Náhuatl
Guerrero Nahuatl
Uto-Aztecan
Guerrero Nahuatl is a Central Nahuan language of the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken by around 150,000 people in the Sierra Norte/La Montaña region of Guerrero state, Mexico. Linguistically, it is one of the major Modern Nahuatl varieties alongside the Huasteca varieties (nch/nhw/nhe), with distinct phonological features such as the "saltillo" glottal stop in places where Classical Nahuatl had a /h/ or /ʔ/. Guerrero Nahuatl is part of the broader Modern Nahuatl dialect continuum descended from the Postclassic Aztec lingua franca, but with significant divergence from the Central Mexican varieties. The Guerrero region was a major Aztec frontier zone where the Triple Alliance encountered the Mixtec, Tlapanec, and Amuzgo peoples, contributing to lexical and phonological diversity in modern Guerrero Nahuatl.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Guerrero Nahuatl
Water
atl
/atɬ/
Fire
tletl
/tɬetɬ/
Sun
tonatih
/tonatih/
Moon
metztli
/metstɬi/
Mother
nanan
/nanan/
Father
tatah
/tatah/
Eat
tlakua
/tɬakʷa/
Drink
atli
/atɬi/
Love
tlazohtla
/tɬasoʔtɬa/
Heart
yolotl
/jolotɬ/
Tree
kuauitl
/kʷawitl/
House
kalli
/kalːi/
Dog
itzcuintli
/itskʷintli/
Cat
miston
/miston/
Hand
mahpi
/mahpi/
Eye
ixtli
/iʃtli/
Hello
niltze
/niltse/
Thank you
tlazohcamati
/tɬasoʔkamati/
One
ce
/se/
Good
kuajli
/kʷahli/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Uto-Aztecan languages
| Meaning | Guerrero Nahuatl | Central Huasteca Nahuatl | Western Huasteca Nahuatl | Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl | Classical Nahuatl | Isthmus Nahuatl | Nawat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | ātl /aːtɬ/ | ahtli /aʔtli/ | at /at/ |
| Fire | tletl /tɬetɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | titl /titɬ/ | tlētl /tɬeːtɬ/ | tit /tit/ | tit /tit/ |
| Sun | tonatih /tonatih/ | tonati /tonati/ | tonati /tonati/ | tonatih /tonatih/ | tōnatiuh /toːnatiw/ | tonal /tonal/ | tunal /tunal/ |
| Moon | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | metztli /metstɬi/ | mētztli /meːtstɬi/ | metz /mets/ | metsti /metsti/ |
| Mother | nanan /nanan/ | nana /nana/ | nana /nana/ | mama /mama/ | nāntli /naːntɬi/ | nan /nan/ | nan /nan/ |
| Father | tatah /tatah/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tāhtli /taːtɬi/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ |
| Eat | tlakua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tacua /takʷa/ | takwa /takwa/ |
| Drink | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | ātli /aːtɬi/ | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ |
| Love | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazōhtla /tɬasoːhtɬa/ | nech-nequi /netʃneki/ | nesa /nesa/ |
| Heart | yolotl /jolotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yōllōtl /joːlːoːtɬ/ | yolio /jolio/ | yulu /julu/ |
| Tree | kuauitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | cuahuit /kʷawit/ | kwawit /kʷawit/ |
| House | kalli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | cali /kali/ | kal /kal/ |
| Dog | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuīntli /itskʷiːntɬi/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | chichi /tʃitʃi/ |
| Cat | miston /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mīztōn /miːstoːn/ | miston /miston/ | mishin /miʃin/ |
| Hand | mahpi /mahpi/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | māitl /maːitɬ/ | mahuit /mawit/ | mey /mei/ |
| Eye | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | īxtli /iːʃtɬi/ | ix /iʃ/ | ish /iʃ/ |
| Hello | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | nimitzpaca /nimitspaka/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | ne pakua /ne pakwa/ |
| Thank you | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazōhcāmati /tɬasoːhkaːmati/ | tlazohcamati /tlasoʔkamati/ | padiush /padjuʃ/ |
| One | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | cē /seː/ | ce /se/ | se /se/ |
| Good | kuajli /kʷahli/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | kwahli /kʷahli/ |
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