Huasteca Nahuatl

Huasteca Nahuatl is a Nahuan language spoken by over a million people in the region of La Huasteca in Mexico, centered in the states of Hidalgo (Eastern) and San Luis Potosí (Western).^[2]

Ethnologue divides Huasteca Nahuatl into three languages: Eastern, Central, and Western, as they judge that separate literature is required, but notes that there is 85% mutual intelligibility between Eastern and Western.^[3]

XEANT-AM radio broadcasts in Huasteca Nahuatl.

Huasteca Nahuatl is spoken in the following municipalities in the states of Hidalgo, Veracruz, and San Luis Potosí.^[4]

Hidalgo (121,818 speakers)

• Huejutla de Reyes (56,377 speakers)
• Huautla (18,444 speakers)
• Yahualica (14,584 speakers)
• Xochiatipan (12,990 speakers)
• Atlapexco (12,445 speakers)
• Jaltocan (6,978 speakers)

Veracruz (98,162 speakers)

• Chicontepec (41,678 speakers)
• Ixhuatlán de Madero (21,682 speakers)
• Benito Juárez (11,793 speakers)
• Ilamantlan (9,689 speakers)
• Ixcatepec (6,949 speakers)
• Zontecomatlán (6,371 speakers)

San Luis Potosí (108,471 speakers)

• Tamazunchale (35,773 speakers)
• Axtla de Terrazas (17,401 speakers)
• Xilitla (16,646 speakers)
• Matlapa (16,286 speakers)
• Coxcatlan (12,300 speakers)
• Chalchicuautla (10,065 speakers)

The following description is that of Eastern Huasteca.

Huasteca Nahuatl currently has several proposed orthographies, most prominent among them those of the Instituto de Docencia e Investigación Etnológica de Zacatecas (IDIEZ),^[5] Mexican government publications, and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL).^[6]

IDIEZ

• Their orthography is based on the evolution of Classical Nahuatl. It is somewhat of a deep orthography based on morphology since it aims to provide a unified system across regions.
• uses ⟨ca⟩, ⟨que⟩, ⟨qui⟩, ⟨co⟩ for /k/
• takes morphology into account
• uses ⟨za⟩, ⟨ce⟩, ⟨ci⟩, ⟨zo⟩ for /s/
• uses ⟨h⟩ for /h/

Mexican government publications

• Is influenced by modern Spanish conventions and is a very surface-based orthography. It aims to provide easy literacy across regions but with a different writing system in each one.
• uses ⟨k⟩ for /k/
• does not take morphology into account
• uses ⟨s⟩ for /s/
• uses ⟨j⟩ for /h/

SIL

• Somewhat based on modern Spanish conventions, mostly surface-based orthography as well but does not completely dispose of Classical Nahuatl conventions.
• uses ⟨ca⟩, ⟨que⟩, ⟨qui⟩, ⟨co⟩ for /k/
• does not take morphology into account
• uses ⟨s⟩ for /s/
• uses ⟨j⟩ for /h/

Sample text: 'a book about my location.'

• IDIEZ: ce tlahcuilolli tleh campa niitztoc.
• Government: se tlajkuiloli tlej kampa niitstok
• SIL: se tlajcuiloli tlej campa niitztoc

Central Huasteca Nahuatl test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator