''Yokotʼan'' (self-denomination), also known as Chontal Maya, is a
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
of the
Cholan family spoken in 2020 by around 60 thousand
Chontal Maya people
The Chontal Maya are a Maya people of the Mexican state of Tabasco. "Chontal", from the Nahuatl word for ''chontalli'', which means "foreigner", has been applied to various ethnic groups in Mexico. The Chontal refer to themselves as the Yokot'ano ...
of the Mexican state of
Tabasco
Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It is located in ...
.
[ According to the National Catalog of Indigenous Languages of Mexico- INALI]
Yokotʼan
has at least four dialects: Nacajuca
Nacajuca is a city in Nacajuca Municipality in the state of Tabasco, Mexico. It is part of the Chontalapa region in the north center of the state and a major center of Tabasco's Chontal Maya population. Although the local economy is still based on ...
(Central), Centla
Centla is a municipality in Tabasco in south-eastern Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
(Northern), Macuspana
Macuspana is a city in Macuspana Municipality in the south-central part of the state of Tabasco in southeastern Mexico. The city of Macuspana had a 2005 census population of 30,661 and is the fifth-largest city in the state. It is the municipal ...
(Southern) and Tamulte (Eastern).
Distribution
The Chontal Maya are concentrated in 159 settlements in 5 municipalities of Tabasco
Tabasco is a state in Southeast Mexico that is divided into 17 municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican Census, it has the 20th largest population with inhabitants and is the 24th largest by land area spanning .
Municipalities in Tabasco ...
(Brown 2005:122).
*Centla
Centla is a municipality in Tabasco in south-eastern Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
*Centro
Centro may refer to:
Places Brazil
*Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
* Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
*Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Duq ...
*Jonuta
Jonuta Municipality is a municipality in Tabasco in south-eastern Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United State ...
*Macuspana
Macuspana is a city in Macuspana Municipality in the south-central part of the state of Tabasco in southeastern Mexico. The city of Macuspana had a 2005 census population of 30,661 and is the fifth-largest city in the state. It is the municipal ...
*Nacajuca
Nacajuca is a city in Nacajuca Municipality in the state of Tabasco, Mexico. It is part of the Chontalapa region in the north center of the state and a major center of Tabasco's Chontal Maya population. Although the local economy is still based on ...
(comprising more than 50% of the Chontal Maya population)
Some Chontal settlements near the town of Nacajuca include (Brown 2005:116):
*El Tigre
*Saloya
*Guatacaloa
*Olcuatitan
*Tucta
*Mazatehuapa
*Tapotzingo
*Guaytalpa
*San Simón
*Tecoluta
*Oxiacapue
*Guadalupe
*El Sitio
*Tamulte
Some Chontal settlements in the northeastern Centla region include (Brown 2005:116):
*Cuauhtemoc
*Vicente Guerrero
*Allende
*Simón Sarlat
*Quitin Arauz (on the Río Usumacinta)
Chontal settlements near Macuspana include Benito Juárez and Aquiles Serdan (Brown 2005).
Phonology
Consonants
Vowels
References
Brown, Denise Fay. 2005. "The Chontal Maya of Tabasco." In Sandstrom, Alan R., and Enrique Hugo García Valencia. 2005. ''Native peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
*Keller, Kathryn C. and Plácido Luciano G., compilers. 1997. ''Diccionario Chontal de Tabasco''.
Knowles, Susan Marie. 1984. "A descriptive grammar of Chontal Maya (San Carlos dialect)." Thesis (Ph. D.)--Tulane University, 1984.
"La lengua maya-chontal de Tabasco / elección de textos y edición, Tomás Pérez Suárez" 1984. Emiliano Zapata, Tabasco, Mexico : Editora Municipal, H. Ayuntamiento Constitucional (1983–1985), 1984.
Agglutinative languages
Mayan languages
Mesoamerican languages
Indigenous languages of Mexico
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