Mazahua

Mazahua (autonymously Jñatjo, "the people who speak") is an Otomanguean language of the Otomi-Mazahua sub-branch, spoken by around 150,000 people in central Mexico, primarily in the western Estado de México around the Mazahua Sierra and the towns of Jocotitlán, San Felipe del Progreso, and Atlacomulco. The Mazahua are the second-largest indigenous group in Estado de México (after the related Otomi/Hñähñu), and the language is one of the major Otomanguean languages of central Mexico. Linguistically, Mazahua is closely related to the Otomi varieties (ote, ots, otq), with shared features including tonal contrasts, complex consonant clusters, and verbal morphology. The Mazahua have maintained their indigenous identity through centuries of Aztec and Spanish dominance, with significant 20th-century revitalization through bilingual education programs.