Tlapanec language
Encyclopedia
Tlapanec is an indigenous Mexican language spoken by more than 98,000 Tlapanec people
in the state of Guerrero
. Like other Oto-Manguean languages
, it is tonal
and has complex inflectional morphology. The Tlapanec themselves currently refer to their language using the adjective Me'phaa.
Before much information was known about it, Tlapanec (sometimes written "Tlappanec" in earlier publications) was either considered unclassified or linked to the controversial Hokan language
family. It is now definitively considered part of the Oto-Manguean language family, of which it forms its own branch along with the extinct
and very closely related Subtiaba
language of Nicaragua.
Me'phaa people temporarily move to other locations, including Mexico City, Morelos and various locations in the United States, for reasons of work.
lists four principal varieties of Tlapanec:
Other sources of information, including native speakers and the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas
of the Mexican government, identify as many as nine varieties, which have been given official status.
The Azoyú variety is the only natural language
reported to have used the pegative case
.
's radio station XEZV-AM
, broadcasting from Tlapa de Comonfort
, Guerrero
.
Tlapanec people
The Tlapanec people is an ethnic group indigenous to the Mexican state of Guerrero.Their language, Me'phaa, is a part of the Oto-Manguean language family. The now extinct Subtiaba language of Nicaragua was a closely related language...
in the state of Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
. Like other Oto-Manguean languages
Oto-Manguean languages
Oto-Manguean languages are a large family comprising several families of Native American languages. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the family, which is now extinct, was spoken as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.The...
, it is tonal
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
and has complex inflectional morphology. The Tlapanec themselves currently refer to their language using the adjective Me'phaa.
Before much information was known about it, Tlapanec (sometimes written "Tlappanec" in earlier publications) was either considered unclassified or linked to the controversial Hokan language
Hokan languages
The Hokan language family is a hypothetical grouping of a dozen small language families spoken in California, Arizona and Mexico. In nearly a century since Edward Sapir first proposed the "Hokan" hypothesis, little additional evidence has been found that these families were related to each other...
family. It is now definitively considered part of the Oto-Manguean language family, of which it forms its own branch along with the extinct
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
and very closely related Subtiaba
Subtiaba
Subtiaba is an extinct Oto-Manguean language which was spoken on the Pacific slope of Nicaragua. In 1925 Edward Sapir wrote an article based on scant evidence arguing for the inclusion of Subtiaba in his hypothesized Hokan group. Others have linked Subtiaba to the Jicaque and Tol languages, but...
language of Nicaragua.
Me'phaa people temporarily move to other locations, including Mexico City, Morelos and various locations in the United States, for reasons of work.
Dialects
EthnologueEthnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
lists four principal varieties of Tlapanec:
- Acatepec
- Azoyú
- Malinaltepec
- Tlacoapa.
Other sources of information, including native speakers and the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas
Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas
The Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas is a Mexican federal public agency, created 13 March 2003 by the enactment of the Ley General de Derechos Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas by the administration of President Vicente Fox...
of the Mexican government, identify as many as nine varieties, which have been given official status.
The Azoyú variety is the only natural language
Natural language
In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written...
reported to have used the pegative case
Pegative case
In linguistics, the pegative case is a noun case that marks the agent of an action with a dative-like undergoer argument; that is, it marks the agent of a transitive verb that has only a partial or low-intensity effect on the undergoer argument....
.
Media
Tlapanec-language programming is carried by the CDINational Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples
The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples is a decentralized agency of the Mexican Federal Public Administration. It was founded in 2003 as a replacement for the National Indigenist Institute . It has its headquarters in Mexico City and, since 15 December 2006, has been...
's radio station XEZV-AM
XEZV-AM
XEZV-AM is an indigenous community radio station that broadcasts in Spanish, Nahuatl, Mixtec and Tlapanec from Tlapa de Comonfort in the Mexican state of Guerrero....
, broadcasting from Tlapa de Comonfort
Tlapa de Comonfort
Tlapa de Comonfort, often shortened to Tlapa and known as Tinda'i in Mixtec, is a city in the mountain region of the Mexican state of Guerrero. It also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name....
, Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
.