Cuitlatec language
| Cuitlatec | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Mexico |
| Region | Guerrero |
| Extinct | 1960s, with the death of Juana Can |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cuy |
| Glottolog | cuit1236[1] |
Cuitlatec, or Cuitlateco, is an extinct language of Mexico, formerly spoken by an indigenous people known as Cuitlatec.
Contents
Classification[edit]
Cuitlatec has not been convincingly classified as belonging to any language family. It is believed to be language isolate. In their controversial classification of the indigenous languages of the Americas, Greenberg and Ruhlen include Cuitlatec in an expanded Chibchan language family (Macro-Chibchan), along with a variety of other Mesoamerican and South American languages.[2] Hernández suggests a possible relation to the Uto-Aztecan languages.[3]
Geographic distribution[edit]
Cuitlatec was spoken in the state of Guerrero. By the 1930s, Cuitlatec was spoken only in San Miguel Totolapan. The last speaker of the language, Juana Can, is believed to have died in the 1960s.[3]
Phonology[edit]
Consonants[edit]
| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | tʃ | k ɡ | kʷ | ʔ |
| Fricative | ɬ | ʃ | h | |||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||
| Nasal | m | n |
- The sounds /f/, /s/, /r/, and /ɾ/ are found in loan words from Spanish.
Vowels[edit]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɨ | u |
| Low | e | a | o |
Grammar[edit]
Sentences generally follow SVO word order. Adjectives precede the nouns they modify.
References[edit]
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Cuitlatec". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ^ Greenberg, Joseph; Ruhlen, Merritt (2007-09-04). "An Amerind Etymological Dictionary" (pdf) (12 ed.). Stanford: Dept. of Anthropological Sciences Stanford University. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ a b Escalante Hernández, Robert (1962). El Cuitlateco. México, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
Relevant bibliography[edit]
- Susana Drucker, Roberto Escalante, & Roberto J. Weitlaner. 1969. The Cuitlatec. In Evon Z. Vogt, ed., Handbook of Middle American Indians, Ethnology: Vol 7, Chapter 30. University of Texas Press, Austin: 565-575
- McQuown, Norman A. 1945. Fonémica del Cuitlateco. El México Antiguo 5: 239-254.
- Weitlaner, Roberto J. 1939. Notes on the Cuitlatec language. El México Antiguo 4: 363-373.
