Mixtec language
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. Identifying how many Mixtec languages there are in this complex dialect continuum poses challenges at the level of linguistic theory. Depending on the criteria for distinguishing dialects from languages, there may be as many as fifty Mixtec languages.
Language name
The name "Mixteco" is a Nahuatl exonym, from mixtecatl, from mixtli + -catl . Speakers of Mixtec use an expression to refer to their own language, and this expression generally means "sound" or "word of the rain": dzaha dzavui in Classical Mixtec; or "word of the people of the rain", dzaha Ñudzahui in Classical Mixtec.Denominations in various modern Mixtec languages include tu'un savi, tu'un isasi or isavi, tu'un va'a, tnu'u ñuu savi, tno'on dawi, sasau, sahan sau, sahin sau, sahan ntavi, tu'un dau, dahan davi, dañudavi, dehen dau, and dedavi.
Distribution
The traditional range of the Mixtec languages is the region known as La Mixteca, which is shared by the states of Oaxaca, Puebla and Guerrero. Because of migration from this region, mostly as a result of extreme poverty, the Mixtec languages have expanded to Mexico's main urban areas, particularly the State of México and the Federal District, to certain agricultural areas such as the San Quintín valley in Baja California and parts of Morelos and Sonora, and into the United States. In 2012, Natividad Medical Center of Salinas, California had trained medical interpreters bilingual in Mixtec as well as in Spanish; in March 2014, Natividad Medical Foundation launched Indigenous Interpreting+, "a community and medical interpreting business specializing in indigenous languages from Mexico and Central and South America," including Mixtec, Trique, Zapotec, and Chatino.Internal classification
The Mixtec language is a complex set of regional dialects which were already in place at the time of the Spanish Conquest of the Mixteca region. The varieties of Mixtec are sometimes grouped by geographic area, using designations such as those of the Mixteca Alta, the Mixteca Baja, and the Mixteca de la Costa. However, the dialects do not actually follow the geographic areas, and the precise historical relationships between the different varieties have not been worked out. The situation is far more complex than a simple dialect continuum because dialect boundaries are often abrupt and substantial, some likely due to population movements both before and after the Spanish conquest. The number of varieties of Mixtec depends in part on what the criteria are for grouping them, of course; at one extreme, government agencies once recognized no dialectal diversity. Mutual intelligibility surveys and local literacy programs have led SIL International to identify more than 50 varieties which have been assigned distinct ISO codes. Attempts to carry out literacy programs in Mixtec which cross these dialect boundaries have not met with great success. The varieties of Mixtec have functioned as de facto separate languages for hundreds of years with virtually none of the characteristics of a single "language". As the differences are typically as great as between members of the Romance language family, and since unifying sociopolitical factors do not characterize the linguistic complex, they are often referred to as separate languages.Phonology
This section describes the sound systems of Mixtec by each variety.Chalcotongo Mixtec
The table below shows the phonemic inventory of a selected Mixtec language, Chalcotongo Mixtec.Phoneme
Not all varieties of Mixtec have the sibilant. Some do not have the interdental fricative. Some do not have the velar fricative. A few have the affricate. By some analyses, the sounds and are allophones conditioned by nasalization, as are and, also and .
Tone
One of the most characteristic features of Mixtec is its use of tones, a characteristic it shares with all other Otomanguean languages. Despite its importance in the language, the tonal analyses of Mixtec have been many and quite different one from another. Some varieties of Mixtec display complex tone sandhi.It is commonly claimed that Mixtec distinguishes three different tones: high, middle, and low. Tones may be used lexically; for example:
In some varieties of Mixtec, tone is also used grammatically since the vowels or whole syllables with which they were associated historically have been lost.
In the practical writing systems the representation of tone has been somewhat varied. It does not have a high functional load generally, although in some languages tone is all that indicates different aspects and distinguishes affirmative from negative verbs.
Nasalization
The nasalisation of vowels and consonants in Mixtec is an interesting phenomenon that has had various analyses. All of the analyses agree that nasalization is contrastive and that it is somewhat restricted. In most varieties, it is clear that nasalization is limited to the right edge of a morpheme, and spreads leftward until it is blocked by an obstruent. A somewhat more abstract analysis of the Mixtec facts claims that the spreading of nasalization is responsible for the surface "contrast" between two kinds of bilabials, between two kinds of palatals, and even two kinds of coronals. Nasalized vowels which are contiguous to the nasalized variants are less strongly nasalized than in other contexts. This situation is known to have been characteristic of Mixtec for at least the last 500 years since the earliest colonial documentation of the language shows the same distribution of consonants.Glottalization
The glottalization of vowels is a distinctive and interesting contrastive feature of Mixtec languages, as it is of other Otomanguean languages.Yoloxóchitl Mixtec
The sound system of Yoloxóchitl Mixtec is described below.Sound inventory
| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | i • ĩ | u • ũ | |
| Mid | e • ẽ | o • õ | |
| Open | a • ã |
Notes:
- The syllable structure is V; no consonant cluster or consonant coda allowed.
