Mixtecan languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mixtecan Tu'un sávi
Spoken in:	Mexico; USA
Region:	Oaxaca, Puebla, Guerrero; California
Total speakers:	510,800
Ranking:	Not in top 100
Language family:	Oto-Manguean  Eastern Oto-Mangue   Amuzgo-Mixtecan    Mixtecan
Writing system:	Latin alphabet
Official status
Official language in:	Mexico
Regulated by:	Academy of the Mixtec Language, INALI
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:
ISO 639-3:	List List
Indigenous languages of Mexico with more than 100,000 speakers. Mixtec is marked on the map by dark green.
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

The Mixtecan languages are a group of languages in the Otomanguean family of Mexico, spoken in total by approximately a half million people. The Mixtecan family includes the Trique (or Triqui) languages, Cuicatec and a large group of varieties of the Mixtec language proper.

The Mixtec language (Tu'un sávi in Mixtec, meaning "word of the rain"; mixteco is itself a Nahuatl exonym) is spoken by the Mixtec or ñuu sávi people. It is the Mexican indigenous language with the fourth largest number of speakers, with a total of 446,236 people over five years old in 2000 (according to the INEGI, which does not count minors under age five; the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous People (CDI) calculates the Mixtec-speaking population as more than half a million, making it the third most spoken language in the country).

The traditional range of the Mixtecan languages is the region known as La Mixteca, which is shared by the states of Oaxaca, Puebla and Guerrero. Because of migration from this region, mostly as a result of extreme poverty, the Mixtecan languages have expanded to Mexico's main urban areas, particularly the State of México and the Federal District, to certain agricultural areas such as the San Quintín valley in Baja California and parts of Morelos and Sonora, and even into the United States, where English/Mixtec bilinguals are common among the new generations.

Contents 1 Characteristics of the Mixtec language 1.1 Phonemes of Mixtecan languages 1.2 Tones 1.3 Nasalisation 2 Writing systems 3 Grammar and syntax 3.1 Pronouns 3.1.1 Personal pronouns 3.1.2 Demonstrative pronouns 3.1.3 Relative pronouns 3.1.4 Interrogative pronouns 3.2 Verbs 3.2.1 Mixtec verb tenses 3.2.2 Verb classes 3.2.3 Verb moods 3.3 Nouns 3.4 Conjunctions 3.5 Word order and syntactic emphasis 4 Mixtecan influence on Spanish 5 Mixtecan literature 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Characteristics of the Mixtec language

Main article: List of Mixtecan languages

Mixtec is the most widely spoken of the Mixtecan languages of the Oto-Manguean family. In actuality, because of the geographical fragmentation of the Mixteca region, the language is a complex of regional dialects, which were already in place at the time of the Spanish Conquest of the Mixteca region. While the Mixtec languages (proper) are sometimes grouped by geographic area (Mixteca Alta, Mixteca Baja, Mixteca de la Costa), the precise relationship between the different varieties is not clearly established. The situation is far more complex than a simple dialect chain because there are often very abrupt and serious changes from town to town, some likely due to population movements both before and after the Spanish conquest.

The federal government's National Commission for the Development of Indigenous People recognises six different dialects in different regions, while SIL International counts as many as 51.^[1] In any event, the varieties of the Mixtec language – or the various Mixtec languages, as preferred by the National Indigenist Institute (INI)^[2] – are frequently mutually unintelligble. Efforts to standardise the writing and vocabulary of Mixtec, undertaken by the Academia de la Lengua Mixteca and other NGOs in Mexico, have not yet been successful.

[edit] Phonemes of Mixtecan languages

Linguists are still discussing whether some of the sounds in the Mixtec phoneme inventory should be considered one sound with double articulation or groups of two phonemes (for example, the phonemes/clusters /ts/, /nd/, /jn/ and others). Below is a list of the some of the most common phonemes shared by the different Mixtec languages.

Vowels of the Mixtecan languages
	Front		Central		Back
	oral	nasal	oral	nasal	oral	nasal
Close	i	ĩ	ɨ	ĩ	u	ũ
Middle	e	ẽ			o	õ
Open			a	ã

[edit] Tones

One of the most particular features of Mixtec is its use of tones, a characteristic it shares with Zapotec, its neighbour to the east in the valleys of Oaxaca.

Mixtec distinguishes three different tones: high, middle, and low. A change in tone between two words can change their meaning. For example:

Kuu [ku¹u²]= to be

Kuu [ku²u¹]= to die

In Mixtec, tones are denoted by diacritical marks. In the Mixtec Academy's scheme, an acute accent placed on the syllable's vowel indicates the highest tone; an underlined vowel indicates that it is to be pronounced with a low tone. Middle tones are not marked.

Some varieties of Mixtec display tone sandhi.^[3]

Within Mixtecan languages in the broader sense, Trique has one of the most complex tonal systems in the world,^[4] with one variety, Chicahuaxtla Trique, having at least ten tones and, according to some observers, as many as 16.^[5]

[edit] Nasalisation

Vowel nasalisation can be semantically significant or not, depending on the word. All vowels can be nasalised, and the shift can change a word's meaning. Nasal vowels generally appear at the end of words. When a word contains more than one vowel, Mixtec speakers tend to nasalise the non-terminal vowels as a result of regressive nasalisation. Vowels preceding nasal phonemes (m, n, ñ, ng) generally acquire a nasal shift through progression.

[edit] Writing systems

The Latin alphabet is now used to write Mixtecan languages. The Mixtecs, like many other Mesoamerican peoples, developed their own writing system, and their codices that have survived are one of the best sources for knowledge about the pre-Hispanic culture of the Oaxacan region prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. With the defeat of the lordship of Tututepec in 1522, the Mixtecs were brought under Spanish colonial rule, and many of their relics were destroyed. However, some codices were saved from destruction, and are today mostly held by European collections, including the Codex Zouche-Nuttall and the Codex Vindobonensis; one exception is the Codex Colombino, kept by the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

The missionaries who brought the Roman Catholic religion to the Mixtecs set about learning their language and produced several grammars of the Mixtec language, similar in style to Antonio de Nebrija's Gramática Castellana. They also began work on transcribing the Mixtec langages into the Latin alphabet; the guidelines they set remained in general use until the 1990s, when the Academy of the Mixtec Language adopted a different scheme for the representation of Mixtec phonemes. This method is somewhat different from the one used by the early missionaries and by the SIL in its work in the 1970s:

• The glottal stop, or the distinctive feature of a glottalised vowel, was represented by an "h" in the earliest writings and certain other alphabets. Instead, the Academy uses an apostrophe (or a superscript vertical bar or similar character). For example: vehe versus ve'e ("home").
• The missionaries depicted the central vowel as y. The SIL and the Academy use ɨ. For example: ýyn versus ɨɨn ("one").
• The missionary texts do not indicate tones. The SIL, in several of its works, uses an acute accent for high tones, a macron for middle tones, leaving the low tone (the most frequent one) unmarked. The standard adopted by the Academy marks low tones with an underscore. For example: cuu versus ku̱u ("to be").
• As shown in the previous example, the phoneme /k/ was written as in Spanish (as either "c" or "qu") in the alphabets proposed by earlier government policies. The Academy suggests the uniform use of "k".

The alphabet adopted by the Academy of the Mixtec Language and, consequently, by the federal Secretariat of Public Education (SEP), contains the following letters (indicated below with their corresponding phonemes).

One of the main obstacles in establishing an alphabet for the Mixtec language is its status as a vernacular tongue. The social domain of the language is eminently domestic, since federal law requires that all dealings with the state be conducted in Spanish, even though the country's autochthonous languages enjoy the status of "national languages". Few printed materials in Mixtec exist and, up to a few years ago, written literature in the language was practically non-existent. There is little exposure of Mixtec in the media, other than on the CDI's indigenous radio system – XETLA and XEJAM in Oaxaca; XEZV-AM in Guerrero; and XEQIN-AM in Baja California – and a bilingual radio station based in the USA in Los Angeles, California, where a significant Mixtec community can be found.

