Silacayoapan Mixtec
StatesMexico
RegionOaxaca, Guerrero
Speakersin Mexico
Date1990–2011
Refe18
Familycoloroto-manguean
Fam 1Oto-Manguean
Fam 2Mixtecan
Fam 3Mixtec
Fam 4Silacayoapan–Cacaloxtepec
Lc 1mks
Ld 1Silacayoapan
Lc 2mxb
Ld 2Tezoatlán
Lc 3vmc
Ld 3Juxtlahuaca
Lc 4mim
Ld 4Alacatlatzala (Cahuatache)
Lc 5mxv
Ld 5Metlatónoc (San Rafael)
Lc 6xta
Ld 6Alcozauca
Lc 7jmx
Ld 7Coicoyán (Western Juxtlahuaca)
Lc 8mxa
Ld 8Portezuelo (Northwest Oaxaca)
Glottocent2266
GlottonameCentral Baja Mixtec
Glotto 2sout3179
Glottoname 2Southern Baja Mixtec
Glotto 3guer1245
Glottoname 3Guerrero Mixtec
Glotto 4tezo1238
Glottoname 4Tezoatlan Mixtec
Elp10527
ElpnameCentral Baja Mixtec
Elp 210530
Elpname 2Guerrero Mixtec
Elp 310536
Elpname 3Tezoatlan Mixtec
Elp 410535
Elpname 4Southern Baja Mixtec (shared)

Silacayoapan is one of the more extensive Mixtec languages. It is spoken by 150,000 people in Puebla and across the border in Guerrero, as well as by emigrants to the United States.

Dialects

Egland & Bartholomew[1] found six dialects (with > ≈80% internal intelligibility) which had about 70% mutual intelligibility with each other:

  • Metlatónoc (Metlatónoc, San Rafael, Tlacoachistlahuaca, Cochoapa), Alcozauca (Alcozauca, Xochapa, Petlacalancingo)
  • Portezuelo (Santos Reyes Yucuná, Guadalupe Portezuelo, San Simón Zahuatlán)
  • Coicoyán (San Martín Peras Cuatzoquitengo, Río Frijol, Santa Cruz Yucucani, San José Yoxocaño, Malvabisco, Rancho Limón, Río Aguacate, Boca de Mamey)
  • (varieties within ≈75% of Silacayoapan proper)
    • Juxtlahuaca (San Sebastián Tecomaxtlahuaca, San Miguel Tlacotepec, Santos Reyes Tepejillo, Santa María Tindú, San Martín Duraznos)
    • Alacatlatzala (Alacatlatzala, Cahuatache, Tenaztalcingo, Jilotepec, Zacatipa, Tototepec, Cuba Libre, San Isidro Labrador, Quiahuitlatlatzala, Xonacatlán, Tepecocatlán, Cuautipa, Ocuapa, Potoichan)
    • Silacayoapan
      • Silacayoapan proper (Santo Domingo Tonalá, San Jorge Nuchita)
      • Tezoatlán (Yucuquimi de Ocampo, San Andrés Yutatío, Yucuñuti de Benito Juárez, San Juan Diquiyú, San Marcos de Garzón, San Martín del Río, Santa Catarina Yotandú, San Isidro de Zaragoza, San Valentín de Gomez)
      • (other towns) Ixpantepec Nieves, Santiago Tamazola, Atenango, San Miguel Ahuehuetitlán

Ethnologue counts (Santa María) Yucunicoco Mixtec with Juxtlahuaca Mixtec. However, Egland & Bartholomew found it to have only 50% intelligible with Juxtlahuaca. Comprehension of Mixtepec is 85%, but in the other direction only 45%.

Phonology

Consonants

BilabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Plosivevoicelessptk   ʔ
prenasalᵐbⁿdⁿdʒᵑɡ
Nasalmnɲ
Fricativevoicelesssʃx
voicedβðʒ
Approximantlj
Rhoticɾ

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Closei   ĩʉu   ũ
Close-Mide   o   õ
Opena   ã

[2][3]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Egland & Bartholomew (1983) La Inteligibilidad Interdialectal en México
  2. ^ North and Shields, 1977. pp. 21-39
  3. ^ Shields 1988.

Sources