Silacayoapan is one of the more extensive
Mixtec languages
The Mixtec () languages belong to the Mixtecan group of the Oto-Manguean language family. Mixtec is spoken in Mexico and is closely related to Trique and Cuicatec. The varieties of Mixtec are spoken by over half a million people.2000 census; ...
. It is spoken by 150,000 people in
Puebla
Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
and across the border in
Guerrero
Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
, as well as by emigrants to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Dialects
Egland & Bartholomew found six dialects (with > ≈80% internal intelligibility) which had about 70%
mutual intelligibility
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between different but related language varieties in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intelli ...
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
Vowels
[North and Shields, 1977. pp. 21-39]
Further reading
*
References
Sources
* Shields, Jäna K. 1988
A syntactic sketch of Silacayoapan Mixtec In C. Henry Bradley & Barbara E. Hollenbach (eds.) ''Studies in the syntax of Mixtecan languages'', vol. 1. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics;
rlington:University of Texas at Arlington, pp. 305–449.
Tezoatlán Mixtec(SIL-Mexico)
External links
*
{{Oto-Manguean languages
Mixtec language