At the same time, the fragmentation of the Mixtec language and its varieties means that texts published in one variety may be utterly incomprehensible to speakers of another. In addition, most speakers are unaware of the official orthography adopted by the SEP and the Mixtec Academy, and some even doubt that their language can lend itself to a written form.

[edit] Grammar and syntax

[edit] Pronouns

[edit] Personal pronouns

Mixtec has several personal pronouns. It has two for the first person singular and two for the second person singular, which are used in different communicative contexts. If the speaker is addressing a person of his own age or older, he must use the "formal" pronouns, out of respect. If addressing a younger person, he may use the familiar form of address. In addition to this formal/informal distinction, Mixtec pronouns each have two forms: one is the complete or full form, used as an object pronoun complementing a phrase or as a subject pronoun preceding a verb, and the second is the short form, derived from the full form and used as a subject pronoun when following the verb.

• Personal pronoun as a complement to a phrase

Jiní-de sa̱ñá

[knows-he I]

"he knows me"

• Personal pronoun as a subject pronoun

Ró'ó-kí'i̱n va̱'a-ga

[You shall-go good-more]

it will be better if you go

Va̱ni ni-sá'a ró

[Good past–shall-do you]

you did well

For the third person singular, Mixtec has six pronouns that indicate whether the subject or object of the sentence is a man, a woman, an animal, an inanimate object or child, a sacred or divine entity, or water. All these derive from the Mixtec nouns that identify those groups. While none has an equivalent pronoun in English, the table indicates the corresponding English nouns for the derivation of each. The third-person pronouns, which are unchangeable, can serve as subject or object pronouns.

Mixtec possesses plural pronouns in the first-person only, lacking equivalents of "you (plural)" and "they". Moreover, the first-person plural has two forms, allowing for inclusive and exclusive treatments. When the speaker is including his interlocutor in the action of the verb ("inclusive we"), he uses either yó'ó (full form) or yó (short). In contrast, when referring to an action carried out by himself and others in which his interlocutor did not participate ("exclusive we"), he uses the forms sa̱ñá and ná (formal) or ru'u̱ and ri (informal). As can be seen on the table, these pronoun forms are the same as are used for the first person singular.

Lacking pronouns for the second and third persons plural does not mean that Mixtec speakers are unable to form "you (pl.)" and "they" sentences, in the same way that absence from English of equivalents of the Mixtec pronouns for gods, animals, water, etc. does not keep English speakers from talking about such things. The shortcoming is overcome by indicating the number in the subject or the verb, implying that several persons (or things) are involved in the verb's action. In addition, the particle jíná'an ([³xi³na.².ˈā]), preceded or followed by a personal pronoun, indicates a plural person.

[edit] Demonstrative pronouns

Mixtec has three demonstrative pronouns that indicate the spatial location of an object referred to by a speaker: ya̱'á ([¹ʒaˈ.³a] = "this"), jia̱n ([²xi¹ã] = "proximal that") and yúkuan ([³ʒu.²kuã] = "distal that"). Any of the three may be preceded by the relative pronoun jee̱ to underscore the intent of the speech act. There is also a special pronoun, with a deictic function, used to refer back to an object already mentioned in a given sentence: maá ([²ma³a]), translatable approximately as "the same".

[edit] Relative pronouns

Mixtec has only one relative pronoun: jee̱ ([²xe.²e]), equivalent to "that" or "which". As occurs with the other pronouns, the Mixtecan relative pronoun can change its tone, depending on the tense in which the action of the phrase is expressed and the tone of the verb used.

[edit] Interrogative pronouns

Mixtec has two interrogatives, which are na vé ([²na ³ve]= "what/which"?) and nasaa ([²na.²saa]= "how much/many?"). The tone of these does not change according to the tense, person, or tone of the surrounding phrase.

[edit] Verbs

[edit] Mixtec verb tenses

Mixtec verbs have no infinitive form. The basic form of the Mixtec verb is the future tense, and many conjugated future verb forms are also used for the present tense. To obtain the present of an irregular verb, the tone is modified in accordance with set of complicated prosodic rules. Another class of irregular verbs beginning with [k] mutate that sound to either [xe] or [xi] in the present tense. To form the preterite (past) tense, the particle ni- ([²ni]) is added. That particle causes a shift in the tone of the following verb and, while the particle itself may be omitted in informal speech, the tonal modification invariably takes place.