- Oral and nasal vowels are contrastive.
Tone
Writing systems
The Mixtecs, like many other Mesoamerican peoples, developed their own writing system, and their codices that have survived are one of the best sources for knowledge about the pre-Hispanic culture of the Oaxacan region prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. With the defeat of the lordship of Tututepec in 1522, the Mixtecs were brought under Spanish colonial rule, and many of their relics were destroyed. However, some codices were saved from destruction, and are today mostly held by European collections, including the Codex Zouche-Nuttall and the Codex Vindobonensis; one exception is the Codex Colombino, kept by the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.The missionaries who brought the Roman Catholic religion to the Mixtecs set about learning their language and produced several grammars of the Mixtec language, similar in style to Antonio de Nebrija's Gramática Castellana. They also began work on transcribing the Mixtec languages into the Latin alphabet. In recent decades small changes in the alphabetic representation of Mixtec have been put into practice by the Academy of the Mixtec Language. Areas of particular interest include the following:
- The representation of the feature that distinguishes glottalized vowels. Some earlier alphabets used h; more commonly today a special kind of apostrophe is used.
- The representation of the high central unrounded vowel. Some earlier alphabets used y; today a barred-i ' is used.
- The representation of the voiceless velar stop. Most earlier alphabets used c and qu, in line with earlier government policies; today k is more commonly used.
- The representation of tone. Most non-linguistic transcriptions of Mixtec do not fully record the tones. When tone is represented, acute accent over the vowel is typically used to indicate high tone. Mid tone is sometimes indicated with a macron over the vowel, but it may be left unmarked. Low tone is sometimes indicated with a grave accent over the vowel, but it might be left unmarked, or it might be indicated with an underscore to the vowel.
| Symbol | IPA | Example | Meaning | Approximate pronunciation |
| a | a | andívi | sky | Similar to the English a in father |
| ch | tʃ | chitia | banana | Like English ch in chocolate |
| d | ð | de | he | Like English th in father |
| e | e | ve'e | home | Like Spanish e in este |
| g | ɡ | ga̱ | more | Like English g in go |
| i | i | ita̱ | flower | Like English i in machine |
| ɨ | ɨ | kɨni | pig | Like Russian ы or Romanian î |
| j | x | ji̱'in | shall drop | Like the j in Mexican Spanish |
| k | k | kúmi | four | Hard c, like English cool |
| l | l | luu | beautiful | Like Spanish l in letra |
| m | m | ña'ma̱ | shall confess | Like English m in mother |
| n | n | kuná'ín | shall cease | Like English n in no |
| nd | nᵈ | ita ndeyu̱ | orchid | Pronounced similar to an n followed by a slight non-nasal d-like transition to the oral vowel. |
| ng | ŋ | súngo̱o | to settle | Like English ng in eating |
| ñ | ɲ | ñuuyivi | world | Similar to Spanish ñ in caña, but typically without letting the tongue actually touch the hard palate. |
| o | o | chiso | sister-in-law | Similar to English o in toe |
| p | p | pi'lu | piece | Similar to English p in pin |
| r | ɾ | ru'u | I | Is sometimes trilled. |
| s | s | sá'a | cunningness | Like English s in sit |
| t | t | tájí | shall send | Like English t in tin |
| ts | ts | tsi'ina | puppy-dog | Like ț in Romanian or ц in Russian |
| u | u | Nuuyoo | Mexico | Like English u in tune |
| v | β | vilu | cat | Similar to Spanish v in lava |
| x | ʃ | yuxé'é | door | Like the initial sound in English shop |
| y | ʒ | y'uchi | dust | Like English ge in beige |
| ' | ˀ | ndá'a | hand'' | When a vowel is glottalized it is pronounced as if it ends in a glottal stop. It is not uncommon for a glottalized vowel to have an identical but non-glottalized vowel after it. |
One of the main obstacles in establishing an alphabet for the Mixtec language is its status as a vernacular tongue. The social domain of the language is eminently domestic, since federal law requires that all dealings with the state be conducted in Spanish, even though the country's autochthonous languages enjoy the status of "national languages". Few printed materials in Mixtec exist and, up to a few years ago, written literature in the language was practically non-existent. There is little exposure of Mixtec in the media, other than on the CDI's indigenous radio system – XETLA and XEJAM in Oaxaca; XEZV-AM in Guerrero; and XEQIN-AM in Baja California – and a bilingual radio station based in the US in Los Angeles, California, where a significant Mixtec community can be found.
