Huichol language
| Huichol | |
|---|---|
| Wixárika Niukiyari | |
| Native to | Mexico |
| Region | Jalisco, Nayarit, Durango, Zacatecas |
| Ethnicity | Huichols |
|
Native speakers
|
45,000 (2010 census) |
|
Uto-Aztecan
|
|
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | huic1243 |
The Huichol language is an indigenous language of Mexico which belongs to the Uto-Aztecan language family. It is spoken by the ethnic group widely known as the Huichol (self-designation Wixaritari), whose mountainous territory extends over portions of the Mexican states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Puebla and Durango, mostly in Jalisco. Under the 2003 law of language rights, the indigenous languages of Mexico along with Spanish are recognized as "national languages".
In regard to language typology, the language has switch-reference, is highly polysynthetic and verbs may consist of as many as 20 different morphemes.
In recent years, at least two teaching grammars for Huichol have been produced in Mexico for nonnative speakers. In addition, a project to produce a reference grammar and dictionary of Huichol has been underway since the 1980s, conducted by a team of investigators in the Department of Indigenous Languages at the University of Guadalajara, and the first volume of the reference grammar was published in 2006.
There are many dialects of Huichol, including "Coyultita, Huichol del norte, Huichol del sur, San Andrés Cohamiata (Huichol del oeste, Western Huichol), San Sebastián-Santa Catarina (Eastern Huichol, Huichol del este)."
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), there were "35,724" speakers of Huichol as of 2005. Huichol has been classified by UNESCO as a "vulnerable" language.
The Huichol and Cora languages (whose territories are contiguous) form the Coracholan subgroup of the Uto-Aztecan languages.
Huichol is a highly polysynthetic language with a strong tendency to head-marking.
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Wikipedia