Cuitlatec language
Extinct language isolate of Mexico
title: "Cuitlatec language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mesoamerican-languages", "extinct-languages-of-north-america", "indigenous-languages-of-mexico", "subject–object–verb-languages", "languages-extinct-in-the-1960s", "guerrero"] description: "Extinct language isolate of Mexico" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuitlatec_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Extinct language isolate of Mexico ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Cuitlatec |
| nativename | Uhpɨnéʔlu |
| states | Mexico |
| region | Guerrero |
| extinct | 1960s, with the death of Juana Can |
| familycolor | american |
| family | Language isolate |
| iso3 | cuy |
| glotto | cuit1236 |
| glottorefname | Cuitlatec |
| notice | IPA |
| ethnicity | Cuitlatec people |
| linglist | qpb |
| :: |
| name = Cuitlatec |nativename=Uhpɨnéʔlu | states = Mexico | region = Guerrero | extinct = 1960s, with the death of Juana Can | familycolor = american | family = Language isolate | iso3 = cuy | glotto = cuit1236 | glottorefname = Cuitlatec | notice = IPA | ethnicity = Cuitlatec people | linglist = qpb
Cuitlatec, or Cuitlateco, is an extinct language isolate of Mexico, formerly spoken by an indigenous people known as Cuitlatec.
Classification
Cuitlatec has not been convincingly classified as belonging to any language family. It is believed to be a language isolate. In their controversial classification of the indigenous languages of the Americas, Greenberg and Ruhlen include Cuitlatec in an expanded Chibchan language family (Macro-Chibchan), along with a variety of other Mesoamerican and South American languages.{{Cite journal |last1=Greenberg |first1=Joseph |author-link1=Joseph Greenberg |last2=Ruhlen |first2=Merritt |author2-link=Merritt Ruhlen |title=An Amerind Etymological Dictionary |url=http://www.merrittruhlen.com/files/AED5.pdf |access-date=2008-06-27 |edition=12 |date=2007-09-04 |publisher=Dept. of Anthropological Sciences Stanford University |location=Stanford |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225141018/http://www.merrittruhlen.com/files/AED5.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-25 |url-status=dead | last = Escalante Hernández | first = Robert | title = El Cuitlateco | publisher = Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia | year = 1962 | location = México, D.F.}}
Geographic distribution
Cuitlatec was spoken in the state of Guerrero. In the 16th century, the Relaciones geográficas recorded Cuitlatec spoken in Ajuchitlán and Tetela del Rio, while it was also known to be spoken along much of the Costa Grande. By the 1930s, Cuitlatec was spoken only in San Miguel Totolapan. The last speaker of the language, Juana Can, is believed to have died in the 1960s.
Phonology
Consonants
::data[format=table title="'''Cuitlatec consonant phonemes'''"]
| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | Glottal | Plosive | Fricative | Approximant | Nasal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Vowels
::data[format=table title="'''Cuitlatec vowel phonemes'''"] | | | Front | Central | Back | | High | |Low | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
Grammar
Sentences generally follow SVO word order. Adjectives precede the nouns they modify.
Vocabulary
::data[format=table]
| Cuitlatec | English |
|---|---|
| aʔnelgái | Cuitlatec people |
| uhpɨnéʔlu | Cuitlatec language |
| aikimɨ | hello |
| šelopɨlʔmɨ | thanks |
| aʃkɨli | man |
| ɬɨnóʔo | woman, wife |
| cɨʔɨ | children |
| iwililúmɨ | river |
| úmɨ | water |
| ahpúʔɬɨ | sun |
| tuɬíʔi | moon, month |
| kúʔli | land |
| ɬa | house |
| ihʃɨɬɨ | sky |
| iʔkɨʔɨ | tomb |
| iʔyɨʔléɬɨ | door |
| :: |
Trees
::data[format=table]
| Cuitlatec | Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|---|
| citakáʔli | Sweet acacia, Cascalote | Vachellia farnesiana, Caesalpinia coriaria |
| éhci | Capire | Sideroxylon cartilagineum |
| nempáʔa | Monkeypod tree, Camachile | Pithecellobium dulce |
| ɨncipéʔɬu | Charamasca | Tanacetum annuum |
| puɬɨʔmelpɨmɨ | Nanche, hogberry | Byrsonima crassifolia |
| ɬɨmʃíli; ʃemɨʔʃilí | Tololote | Andira inermis |
| ʃiɬiʔá | Tepemesquite | Lysiloma divaricatum |
| wíhci | Chupandia | Cyrtocarpa procera |
| yóʔo | White leadtree | Leucaena leucocephala |
| mɨnɨmɨli | Gliricidia | ''Gliricidia sepium'''' |
| :: |
Placenames
::data[format=table]
| Cuitlatec | English |
|---|---|
| ʃamigéli | San Miguel Totolapan |
| ʃiʃmɨwɨ | Ajuchitlán |
| pulkúʔwɨ | Mexico City |
| :: |
Body Parts
::data[format=table]
| Cuitlatec | English |
|---|---|
| kwérpu | body |
| íhcɨ | arm |
| ɨmté | head |
| úli | hair |
| kúʔbe | neck |
| ʃuwéʔe | nose |
| ʃúhpe | mouth |
| kahcíʔdi | ears |
| ihpɨléla | stomach |
| puɬké | back |
| álmɨ | heart |
| ehtɨʔi | tongue |
| díʃci | leg |
| iʃkélɨ | foot |
| dehpɨlkoyó | ankle |
| ihtalói | waist |
| daʃíʔi | knee |
| daʃilapɨ | elbow |
| gɨléwɨ | face |
| enhkeyáta | the whole face |
| :: |
Numerals
::data[format=table]
| Cuitlatec | Numbers |
|---|---|
| tɨʔɨ, tɨwɨlɨ, téʔɬi | 1 |
| káɬɨ | 2 |
| kalíɬɨ | 3 |
| páɬa | 4 |
| puwáɬɨ | 5 |
| daʃíɬa | 6 |
| wɨʃíɬɨ | 7 |
| puhtalíɬa | 8 |
| nɨɬɨ | 9 |
| ʃɨɬɨ | 10 |
| pɨli | 11 |
| méɬi | 20 |
| kɨɬmɨli | 30 |
| kaltɨwɨlméɬi | 40 |
| puhmé | 100 |
| :: |
References
Bibliography
- Susana Drucker, Roberto Escalante, & Roberto J. Weitlaner. 1969. The Cuitlatec. In Evon Z. Vogt, ed., Handbook of Middle American Indians, Ethnology: Vol 7, Chapter 30. University of Texas Press, Austin: 565–575
- McQuown, Norman A. 1945. Fonémica del Cuitlateco. El México Antiguo 5: 239–254.
- Weitlaner, Roberto J. 1939. Notes on the Cuitlatec language. El México Antiguo 4: 363–373.
- Escalante Hernández, Robert (1962). El Cuitlateco . Mexico City: National Institute of Anthropology and History.==External links==
- Cuitlatec word list on Wiktionary
References
- (1972). "Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 12: Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources, Part One". University of Texas Press.
- (2010-03-11). "Notas sobre el cuitlateco". Anales de Antropología.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::