Northwestern Otomi is a
Native American language of central
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
Varieties
There are two varieties with limited (c. 78%) intelligibility, sometimes considered separate languages:
*Mezquital Otomi (''Otomí del Valle del Mezquital''). The autonym is ''Hñahñu''
[Lastra 2006 p. 57, Wright Carr 2005] It is spoken in the
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of
Hidalgo, especially in the
Mezquital Valley
The Mezquital Valley () 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 altitudes between ...
, by 100,000 people. There are also some migrant worker expatriates in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
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, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...
municipalities of
Amealco de Bonfil (towns of San Ildefonso and Santiago Mexquititlán); in Mexico State, the town of
Acambay, and in Querétaro, the town of
Tolimán, and in Michoacan, the town of
San Felipe los Alzatí. There are also small numbers in the state of
Guanajuato
Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...
.
Notes
Cited works
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{{Oto-Manguean-lang-stub
Otomi language