Morelos Nahuatl Explained

Morelos Nahuatl
States:Mexico
Region:Morelos
Date:2000 census
Ref:e18
Familycolor:Uto-Aztecan
Fam1:Uto-Aztecan
Fam2:Aztecan (Nahuan)
Fam3:Nahuatl
Fam4:Central Nahuatl
Fam5:Nuclear
Iso3:nhm
Glotto:more1259
Glottorefname:Morelos Nahuatl

Morelos Nahuatl includes varieties of the Nahuatl language that are spoken in the state of Morelos, Mexico. In Morelos, Nahuatl is spoken in the communities of Cuentepec, Hueyapan, Santa Catarina, Xoxocotla, Atlacholoayan and Tetelcingo. But Tetelcingo Nahuatl is usually considered a separate variety due to its highly innovative phonology, and has very low mutual intelligibility with the other Morelos variants. Ethnologue also considers the varieties of San Felipe Tocla and Alpanocan to belong to the Morelos Nahuatl group of dialects although they are located in the state of Puebla.[1] The dialects belong to the Central dialects closely related to Classical Nahuatl.[2]

Phonology

The following description is that of the Santa Catarina Morelos dialect:[3]

Consonants

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
centrallateralplainlabial
Nasalpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Plosivepronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Affricatepronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Fricativepronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Approximantpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
/n/ can be heard as [ŋ] when before velar consonants.

Vowels

FrontBack
Highpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /ink/
Midpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /ink/
Lowpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /ink/

External links

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Gordon, Raymond G. Jr. . 2005 . Ethnologue: Languages of the World . Fifteenth . online version . . Dallas, TX . 1-55671-159-X . 60338097. 2006-12-06.
  2. Canger, Una . Una Canger. 1988 . Nahuatl dialectology: A survey and some suggestions . . 54 . 1 . 28–72 . Chicago . . 10.1086/466074 . 1753556 .
  3. Book: Betancourt, Ignacio Guzmán . Gramática del Náhuatl de Santa Catarina, Morelos . México : Secretaría de Educación Pública, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia . 2020.