Cacahuatlán and San Pedro Tlalontongo in the northeast of Puebla, greatest similarity to Tecpatlan Totonac , 20% - 30% are monolingual, 70% - 80% use Spanish as a second language, some also speak Nahuatl, population: 5,800, speakers: 3,400)
  • Ozumatlán Totonac (also Xinulajgsipij tutunaku , Totonaco norte de Huauchinango , region: around the cities of Ozumatlán, Tepetzintla, Tlapehuala, San Agustín in the north of Puebla, most similar to the highlands of Totonac and Northern Totonac , some also speak Spanish, speakers: 1,800)
  • Xicotepec de Juárez Totonac (also Northern Totonac , Totonaco de Villa Juárez , region: in 30 villages around Xicotepec de Juárez in the Sierra Norte de Puebla in the north-east of Puebla and in Veracruz, greatest similarity to Ozumatlán Totonac , 500 are monolingual, approx. 200 also speak Tepehua, Nahuatl or Otomi, population: 13,733, speakers: 3,000)
    • Xicotepec de Juarez Totonac
    • Zihuateutla Totonac
  • Yecuatla Totonac (also Misantla Totonac or Southeastern Totonac , in Totonac: 'Laakanaachiwíin', region: in small communities between the cities of Misantla and Xalapa in central and southern Veracruz, around 300 speakers in Yecuatla, other cities: San Marcos Atexquilapan, Landero y Coss and Chiconquiaco, speakers: 500)

Tepehua (derived from Nahuatl : 'tépetl' - 'mountain' and 'huan' - 'possession / property', i.e. 'owner / or inhabitant of the mountains', 3 languages)

  • Pisaflores Tepehua (Region: around the cities of Pisaflores, Ixhuatlán de Madero and another city in Veracruz , most similar to Huehuetla Tepehua, some also speak Spanish, speakers: 4,000)
  • Huehuetla Tepehua (also Tepehua de Hidalgo , region: around Huehuetla in northeastern Hidalgo , half of the city of Mecapalapa in Puebla , greatest similarity to Pisaflores Tepehua, population: 3,000)
  • Tlachichilco Tepehua (region: around Tlachichilco in Veracruz, most similar to Pisaflores Tepehua, some also speak Otomi ( Hñähñü , English pronunciation: 'Nyah-Nyoo') or Nahuatl , speaker: 3,000)

The basic word order of these languages ​​is subject-verb-object (SVO).

See also

literature

  • Harald Haarmann: Small Lexicon of Languages. From Albanian to Zulu . 2nd Edition. Beck. Munich 2002, p. 385.

Web links

annotation

  1. ↑ Tepehua is not to be confused with the uto-Aztec language Tepehuan , which is also spoken in Mexico.