At the same time, the fragmentation of the Mixtec language and its varieties means that texts published in one variety may be utterly incomprehensible to speakers of another. In addition, most speakers are unaware of the official orthography adopted by the SEP and the Mixtec Academy, and some even doubt that their language can lend itself to a written form.
Grammar and syntax
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are richly represented in Mixtec.
First and second person pronouns
Many varieties have distinct "formal" and "informal" pronouns for first person and second person. If addressing a person of his own age or older, the speaker uses the formal pronouns. If addressing a younger person, the speaker uses the informal pronouns. The first person exclusive pronouns may be interpreted as either singular or plural. The second person pronouns may also be interpreted as either singular or plural.It is common to find a first person inclusive form that is interpreted as meaning to include the hearer as well as the speaker.
First and second person pronouns have both independent forms and dependent forms. The dependent forms are used when the pronoun follows a verb and when it follows a noun. The independent forms are used elsewhere.
- Personal pronoun as direct object
- Personal pronoun in preverbal position
- Personal pronoun in normal subject position
Third person pronouns
Interrogative pronouns
Mixtec has two interrogatives, which are na vé and nasaa. The tone of these does not change according to the tense, person, or tone of the surrounding phrase.Verbs
Mixtec verb tenses
Mixtec verbs have no infinitive form. The basic form of the Mixtec verb is the future tense, and many conjugated future verb forms are also used for the present tense. To obtain the present of an irregular verb, the tone is modified in accordance with set of complicated prosodic rules. Another class of irregular verbs beginning with mutate that sound to either or in the present tense. To form the preterite tense, the particle ni- is added. That particle causes a shift in the tone of the following verb and, while the particle itself may be omitted in informal speech, the tonal modification invariably takes place.
Mixtec lacks an imperfect, pluperfect, and all the compound tenses found in other languages. In addition, Mixtec verb conjugations do not have indicators of person or number. A selection of Mixtec sentences exemplifying the three verbal tenses appears below:
- Future
- Present
- Preterite
Verb classes
Causative verbs are verb forms modified by a prefix indicating that the action is performed by the agent of the phrase. Mixtec causative verbs are indicated by the prefix s-. Like other Mixtec particles, the causative prefix leads to a shift in the orthography and pronunciation of the related verb. When the verb to which the prefix is added begins with, that phoneme is transformed into a. Verbs beginning with shift to. There is no difference in future and present causative verbs, but the past tense is invariably indicated by adding the particle ni-.
;Repetitive verbs
The prefix na- indicates that the action of the related verb is being performed for a second occasion. This means that there is a repetition of the action, made by the subject of the sentence or another unidentified agent.
The pronunciation of some irregular verbs changes in the repetitive form. For example, certain verbs beginning with take o the instead of na- particle. In addition, there are some verbs that never appear without this prefix: in other words, it is part of their structure.
;Copulative verbs
Copulative verbs establish links between two nouns, a noun and an adjective, or a noun and a pronoun. Mixtec has four such verbs:
- kuu
- nduu
- koo
- káá
;Descriptive verbs
Descriptive verbs are a special class that can be used as either verbs or adjectives. One of these verbs followed by a pronoun is all that is needed to form a complete sentence in Mixtec. Descriptives are not conjugated: they always appear in the present tense. To give the same idea in the past or future tenses, a copulative verb must be used.
;Modal verbs
Modal verbs are a small group that may be followed by another verb. Only the relative pronoun jee̱ can occasionally appear between a modal and its associated verb, except in sentences involving kuu.
- Modal kuu
- Modal kánuú
Verb moods
The indicative mood describes actions in real life that have occurred, are occurring, or will occur. The verb forms of the indicative mood are described above, in the section on verb tenses.
;Imperative mood
Imperatives are formed by adding the particle -ni to the future indicative form of the verb. In informal speech, the simple future indicative is frequently used, although the pronoun ró may be appended. There are three irregular verbs with imperative forms different from their future indicative. Negative imperatives are formed by adding the word má, the equivalent of "don't".
;Subjunctive mood
In Mixtec, the subjunctive mood serves as a mild command. It is formed by placing the particle na before the future form of the verb. When used in the first person, it gives the impression that the speaker closely reflects on the action before performing it.