Mixtec lacks an imperfect, pluperfect, and all the compound tenses found in other languages. In addition, Mixtec verb conjugations do not have indicators of person or number (resembling, in this, English more than Spanish). A selection of Mixtec sentences exemplifying the three verbal tenses appears below:

• Future

Te máá ró sanaa te kusɨɨ ni ro̱ te kiji ró ɨɨn jínu nájnu'un domingu te kinu'un ro̱.

[And same you perhaps and shall-be–happy you and shall-come you one time as Sunday and shall-return you]

"And perhaps you shall be happy, shall come on Sunday, and shall return home"

• Present

Tu jíní-yo̱ ndese skánda-de te jíka kamión

[Not know-we how moves-he and advances truck]

"We don't know what he does to make the truck go"

• Preterite

Ni-steén-de nuu̱ ná.

[Past-taught-he to I]

Steén-de nuu̱ ná.

[Taught-he to I]

"He taught me"

[edit] Verb classes

Causative verbs

Causative verbs are verb forms modified by a prefix indicating that the action is performed by the agent of the phrase. Mixtec causative verbs are indicated by the prefix s-. Like other Mixtec particles, the causative prefix leads to a shift in the orthography and pronunciation of the related verb. When the verb to which the prefix is added begins with [ⁿd], that phoneme is transformed into a [t]. Verbs beginning with [j] shift to [i]. There is no difference in future and present causitive verbs, but the past tense is invariably indicated by adding the particle ni-.

Regular causative
Normal verb: tɨ̱ví [shall-decompose] It shall decompose, decomposes"	Causative verb: stɨ̱ví [it–shall-decompose] "He shall damage it, he damages it"
Irregular causative: nd > t shift
Normal verb: ndo'o-ña [shall-suffer–she] She shall suffer, she suffer	Causative verb: stó'o-ña [shall-do–shall-suffer–she] "She shall cause to suffer, she causes to suffer"
Irregular causative: y > i shift
Normal verb: yu̱'ú-tí [shall-fear–animal] "The animal shall fear, the animal fears"	Causative verb: siú'ú-tí [shall-cause-fear–animal] "The animal shall cause fear, the animal causes fear"

Repetitive verbs

The prefix na- indicates that the action of the related verb is being performed for a second occasion. This means that there is a repetition of the action, made by the subject of the sentence or another unidentified agent.

The pronunciation of some irregular verbs changes in the repetitive form. For example, certain verbs beginning with [k] take [ⁿd] o [n] the instead of na- particle. In addition, there are some verbs that never appear without this prefix: in other words, it is part of their structure.

Regular repetitive verb
Normal verb: Ki̱ku-ña sa'ma [shall-sew–she clothes] "She shall sew the clothes"	Repetitive verb: Naki̱ku-ña sa'ma [again–shall-sew–she clothes] "She shall repair the clothes"
Regular repetitive verb: k > nd shift
Normal verb: Kaa-de [shall-ascend–he] "He shall rise"	Verbo causativo: Ndaa-de [again–shall-ascend–he] "He shall rise again"

Copulative verbs

Copulative verbs ("linking verbs") establish links between two nouns, a noun and an adjetive, or a noun and a pronoun. Mixtec has four such verbs:

• kuu (to be)
• nduu (to be again; the repetitive form of kuu)
• koo (to exist)
• káá (to appear; present and preterite tenses only)

Káá is only used with adjectives that describe a thing's appearance. The other three can be used with practically any adjective, albeit with slight semantic shifts.

Copulative verbs
Maéstru kúu-te̱e ún. [Teacher is–man a] "The man is a teacher	Maestru kúu. [Teacher is–man] "He is a teacher"
Ndíchí koo-ró [intelligent shall-be–you] "You will be intelligent"	Va̱ni íyó itu. [Good is crop] "The crop is fine"
Káa likuxi sɨkɨ̱ tɨ̱. [appears grey back its-(animal's)] The animal's back is grey"	Kúká ní-i̱yo-de. [Rich past–was-he] "He was rich but is no longer"

Descriptive verbs

Descriptive verbs are a special class that can be used as either verbs or adjectives. One of these verbs followed by a pronoun is all that is needed to form a complete sentence in Mixtec. Descriptives are not conjugated: they always appear in the present tense. To give the same idea in the past or future tenses, a copulative verb must be used.

