Ocuiltec language

Ocuiltec
Tlahuica
pjyɇkakjó[1][2]
Native toMexico
RegionState of Mexico
EthnicityMatlatzinca (Tlahuica)
Native speakers
100 (2011)[3]
2,238 (2020)[4]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ocu
Glottologatzi1235
ELP
Map of Matlatzinca languages
Matlatzinca-Atzinca-Pirinda languages. Extension at the beginning of 20th century and earlier extension in 16th century

Ocuiltec, also known as Tlahuica and Atzingo Matlatzinca, is a moribund language of Central Mexico closely related to Matlatzinca and Pirinda.[5]

Ocuiltec is spoken primarily in the municipality of Ocuilan in the villages Cinco Caminos, Colonia Doctor Gustavo Baz, El Capulín, El Totoc (San José Totoc), Lomas de Teocaltzingo (Loma de Tecalzingo), Ocuilán de Artéaga, San Juan Atzingo, Santa Lucía, Santa Martha, and Santa María Nativitas.[1][4][6] It may have been spoken in the adjacent area of Morelos, though Matlatzinca could have also existed in it.[7]

Due to the extremely small speaking population and the unfavourable age structure, Ocuiltec is highly endangered. In the 2000 census, only 26 persons under the age of 20 were registered as speakers of Ocuiltec.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Nasal m n (ɲ) (ŋ)
Plosive p t k kʷ ʔ
Affricate t͡s t͡ʃ
Fricative β s ʃ h
Rhotic ɾ
Approximant l j w
  • /n/ is heard as velar [ŋ] when before velar stops.
  • Sounds /m, n, (ɲ), l, j, w/ all become voiceless [m̥, n̥, (ɲ̊), l̥, j̊, w̥] when in groups with /h/.
  • Stop sounds /p, t, t͡s, t͡ʃ, k, kʷ/ are voiced as [b, d, d͡z, d͡ʒ, ɡ, ɡʷ] when following nasals.
  • /l/ may be heard as voiceless [l̥] in word-final or syllable-final positions.
  • /w/ may be heard as a labialized fricative [ɣʷ] in intervocalic positions.
  • Sounds /p, (b), m/ may also be heard as labialized [pʷ, (bʷ), mʷ] when preceding /ɨ/.
  • Sounds /t, (d), l, n/ may tend to palatalize as [tʲ, (dʲ), lʲ, nʲ~ɲ] when before high vowels /i, ɨ, u/.
  • Other sounds such as /f, r/, are heard from Spanish loanwords.

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː ɨ ɨː u uː
Mid ɛ ɛː ə əː ɔ ɔː
Open a aː
  • /i/ is heard as [ɪ] in closed syllables.
  • Vowels may also be heard as nasalized [Ṽ] when preceding nasal consonants.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Tlahuica", Catálogo de las lenguas indígenas nacionales: Variantes lingüísticas de México con sus autodenominaciones y referencias geoestadísticas (PDF), Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indigenas, 14 January 2008, p. 105 – via Diario Oficial de la Federación
  2. ^ Sabino Nava, Rocío, "¿Somos Ocuiltecos, Atzincas, Tlahuicas o Pjiekakjo?", Estudios de Cultura Otopame, vol. 7, no. 1
  3. ^ Ocuiltec at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  4. ^ a b Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.
  5. ^ Muntzel, M. C (2003). The structure of Ocuilteco (PhD). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
  6. ^ Palancar, Enrique L (2016), Oto-Pamean
  7. ^ Maldonado, Druzo (1990), Cuauhnáhuac y Huaxtepec (tlahuicas y xochimilcas en el Morelos Prehispánico), p. 25, En relación a la lengua que probablemente se hablaba en Morelos antes de la llegada del náhuatl, Smith sugiere en base a inferencias arqueológicas y documentales que, matlatzinca [y/o ocuilteca] se hablaba en el oeste, y mixteco y/o popoloca al este (1983:21)
  8. ^ Muntzel, Martha C.; Nestor, Natividad González (2017). Tlahuica de San Juan Atzingo, Ocuilan, Estado de México. México: El Colegio de México.


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