Tequistlatecan languages

Tequistlatecan
Chontal de Oaxaca, Slijuala xanuk
Ethnicity:	Oaxaca Chontal
Geographic distribution:	Oaxaca
Linguistic classification:	Tolatecan ? Tequistlatecan
Subdivisions:	Highland Chontal Coastal Chontal
The Tequistlatecan languages are in Mexico at the left of the map.

The Tequistlatecan languages, also called Chontal of Oaxaca, are three close but distinct languages spoken by the Chontal people of Oaxaca State, Mexico:

• Huamelultec (Lowland Oaxaca Chontal),
• Tequistlatec proper (extinct),
• Highland Oaxaca Chontal.

The Tequistlatecan languages are part of some versions of the controversial Hokan Macro-family proposal, but generally considered to be an isolate. Campbell and Oltrogge (1980) believe that the Tequistlatecan languages may be related to Jicaquean but this hypothesis remains to be explored further.

References

• Campbell, Lyle and David Oltrogge, 1980, Proto-Tol (Jicaque), International Journal of American Linguistics, 46:205-223
• Campbell, Lyle. (1979). Middle American languages. In L. Campbell & M. Mithun (Eds.), The languages of native America: Historical and comparative assessment (pp. 902–1000). Austin: University of Texas Press.
• Campbell, Lyle (1997) American Indian Languages, The Historical Linguistics of Native America, Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics, Oxford University Press

External links

• Ethnologues page on Highland Chontal
• Ethnologues page on Lowland Chontal
• Information of Chontal culture at INI website(Spanish)