Descriptive verbs
Kúká-de. [shall-enrich he ] "He is rich"	Ve̱yɨ nuní. [shall-weigh maize] "The maize is heavy"
Descriptives with contracted copulas
Vijna te kúkúká-de. [now and is-rich–he] "Now he is rich"	Ni-ndukuká-de. [again–grew-rich–he] "He became rich again"

Modal verbs

Modal verbs are a small group that may be followed by another verb. Only the relative pronoun jee̱ can occasionally appear between a modal and its associated verb, except in sentences involving kuu (can, to be able).

• Modal kuu ("can")

Kuu ka'u-de tatu.

[can shall-read–he paper]

"He will be able to read a book"

• Modal kánuú ("must")

Kánuú je̱é ki'ín-de.

[must that shall-go–he]

"He must go"

[edit] Verb moods

Indicative mood

The indicative mood describes actions in real life that have occurred, are occurring, or will occur. The verb forms of the indicative mood are described above, in the section on verb tenses.

Imperative mood

Imperatives are formed by adding the particle -ni to the future indicative form of the verb. In informal speech, the simple future indicative is frequently used, although the pronoun ró may be appended. There are three irregular verbs with imperative forms different to their future indicative. Negative imperatives are formed by adding the word má, the equivalent of "don't".

Imperative mood
Formal	Informal		Negativo
Kaa̱n ní. "Speak!"	Kaa̱n. "Speak!"	Kaa̱n ro̱. "Speak!"	Má kaa̱n ro̱. "Don't speak!"

Subjunctive mood

In Mixtec, the subjunctive mood serves as a mild command. It is formed by placing the particle na before the future form of the verb. When used in the first person, it gives the impression that the speaker closely reflects on the action before performing it.

Third-person subjunctive	First-person subjunctive
Na kívɨ-de ve'e. [subjunctive shall-enter–he house] "Let him enter the house"	Na kí'ín-na. [subjunctive shall-go–I] Then I shall go"

Counter-factual mood

The counter-factual mood indicates that the action was not performed or remained incomplete. To form the past counter-factual, ní is added added and the tones of the verb change from preterite to present. A counter-factual statement not accompanied by a subordinate clause acquires the meaning "If only..." The particle núú can be added at the end of the main or subordinate clauses, should the speaker wish, with no change in meaning. Examples are shown below:

• Use of counter-factual verbs, formed by changing the tone of the past indicative.

Ní-jí'í-de tajna̱ chi je ni-nduva̱'a-de.

[counter-factual–past-took–he medicine and already past–cured–he]

"If he had taken the medicine, he would be better by now"

• Use of a simple counter-factual sentence

Ní-jí'í-de tajna̱.

[counter-factual–past–took–he medicine]

"If only he had taken the medicine!"

• Use of a simple counter-factual sentence, with núú.

Ní-jí'í-de tajna̱ núú.

[counter-factual–past–took–he medicine counter-factual]

"If only he had taken the medicine!"

Núú ní-jí'í-de tajna̱.

[counter-factual counter-factual–past–took–he medicine]

"If only he had taken the medicine!"

• Use of a simple counter-factual sentence, with núu (a conditional conjunction not to be confused with the mood particle described above)

Núu ní-jí'í-de tajna̱.

[if counter-factual–took–he medicine counter-factual]

"If only he had taken the medicine!"

• Use of a simple counter-factual with modal, in future tense

Kiji-de te tu ni-kúu.

[counter-factual–shall-come and not past-can]

"He was going to come, but was unable to"

[edit] Nouns

Nouns indicate persons, animals, inanimate objects or abstract ideas. Mixtec has few nouns for abstract ideas; when they do not exist, it uses verbal constructions instead. When a noun is followed by another in a sentence, the former serves as the nucleus of the phrase, with the latter acting as a modifier. In many such constructions, the modifier possesses the nucleus.

