Mexicaneru
Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl
Uto-Aztecan
Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl (Náhuatl de la Huasteca Oriental) is one of the largest modern Nahuatl varieties, spoken by ~410,000 people in the Huasteca region of northeastern Mexico spanning Veracruz, Hidalgo, and San Luis Potosí states. Together with Western Huasteca Nahuatl (nhw) and Central Huasteca Nahuatl (nch), the Huasteca Nahuatl varieties form the largest concentrated Nahuatl-speaking region in modern Mexico. Linguistically, Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl preserves classical Nahuatl features (saltillo glottal stops, vowel length distinctions) and retains a substantial body of Mesoamerican vocabulary. Hasler's 1979 reference grammar is the major modern documentation.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl
Water
atl
/atɬ/
Fire
tlitl
/tɬitɬ/
Sun
tonatih
/tonatih/
Moon
metztli
/metstɬi/
Star
sitlalij
/siˈtlalih/
Mother
mama
/mama/
Father
tata
/tata/
I
na
/na/
You
ta
/ta/
Name
tocaxtli
/toˈkaʃtli/
Eye
ixtli
/iʃtli/
Hand
maitl
/maitl/
Heart
yollotl
/jolːotɬ/
Love
tlazohtla
/tɬasoʔtɬa/
Tree
cuahuitl
/kʷawitɬ/
House
calli
/kalːi/
Dog
itzcuintli
/itskʷintli/
Cat
mizton
/miston/
Eat
tlacua
/tɬakʷa/
Drink
atli
/atɬi/
One
ce
/se/
Two
ome
/ˈome/
Hello
nimitzpaca
/nimitspaka/
Thank you
tlazohcamati
/tɬasoʔkamati/
Good
cualli
/kʷalːi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Uto-Aztecan languages
| Meaning | Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl | Central Huasteca Nahuatl | Western Huasteca Nahuatl | Guerrero Nahuatl | Classical Nahuatl | Isthmus Nahuatl | Nawat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | atl /atɬ/ | ātl /aːtɬ/ | ahtli /aʔtli/ | at /at/ |
| Fire | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tlitl /tɬitɬ/ | tletl /tɬetɬ/ | 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/ |
| Star | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalij /siˈtlalih/ | sitlalin /siˈtlalin/ | cītlālin /siːˈtlaːlin/ | sitlalin /siˈtlalin/ | sital /ˈsital/ |
| Mother | mama /mama/ | nana /nana/ | nana /nana/ | nanan /nanan/ | nāntli /naːntɬi/ | nan /nan/ | nan /nan/ |
| Father | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tatah /tatah/ | tahtli /tahtɬi/ | tat /tat/ | tat /tat/ |
| I | na /na/ | na /na/ | na /na/ | nejua /neˈwa/ | nehhuātl /neʔˈwaːtɬ/ | naja /ˈnaha/ | naja /ˈnaha/ |
| You | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | tejua /teˈwa/ | tehhuātl /teʔˈwaːtɬ/ | taja /ˈtaha/ | taja /ˈtaha/ |
| Name | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaxtli /toˈkaʃtli/ | tocaitl /toˈkaitɬ/ | tōcāitl /toːˈkaːitɬ/ | tocayotl /tokaˈjotɬ/ | tukay /ˈtukaj/ |
| Eye | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | ixtli /iʃtli/ | īxtli /iːʃtɬi/ | ix /iʃ/ | ish /iʃ/ |
| Hand | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitl/ | maitl /maitɬ/ | māitl /maːitɬ/ | mahuit /mawit/ | mey /mei/ |
| Heart | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yollotl /jolːotɬ/ | yolotl /jolotɬ/ | yōllōtl /joːlːoːtɬ/ | yolio /jolio/ | yulu /julu/ |
| Love | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazohtla /tɬasoʔtɬa/ | tlazōhtla /tɬasoːhtɬa/ | nequi /neki/ | tasujta /tasuhta/ |
| Tree | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitl/ | kuauitl /kʷawitl/ | cuahuitl /kʷawitɬ/ | cuahuit /kʷawit/ | kwawit /kʷawit/ |
| House | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | kalli /kalːi/ | calli /kalːi/ | cali /kali/ | kal /kal/ |
| Dog | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | itzcuīntli /itskʷiːntɬi/ | itzcuintli /itskʷintli/ | chichi /tʃitʃi/ |
| Cat | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | mizton /miston/ | miston /miston/ | mīztōn /miːstoːn/ | miston /miston/ | mishin /miʃin/ |
| Eat | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tlakua /tɬakʷa/ | tlacua /tɬakʷa/ | tacua /takʷa/ | takwa /takwa/ |
| Drink | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | atli /atɬi/ | ātli /aːtɬi/ | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ |
| One | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | ce /se/ | cē /seː/ | ce /se/ | se /se/ |
| Two | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ome /ˈome/ | ōme /ˈoːme/ | ome /ˈome/ | ume /ˈume/ |
| Hello | nimitzpaca /nimitspaka/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | niltze /niltse/ | ne pakua /ne pakwa/ |
| Thank you | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazohcamati /tɬasoʔkamati/ | tlazōhcāmati /tɬasoːhkaːmati/ | tlazohcamati /tlasoʔkamati/ | padiush /padjuʃ/ |
| Good | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | kuajli /kʷahli/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | cualli /kʷalːi/ | kwahli /kʷahli/ |
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