- Huichol language
Infobox Language
name=Huichol
nativename= Vixaritari Vaniuqui, Vizaritari Vaniuki
speakers = approx. 20,000 (1990)
familycolor=American
region=Mexico :Nayarit ,Zacatecas andJalisco
fam2=Uto-aztecan
fam3=Coracholan
iso3=hch
agency=Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI)The Huichol language is an
indigenous language of Mexico , belonging to the Uto-Aztecanlanguage family . It is spoken by the ethnic group widely known as theHuichol who refer to themselves as "Wixarika", and who inhabit the northern Sierra of the Mexican states ofNayarit ,Zacatecas andJalisco .Huichol is a
Mesoamerican language and shows many of the traits that define theMesoamerican Linguistic Area . Under the "Law of Linguistic Rights" it is recognized as a "national language " along with 62 other indigenous languages and Spanish which have the same "validity" in Mexico [http://www.sep.gob.mx/work/resources/LocalContent/62817/12/ley_gen_derechos_ling_indigenas_2.htm] . Huichol is atonal language distinguishing high and low tone [Suaréz, Jorge, 1983, The Mesoamerican Indian Languages, Cambridge, CUP, pg 51]Geographic Distribution
Genealogy
The closest relatives of the Huichol language is the
Cora language together with which it forms theCoracholan subgroup of theUto-Aztecan languages , also the Taracahitan group of languages containing among others the languages Tarahumara, Yaqui and Mayo is related to Huichol.* General Uto-Aztecan
**Coracholan branch
***Huichol language
*** Cora languagesPhoneme Inventory
Vowels
There are six vowel phonemes, namely /i, e, a, o, u, ɨ/.
Consonants
Media
Huichol-language programming is carried by the CDI's radio station
XEJMN-AM , broadcasting fromJesús María, Nayarit .References
*Joseph E. Grimes, 1959. "Huichol Tone and Intonation", International Journal of American Linguistics, Vol. 25, No. 4. (Oct., 1959), pp. 221-232.
*McIntosh, John B. 1945. "Huichol phonemes." International Journal of American Linguistics 11: 31-35
*José Luis Iturrioz Leza y Julio Ramírez de la Cruz, et al., 2001, Gramática Didáctica del Huichol: Vol. I. Estructura Fonológica y Sistema de Escritura, Departamento de Estudios en Lenguas Indígenas-Universidad de Guadalajara – Secretaria de Educación Pública, Vol. 1,
External links
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=hch Ethnologue: Huichol]
* [http://www.native-languages.org/huichol.htm Huichol Indian Language]
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