• Nouns as modifiers:

Ndu̱yu ka̱a

[stake metal]

"Nail"

• Modifiers possessing the nucleus of the phrase:

Ina te̱e yúkuan

[dog man that]

"That man's dog"

The base number of Mixtec nouns is singular. Pluralisation is effected by means of various grammatical and lexical tools. For example, a noun's number can be implicit if the phrase uses a plural pronoun (first person inclusive only) or if one of various verb affixes that modify the meaning are used: -koo and -ngoo (suffixes) and ka- (prefix). A third way to indicate a plural is the (untranslatable) particle jijná'an, which can be placed before or after verbs, pronouns, or nouns.

• Pluralisation indicated by the presence of the first-person-inclusive pronoun

Te máá yó'-kúu ñayuu yúku ndé lugar yá'a

[and same we-are person we-live up-to place this]

"We are the ones who live in this place"

• Pluralisation with affixes: prefix ka- before the verb

Te sukúan kándo'o ñayuu

[And so plural-suffer person]

"In that way people suffer"

• Pluralisation with affixes: suffix -koo after the verb

Te ni-kekoo te̱e ún

[And past-arrived–plural man he]

"The men arrived"

[edit] Conjunctions

Conjunctions serve to join two words, two phrases, or two analogous sentences. Mixtec possesses twelve coordinating conjunctions and ten subordinating conjunctions.

• Coordinating conjunctions:

te (and, but)

te o (but)

jíín (and)

chi (because, and)

chí (or)

á... chí (either... or)

ni... ni... (neither... nor)

sa/sa su'va (but rather that)

yu̱kúan na (then, so)

yu̱kúan (so)

je̱e yu̱kúan (for)

suni (also)

• Subordinating conjunctions:

náva̱'a (so that)

je̱e (that)

sɨkɨ je̱e (because)

nájnu̱n (how)

ve̱sú (although)

núu (if)

na/ níní na (when)

ná/ níní (while)

nde (until, since)

kue̱chi (no more)

[edit] Word order and syntactic emphasis

Mixtec is a Verb Subject Object language. The standard paradigm is shown by an example already given above:

Jiní-de sa̱ñá

[knows-he I]

"he knows me"

However, speakers' situations and intent can affect the syntactic order. Depending on the element on which the emphasis is to be placed, a speaker may begin a prhase with the verb (to emphasise the action), the subject or subject pronoun (to emphasise the agent), or the complement (to emphasise the way, place, time, or other circumstance). This technique, known as hyperbaton, is frequently used in informal Mixtec speech.

[edit] Mixtecan influence on Spanish

In contrast to other languages (such as the Maipurean tongues of the Caribbean or Nahuatl elsewhere in Mexico), Mixtecan contributed relatively few neologisms to Spanish. The list of Mixtec loanwords is short, and their distribution is more or less restricted to those areas where Mixtecan languages are traditionally spoken. Perhaps the most significant contribution was in the field of toponyms, particularly in the western regions of the state of Oaxaca, where several communities are still known by Mixtecan names only: San Juan Ñumí, San Bartolo Yucuañe, Santa Cruz Itundujia, and many more. In Puebla and Guerrero, Mixtec toponomy has been replaced by Nahautl and Castilian names, such as Yucuyuxi, in Puebla, the name of which was changed to Gabino Barreda.

Another trace of Mixtec influence can be found in the phonology of the Spanish of southern Mexico. Mixtecs, whether they speak Mixtecan languages or Spanish, tend to glottalise words that end in a vowel – ie, completely or partially closing the glottis while producing the sound. In addition, the confusion of certain phonemes is common: [t] for [d] substitutions are frequent (while the latter sound exists in Mixtecan, it occurs less often than in Spanish); [b] is confused with [v]; a distinction is made between [j] and [y]; and many speakers encounter difficulties in producing the alveolar trill [rr], which instead comes out like a flap. Since Mixtecan is a tonal language, its characteristic tones are frequently transferred into Spanish, with the stressed syllable of a Spanish word receiving a rising tone. In such cases, of course, the tone carries no phonemic value.

