Northwestern Otomi is a
Native American language of central
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 south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Varieties
There are two varieties with limited (c. 78%) intelligibility, sometimes considered separate languages:
*Mezquital Otomi (''Otomà del Valle del Mezquital''). The autonym is ''Hñahñu''
[Lastra 2006 p. 57, Wright Carr 2005] It is spoken in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Hidalgo
Hidalgo may refer to:
People
* Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility
* Hidalgo (surname)
Places
Mexico
* Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico
* Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila
* Hidalgo, Nuevo Leà ...
, especially in the
Mezquital Valley
The Mezquital Valley ( ote, B’ot’ähi) is a series of small valleys and flat areas located in Central Mexico, about north of Mexico City, located in the western part of the state of Hidalgo. It is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, with ...
, by 100,000 people. There are also some migrant worker expatriates in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in the states of Texas (270), Oklahoma (230), and North Carolina (100). A dictionary and grammar of the language have been published.
*Querétaro Otomi. The autonym varies as ''Hñohño, Ñañhų, Hñąñho, Ñǫthǫ''.
[Lastra 2006 p. 57] It is spoken by 33,000 in the
Querétaro
Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
municipalities of
Amealco
Amealco is a town in the Mexican state of Querétaro. Its name is thought to mean ''place of springs'' in Nahuatl. The municipality seat, also called Amealco, is located 63 km southeast of Santiago de Querétaro. Its elevation is 2,605 meters ...
(towns of San Ildefonso & Santiago Mexquititlán); in Mexico State, the town of
Acambay
Acambay is a town and ''municipio'' (municipality) located in northern State of Mexico. The township of Acambay is the municipal seat of the ''municipio'' of the same name.
History
The origins of Acambay date back to the settlement of the area ...
, and in Querétaro, the town of
Tolimán, and in Michoacan, the town of
San Felipe los AlzatÃ. There are also small numbers in the state of
Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
.
Notes
Cited works
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{{Oto-Manguean-lang-stub
Otomi language