Mexicanero
Encyclopedia
Mexicanero is the name used by the speakers of the variety of the Nahuatl language
spoken in southern Durango
to refer to their language. It is a member of the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan
language family. It has around 1000 speakers in the remote towns of San Pedro Jícora and San Juan Buenaventura in the Mezquital
municipality, where they coexist with speakers of Tepehuán
. Mexicanero is one of the peripheral Nahuatl dialects
. It uses the -lo suffix to express plurality of subject. Due to the loss of certain syllables it has acquired phonemic stress
.
Nahuatl dialects
The many dialects of the Nahuatl language belong to the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, and form a group of linguistic varieties spoken in central Mexico...
spoken in southern Durango
Durango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
to refer to their language. It is a member of the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan
Uto-Aztecan languages
Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found from the Great Basin of the Western United States , through western, central and southern Mexico Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family...
language family. It has around 1000 speakers in the remote towns of San Pedro Jícora and San Juan Buenaventura in the Mezquital
Mezquital
Mezquital is one of the 39 municipalities of Durango, in north-western Mexico. The municipal seat lies at San Francisco del Mezquital. The municipality covers an area of 7,196.5 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 30,069....
municipality, where they coexist with speakers of Tepehuán
Tepehuán language
Tepehuán is the name of two closely related languages of the Piman branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, both spoken in northern Mexico...
. Mexicanero is one of the peripheral Nahuatl dialects
Nahuatl dialects
The many dialects of the Nahuatl language belong to the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, and form a group of linguistic varieties spoken in central Mexico...
. It uses the -lo suffix to express plurality of subject. Due to the loss of certain syllables it has acquired phonemic stress
Stress (linguistics)
In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. The term is also used for similar patterns of phonetic prominence inside syllables. The word accent is sometimes also used with this sense.The stress placed...
.