Zapotec ( es, zapoteco) is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

unclassified Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...

Mesoamerican language Mesoamerican languages are the languages indigenous to the Mesoamerican cultural area, which covers southern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize and parts of Honduras and El Salvador and Nicaragua. The area is characterized by extensive linguis ...

formerly spoken in Ciudad Guzmán,

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

, Mexico.

Name

The name "Zapotec" is derived from Zapotlán, the former name of Ciudad Guzmán, where the language was spoken. Zapotlán was renamed Ciudad Guzmán in 1857. Despite sharing the same name, Zapotec has no known relationship to the

Zapotec languages The Zapotec languages are a group of around 50 closely related indigenous languages of Mesoamerica, indigenous Mesoamerican languages that constitute a main branch of the Oto-Manguean languages, Oto-Manguean language family and which is spoken b ...

of Oaxaca.

Evidence

The existence of Zapotec is known from a '' relación geográfica'' made in 1580 by Gerónimo Flores, '' alcalde mayor'' of the province of Tuspa, Tamatzula and Zapotlán (now Tuxpan,

Tamazula de Gordiano Tamazula de Gordiano (, also known as Tamazula) is a city in the Mexican state of Jalisco. The word "tamazula" comes from the Nahuatl word ''tamazullan,'' which means "place or lagoon of toads." Municipal communities Tamazula is the seat of the m ...

and Ciudad Guzmán, respectively). According to Flores:

Extinction

Zapotec became extinct due to the community shifting from using Zapotec to using

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

as their primary language. Nahuatl had become a

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

in the pre-Columbian era, being used as the administrative language of the

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...

and as a trade language beyond the empire's borders, and was subsequently also promoted by the Spaniards after the Spanish conquest. Nearby languages that went extinct in similar circumstances include

Sayultec Sayula Popoluca, also called Sayultec, is a Mixe language spoken by around 5,000 indigenous people in and around the town of Sayula de Alemán in the southern part of the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Almost all published research on the language h ...

(which was also spoken in Ciudad Guzmán alongside Zapotec), Cochin, Otomi,

Tiam Datuk Wira Poh Ah Tiam (; April 1, 1952 – March 15, 2007) was a Malaysian politician, businessman and community leader of Chinese descent. Poh was born in Kampung Belimbing, near Durian Tunggal, Malacca. He and his family moved to nearby Ma ...

, and Tamazultec.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * {{cite book , last=Harvey , first=H. R. , year=1972 , chapter=The Relaciones Geográficas, 1579–1586: Native Languages , title= Handbook of Middle American Indians , volume=12: Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources, Part One , location=Austin , publisher=University of Texas Press , pages=279–323 , isbn=0-292-70152-7 Extinct languages of North America Unattested languages of North America Mesoamerican languages Languages of Mexico