The Otomi language is an indigenous language of Mexico, spoken across a number of central Mexican states by the ethnic group widely known as the Otomi but who refer to themselves as Hñähñu (or similar, depending on the language variant). Mexico has an enormous linguistic diversity apart from Spanish, the government recognizes 62 indigenous Amerindian languages as national languages The Otomi are an indigenous people of central Mexico. Some groups of Otomí self-identify as Hñähñu (ʰɲɔʰɲuː but the exact Autonym ^[1] Otomi belongs to the Oto-Manguean linguistic family but as a Mesoamerican language it also shows many of the traits defining the Mesoamerican Linguistic Area. Oto-Manguean languages (also Otomanguean) are a large family comprised of several families of Native American languages. Mesoamerican languages are the Languages indigenous to the Mesoamerican cultural area which covers southern Mexico, all of Guatemala The Mesoamerican Linguistic Area is a Sprachbund containing many of the languages natively spoken in the cultural area of Mesoamerica. Along with some 62 other indigenous languages, it is recognised by a statutory law of Mexico^[2] as an official language in the Mexican Federal District and the other administrative divisions in which it is spoken, and on an equal footing with Spanish. Statutory law or statute law is written Law (as opposed to oral or Customary law) set down by a Legislature or other governing The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico

Geographic distribution

Otomi-speaking areas in Mexico

Variants of the Otomi language are spoken particularly in the Valle de Mezquital region of Hidalgo State and in the southern portion of Querétaro, with present-day numbers totalling some 200,000 speakers (some 5 to 6 percent of whom are monolingual). Querétaro (former formal name Querétaro Arteaga) is a state in central Mexico. Monoglottism ( Greek monos, "alone solitary" + glotta, "tongue language" or more commonly monolingualism or unilingualism The largest populations of Otomi speakers are found in the states of Hidalgo (Valle de Mezquital), México, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. Mexico State or State of Mexico (often abbreviated to " Edomex " from Estado de México in Spanish) is a state in the Is a Mexican state located in the center east of the country to the east of Mexico City. Querétaro (former formal name Querétaro Arteaga) is a state in central Mexico. Tlaxcala (tlasˈkala is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located to the east of Mexico City. Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states that constitute the republic of Mexico.

Otomi is an endangered language, as there are relatively few younger speakers. This is true especially for the states of Mexico, Hidalgo and Tlaxcala.

Classification

The closest relatives of the Otomi languages are the Mazahua, Matlatzinca and Ocuilteco/Tlahuica languages, which together with Otomi form the Otomian subgroup of the Oto-Pamean branch of the Oto-Manguean linguistic family. The Mazahua language is an indigenous language of Mexico, spoken in the country's central states by the ethnic group widely known as the Mazahua but The Matlatzinca language, also called Tlahuica or Ocuiltec, is an indigenous language of Mexico spoken by the Matlatzinca people in the The Matlatzinca language, also called Tlahuica or Ocuiltec, is an indigenous language of Mexico spoken by the Matlatzinca people in the The Oto-Pamean language group is a subdivision of the Oto-Manguean languages which includes all variants of the Otomian languages Otomi, Mazahua, Matlatzinca Oto-Manguean languages (also Otomanguean) are a large family comprised of several families of Native American languages. List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family

In the 19th century, some scholars held that Otomi was related to Chinese, on the grounds of their supposedly shared monosyllabic word structure. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar ^[3] This view is now discredited. However, Gavin Menzies writes in his 2002 book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World that the Otomi people speak Chinese, and takes this as evidence for the Chinese having visited America before Columbus. Rowan Gavin Paton Menzies (born 1937 is a retired British submarine commander and amateur historian best known as the author of the controversial book 1421 The Year China See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. 1421 The Year China Discovered the World is a Book written by retired submarine commander and amateur historian Gavin Menzies positing that Chinese ^[4]

Dialects

Phonology

The phonologies of Otomian languages are generally quite complicated and their linguistic description is inconsistently documented. Is a Mexican state located in the center east of the country to the east of Mexico City. Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Mexico State or State of Mexico (often abbreviated to " Edomex " from Estado de México in Spanish) is a state in the Mexico State or State of Mexico (often abbreviated to " Edomex " from Estado de México in Spanish) is a state in the Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning The orthography for Otomi dialects has been a focus of controversy for many years. The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific Writing system to write the language D. Bartholomew , is a leading advocate for the illustration of tone in any discussion of Otomi. H. R. Bernard on the other hand, has noted the desirability of vowels in a practical spelling/orthography of Otomi.

Otomi is a tonal language, although the exact number of tones vary according to each dialect and the phonological analysis used. A tonal language is a language that uses tone to distinguish words It has fairly asymmetric inventories of vowels and consonants, with for example only some consonants contrasting in sonority and place of articulation. In Articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation (also point of articulation) of a Consonant is the point of contact where an Obstruction The phonemic inventory given below is based on the particular phonology of the Otomi de la Sierra dialect as documented by Voigtlander and Echegoyen ().

Consonants

Vowels

Tones and prosody

There are two tones: high and low, which can also be combined to make a falling and a rising tone. In Phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a Consonant articulated with both Lips The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet In Linguistics, a dental consonant or dental is a Consonant that is articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth such as /t/ /d/ /n/ and Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Palatal consonants are Consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the Hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth Glottal consonants are Consonants articulated with the Glottis. A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into In Phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of Consonantal sound which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator (such as the Approximants are speech sounds ( Phonemes) that could be regarded as intermediate between Vowels and typical Consonants In the articulation of approximants A front vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far forward A central vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between A back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as A close vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in many spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as The open-mid vowels make a class of Vowel sounds used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned A mid vowel is a Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an An open vowel is a Vowel sound of a type used in most spoken Languages The defining characteristic of an open vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far as Stress is not phonemic but falls predictably on every other syllable.

Grammar

Otomi is a VOS (Verb Object Subject) language: ho ka ra 'ngu, 'he makes the houses'. In Linguistic typology, Verb Object Subject or Verb Object Agent - commonly used in its abbreviated form VOS or VOA - represents the language-classification Its morphology is characterized by an extensive use of often portmanteauoid clitics. In Linguistics, a clitic is a grammatically independent and phonologically dependent Word. It has an inclusive exclusive distinction for first and second person plural forms. Because Otomi has a rigid prosodic structure, many affixes have two different forms (one monosyllabic and one polysyllabic), the use of which is distinguished in order to achieve the rhythmic effect. In Otomi the words are formed by adding two different terms together or the addition of an affix. Manual Orozco records ka-ye as the Otomi word for 'holy man'. This term is formed by ka 'holy' and ye 'man'. Another word is da-ma, 'mature woman'. This word is formed by ma, 'woman', and da, 'mature, ripe'.

Media

Otomi-language programming is carried by the CDI's radio stations XETUMI-AM, broadcasting from Tuxpan, Michoacán, and XECARH-AM, based in Cardonal, Hidalgo. The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples ( Spanish: Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas, CDI is a decentralized XETUMI-AM ( La Voz Mazahua Otomí – "The Mazahua Otomi Voice" is an indigenous Community radio station that broadcasts in Tuxpan is a small village in between Zitácuaro and Ciudad Hidalgo in the Mexican state of Michoacán. XECARH-AM ( La Voz del Pueblo Ñha-ñhu – "The Voice of the Ñha-ñhu People "is an indigenous Community radio station

Notes

References