Nowadays, Tepehuán language has become a topic of great relevance in our society. Whether due to its impact on people's daily lives, its influence in the economic, political or social sphere, or its relevance in the historical context, Tepehuán language has captured the attention and interest of millions of people around the world. In this article, we will explore the different aspects related to Tepehuán language, from its origins to its current evolution, including its impact on different areas of human life. Furthermore, we will analyze the future prospects of Tepehuán language and the possible implications it has for the future of society.
Tepehuán | |
---|---|
O'otham | |
Native to | Mexico |
Region | Chihuahua, Durango |
Ethnicity | Tepehuán |
Native speakers | 55,000 (2020 census) |
Dialects | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:ntp – Northern Tepehuánstp – Southeastern Tepehuántla – Southwestern Tepehuántep – Tepecano |
Glottolog | tepe1281 |
Northern Tepehuán is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Southwestern Tepehuán is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Tepehuán (Tepehuano) is the name of three closely related languages of the Piman branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, all spoken in northern Mexico. The language is called O'otham by its speakers.
Northern Tepehuán is spoken by about 10,000 people (2020 census) in several settlements in Guadalupe y Calvo and Guachochi, Chihuahua, as well as in the north of Durango.
Southern Tepehuán is spoken by about 45,000 people, about equally divided into:
Southern Tepehuán coexists with the Mexicanero language; there is some intermarriage between the two ethnic groups, and a number of speakers are trilingual in Mexicanero, Tepehuán and Spanish.
Tepehuán-language programming is carried by the CDI's radio stations XEJMN-AM, broadcasting from Jesús María, Nayarit, and XETAR, based in Guachochi, Chihuahua.
Tepehuán is an agglutinative language, in which words use suffix complexes for a variety of purposes with several morphemes strung together.
The following is representative of the Northern dialect of Tepehuan.
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | ɨ | u |
Mid | o | ||
Open | a |
Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | voiceless | p | t | tʲ | k | |
voiced | b | d | dʲ | ɡ | ||
Affricate | t͡ʃ | |||||
Fricative | v | s | ʃ | x | ||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | |||
Rhotic | r | |||||
Approximant | l |
Nasal consonants /n, ɲ/ become [ŋ] when preceding a velar consonant.
The following is representative of the Southeastern dialect of Tepehuan.
Front | Back | ||
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | ɯ | u |
Mid | ʌ | o | |
Open | ɑ |
Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | ʔ | ||
voiced | b | d | ɡ | ||||
Affricate | voiceless | t͡ʃ | |||||
voiced | d͡ʒ | ɣ͡ʎ | |||||
Fricative | v | s | ʃ | h | |||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ||||
Rhotic | ɾ | ||||||
Approximant | (l) | j |
/v/ is sometimes realized as [f] in word-final position. /l/ appears only in loanwords from Spanish.
Northern Tepehuan:
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Southeastern Tepehuan:
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