;Counter-factual mood
The counter-factual mood indicates that the action was not performed or remained incomplete. To form the past counter-factual, ní is added and the tones of the verb change from preterite to present. A counter-factual statement not accompanied by a subordinate clause acquires the meaning "If only..." The particle núú can be added at the end of the main or subordinate clauses, should the speaker wish, with no change in meaning. Examples are shown below:
- Use of counter-factual verbs, formed by changing the tone of the past indicative.
- Use of a simple counter-factual sentence
- Use of a simple counter-factual sentence, with núú.
- Use of a simple counter-factual sentence, with núu
- Use of a simple counter-factual with modal, in future tense
Nouns
- Nouns as modifiers:
- Modifiers possessing the nucleus of the phrase:
- Pluralisation indicated by the presence of the first-person-inclusive pronoun
- Pluralisation with affixes: prefix ka- before the verb
- Pluralisation with affixes: suffix -koo after the verb
Demonstratives
Conjunctions
serve to join two words, two phrases, or two analogous sentences. Mixtec possesses twelve coordinating conjunctions and ten subordinating conjunctions.- Coordinating conjunctions:
- Subordinating conjunctions:
Word order in the clause
Mixtec influence on Spanish
Perhaps the most significant contribution of the Mixtec language to Mexican Spanish is in the field of place names, particularly in the western regions of the state of Oaxaca, where several communities are still known by Mixtec names : San Juan Ñumí, San Bartolo Yucuañe, Santa Cruz Itundujia, and many more. In Puebla and Guerrero, Mixtec place names have been displaced by Nahuatl and Spanish names. An example is Yucu Yuxin, which is now known as Gabino Barreda.Spanish words use in Mixtec language are also those that were brought by the Spanish like some fruits and vegetables. An example is limun, which is known as lemon, also refer as tzikua Iya.
Mixtec literature
Prior to the Spanish Conquest in the early 16th century, the native peoples of Mesoamerica maintained several literary genres. Their compositions were transmitted orally, through institutions at which members of the elite would acquire knowledge of literature and other areas of intellectual activity. Those institutions were mostly destroyed in the aftermath of the Conquest, as a result of which most of the indigenous oral tradition was lost forever. Most of the codices used to record historical events or mythical understanding of the world were destroyed, and the few that remain were taken away from the peoples that created them.Four Mixtec codices are known to survive, narrating the war exploits of the Lord Eight Deer Jaguar Claw. Of these, three are held by European collections, with one still in Mexico.
The key to deciphering these codices was rediscovered only in the mid-20th century, largely through the efforts of Alfonso Caso, as the Mixtec people had lost the understanding of their ancient rules of reading and writing.
However, the early Spanish missionaries undertook the task of teaching indigenous peoples to read and write using the Latin alphabet. Through the efforts of the missionaries and, perhaps more so, of the Hispanicized natives, certain works of indigenous literature were able to survive to the modern day. Of the half-dozen varieties of Mixtec recognized in the 16th century, two in particular were preferred for writing, those of Teposcolula/Tilantongo and Achiutla/Tlaxiaco in Mixteca Alta. Over the five centuries that followed the Conquest, Mixtec literature was restricted to the popular sphere. Through music or the way in which certain rituals are carried out, popular Mixtec literature has survived as it did for millennia: by means of oral transmission.
It was not until the 1990s that indigenous literature in Mexico took off again. At the vanguard were the Zapotecs of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, who had been recording their language in writing since at least the mid-19th century. Imitating the great cultural movement of the indigenous people of Juchitán de Zaragoza in the 1980s, many native cultures reclaimed their languages as literary vehicles. In 1993 the Asociación de Escritores en Lenguas Indígenas was created and, three years later, the Casa del Escritor en Lengua Indígena. At the same time, the Nezahualcóyotl Prize for indigenous language literature was created, in order to promote writing in Native American tongues.
In the Mixteca region, the literary renaissance has been led by the peoples of the Mixteca Alta, including the cities of Tlaxiaco and Juxtlahuaca. The former has produced such notable writers as Raúl Gatica, who published works by several Mixtec poets in the book Asalto a la palabra, and Juan de Dios Ortiz Cruz, who in addition to collecting the region's lyrical compositions has also produced notable pieces of his own, such as Yunu Yukuninu. That piece was later set to music by Lila Downs, one of the leading figures in contemporary Mixtec music; she has recorded several records containing compositions in Mixtec, a language spoken by her mother.