Mexico has a surprising lingusitic diversity; apart from Spanish, the government recognizes 62 Indigenous Amerindian languages as national languages. According to the Council for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples (CDI), 13% of the population is of Amerindian origin; nonetheless only 6% of the population speaks an Indigenous language.

Legislation

Spanish is the predominant language of Mexico. Nontheless, the second article of the constitution defines the country as a "pluricultural" nation, and recognizes the right of the Indigenous peoples to "preserve and enrich their languages..." and promotes "bilingual and intercultural education" [1]. The term has no universal, standard or fixed definition. ...

In 2003 the Conress aproved the "Law of Lingusitic Rights" that recognizes that Spanish and the Indigenous languages of México are "national languages" due to their historic origin and "have the same validity in their territory, location and context". This law allows the Indigenous peoples to present and request official documents in their respective languages. The state commits to the preservation and promotion of the use of the national languages through the activities of the "Institute of Indigenous Languages" [2]. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Classification

Map of the Languages of Mexico

This is the classification of the 62 Indigenous languages grouped by family: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2025x1500, 318 KB) Sumari maps of mexico languages, Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2025x1500, 318 KB) Sumari maps of mexico languages, Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. ...

• Algonquina family: Kikapú
• Yumana: Paipai, Kiliwa, Cucapá, Cochimí i Kumiai
• Seri family: Seri
• Tlequistateco family: Chontals of the Coast, Chontals of the Heights (mountains)
• Tepimano family: Pápago, Pima, Northren Tepahuano and Southern Tepahuano
• Tarahita family: Tarahumara, Guarijío, Yaqui and Mayo
• Coratxol family: Cora and Huichol
• Nahua family: Nahuatl and its dialects
• Totonaca family: Totonaca and Tepehua
• Otopame family: Northern Pame, Southern Pame, Chichimeca onaz, Otomí (and its dialects), Mazahua, Matlatzinca and Ocuilteco.
• Popoloca family: Popoloca (and its dialects), Chocho, Ixcateco*, Mazateca (and its dialects),
• Tlapaneco family: Tlapaneco
• Amuzgo family: Amuzgo de Guerrero, Amuzgo de Oaxaca
• Mixteca family: mixteca (and its dialects), Cuicateco and Triqui (and its dialects)
• Chatino-Zapoteca family: Chatino (and its dialects), Zapoteca (and its dialects).
• Chinanteca family: Chinanteca (and its dialects)
• Chiapaneca-mangue family: Chiapaneco*
• Purépecha family: Purépecha
• Huave family: Huave
• Mixe-Zoque family: Zoque (and its dialects), Popoluca, Mixe
• Maya family: Huasteco, Peninsular Maya, lacandon, Chol, Chontal de Tabasco, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Chuj, Tojolabal, Kanjobal, Jacalteco, Motozintleco, Mam, Teco, Ixil, Aguacateco, Quitx, Cakchiquel i Kekchí.

*In danger of extinction. Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ...

Speakers

This is the list of the 15 most spoken national languages (speakers 5 years of age and older), according to INEGI (2000):

1. Nahuatl 1.448.936 (1.5% of the country's population)
2. Maya (Yucatan Maya or Peninsular Maya): 800.291 (0.9% of the country's population)
3. Zapoteca: 452.887
4. Mixteco: 446.236
5. Tzotzil: 297.561
6. Otomí: 291.722
7. Tzeltal: 284.826
8. Totonaca: 240.034
9. Mazatecp: 214.477
10. Chol: 161.766
11. Huasteco: 150.257
12. Mazahua: 133.430
13. Chinanteco: 133.374
14. Purépecha: 121.409
15. Mixe: 118.924

Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ...

Non indigenous languages

The "pluricultural" composition of Mexico, according to the constitution, has its roots in the Indigenous peoples of Mexico. However, apart from Spanish, the government does not recognize any other non-indigenous language spoken by immigrants and their descendants, even if their numer of speakers is greater than that of some of the 62 national languages. Some of the non-indigenous languages spoken in Mexico are: English (by British, and more recently American immigrants, as well as by the residents of border states), German (mainly in Mexico City and Puebla), Arabic, Venitian (in Chipilo), French, Chinese, Korean, Ladino, Plautdietsch and some others in smaller numbers. Of these, Venet and Plautdietsch are spoken in isolated communities or villages, while the rest are spoken by immigrants or their descendents that live in the big cities. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México) is the name of a megacity located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus (altiplano) in the South of Mexico, about 2,240 meters (7,349 feet) above sea-level, surrounded on most sides... The city of Puebla – known more formally as Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza or less formally as La Angelópolis or Puebla de los Ángeles – is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name, and the fourth largest city in Mexico, after Mexico City, Guadalajara... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy. ... Chipilo is a small city in the state of Puebla, Mexico. ... This article deals with the Judaeo-Spanish language. ... Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, is a language spoken by the Mennonites, who are ethnically Dutch, but who adopted an East Low German dialect while they were refugees in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), beginning in the early-to-mid 1500s. ...

External links

• CDI
• "¿Qué lengua hablas?", a portal that contains multimedia files of phrases spoken in some of the national Indigenous languages.