Chinantec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chinantec Tsa Jujmi |
||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Mexico | |
| Region: | Oaxaca | |
| Total speakers: | approx. 93,000 (Ethnologue) | |
| Language family: | Oto-Mangue Chinantecan Chinantec |
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | — | |
| ISO 639-3: | — | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
The Chinantecs are an indigenous people that lives in Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico, especially in the districts of Cuicatlán, Ixtlán de Juarez, Tuxtepec and Choapan. Some Chinantecs are still very traditional: they often wear traditional clothing and practice traditional crafts such as weaving, and they generally live from subsistence farming and small-scale trade.
The Chinantec languages belong to the Chinantecan branch of the Oto-Manguean family. The Ethnologue lists 14 different partially unintelligible varieties of Chinantec.
[edit] Language varieties
| Language | ISO-Code | Where spoken | Number of speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinantec of Chiltepec | csa | San José Chiltepec Oaxaca | 4,000 |
| Chinantec of Comaltepec | cso | Comaltepec, Northern Oaxaca | 2,000 (1990 census). |
| Chinantec of Lalana | cnl | 25 towns on the border between Oaxaca and Veracruz | 10,500 (1990 SIL). |
| Chinantec of Lealao | cle | Northeastern Oaxaca, San Juan Lealao, Latani, Tres Arroyos, and La Hondura | 2,000 |
| Chinantec of Ojitlán | chj | Northern Oaxaca and Veracruz municipos of Minatitlan and Hidalgotitlan | 22,000 |
| Chinantec of Ozumacín | chz | San Pedro Ozumacín and surrounding towns, Oaxaca | 5,000 |
| Chinantec of Palantla | cpa | San Juan Palantla and surrounding towns, Oaxaca | 12,000 |
| Chinantec of Quiotepec (Highland Chinantec) | chq | and surrounding towns, Oaxaca | 8,000 |
| Chinantec of Sochiapan | cso | Northern Oaxaca | 5,800 |
| Chinantec of Tepetolutla | cnt | Northern Oaxaca | 2,000 |
| Chinantec of Tepinapa | cte | Northern Oaxaca, Choapan District, Very remote area | 8,000 |
| Chinantec of Tlacoatzintepec | ctl | Northern Oaxaca | 2,000 |
| Chinantec of Usila | cuc | Oaxaca one town in Veracruz | 9,000 |
| Chinantec of Valle Nacional | cvn | Yetla, North Oaxaca | 1,000 |
[edit] Tone
Chinantec is a tonal language and some dialects (Usila Chinantec) have five register tones, an uncommon trait in the world's languages.
[edit] External links
- The Chinantec language family (SIL-Mexico)
- Sochiapam Chinantec (SIL-Mexico)
- A whistled conversation in Sochiapam Chinantec (SIL-Mexico)