[edit] Mixtecan literature

Prior to the Spanish Conquest in the early 16th century, the native peoples of Mesoamerica maintained several literary genres. Their compositions were transmitted orally, through institutions at which members of the elite would acquire knowledge of literature and other areas of intellectual activity. Those institutions were mostly destroyed in the aftermath of the Conquest, as a result of which most of the indigenous oral tradition was lost for ever. Most of the codices used to record historical events or mythical understanding of the world were destroyed, and the few that remain were taken away from the peoples that created them. Four Mixtec codices are known to survive, narrating the war exploits of the Lord Eight Deer Jaguar Claw. Of these, three are held by European collections, with one still in Mexico. The key to deciperhing these codices was rediscovered only in the mid-20th century, largely through the efforts of Alfonso Caso, as the Mixtec people had lost the understanding of their ancient rules of reading and writing.

However, the early Spanish missionaries undertook the task of teaching indigenous peoples (the nobility in particular) to read and write. Through the efforts of those missionaries, or those of the Hispanicized natives, certain works of indigenous literature were able to survive to the modern day. Over the five centuries that followed the Conquest, Mixtec literature was restricted to the popular sphere. Through music or the way in which certain rituals are carried out, popular Mixtec literature has survived as did for millennia: by means of oral transmission.

It was not until the 1990s that indigenous literature in Mexico took off again. At the vanguard were the Zapotecs of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, who had been recording their language in writing since at least the mid-19th century. Imitating the great cultural movement of the indigenous people of Juchitán de Zaragoza in the 1980s, many native cultures reclaimed their languages as literary vehicles. In 1993 the Asociación de Escritores en Lenguas Indígenas was created and, three years later, the Casa del Escritor en Lengua Indígena. At the same time, the Nezahualcóyotl Prize for indigenous language literature was created, in order to promote writing in Native American tongues.

In the Mixteca region, the literary renaissance has been led by the peoples of the Mixteca Alta, including the cities of Tlaxiaco and Juxtlahuaca. The former has produced such notable writers as Raúl Gatica, who published works by several Mixtec poets in the book Asalto a la palabra, and Juan de Dios Ortiz Cruz, who in addition to collecting the region's lyrical compositions has also produced notable pieces of his own, such as Yunu Yukuninu ("Tree, Hill of Yucuninu"). That piece was later set to music by Lila Downs, one of the leading figures in contemporary Mixtec music; she has recorded several records containing compositions in Mixtec, a language she learnt from her mother.

[edit] References

• This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of November 2007. It was translated by the Spanish Translation of the Week collaboration.

[edit] Bibliography

• (1977): Mixteco de Santa María Peñoles, Oaxaca. El Colegio de México. Mexico City.
• ALEXANDER, María Ruth (1980): Gramática mixteca de Atlatlahuca. Gramatica yuhu sasáu jee cahan nayuu San Esteban Atltlahuca. Instituto Lingüístico de Verano. México. (En español y mixteco) ISBN: n/a
• BRADLEY, C. Henry (1970): A linguistic sketch of Jicaltepec Mixtec. Summer Institute of Linguistics of the University of Oklahoma.
• BRADLEY, C. Henry, y Barbara E. Hollenbach, ed. (1988-1992): Studies in the syntax of Mixtecan languages. Summer Institute of Linguistics - University of Texas at Arlington. Dallas.
• DALY, John P. (1973): A generative syntax of Peñoles Mixtec. Summer Institute of Linguistics of the University of Oklahoma. ISBN: n/a
• MACAULAY, Monica (1996): A Grammar of Chalcatongo Mixtec, Univ. of Calif. Publications in Linguistics. ISBN: 0520098072

[edit] See also

• Mixtec
• Languages of Mexico
• Oto-Manguean languages

[edit] External links

• Techological University of the Mixteca
• SEP textbook in Guerrero Mountain Mixted
• Ethnologue.com (SIL International)
• Mixtec family (SIL-Mexico)
• Magdalena Peñasco Mixtec (SIL-Mexico)
• Tezoatlán Mixtec (SIL-Mexico)
• Spanish–Mixtec dictionary AULEX (Mexico)
• Resources for certain varieties of Mixtec