The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: MIM
ISO 639-2: cai
| Population | 18,000 to 20,000 including 6,000 to 7,000 monolinguals (1990 census). Over 300,000 speakers in all Mixtecan languages (1995). |
| Region | Eastern Guerrero, towns of Alacatlatzala, Ocuapa, Potoichan. There are tiny communities in Acapulco, Guerrero; Cuautla, Morelos; and Culiacán, Sinaloa. |
| Alternate names | HIGHLAND GUERRERO MIXTECO, ALACATLATZALA MIXTEC |
| Dialects | POTOICHAN, PLAN DE GUADALUPE. |
| Classification | Oto-Manguean, Mixtecan, Mixtec-Cuicatec, Mixtec. |
| Comments | 65% to 85% intelligibility with Metlatonoc. Some had 70% intelligibility of Silacayoapan. Bilingual level estimates for Spanish are 0 60%, 1 20%, 2 19%, 3 1%, 4 0%, 5 0%. They switch to Spanish when trying to communicate with people from Silacayoapan. About 20% (nearly all men) speak some Spanish for trade, travel, or work outside the area. Less than 5% are bilingual in Tlapaneco or Náhuatl resulting from intermarriage. Mixteco is the language of choice in nearly all domains; at home, in local shops, among officials in the town hall for business, for teaching in the classroom even though materials are in Spanish. High appreciation for Mixteco among speakers. Investigation needed: intelligibility with Coicoyán (San Martín Peras). Dictionary. VSO, tonal, short words, clitics. Literacy rate in first language: 5%. Literacy rate in second language: 30%. Desire for literacy in either language is somewhat limited. Some adaptation of materials for Potoichan may be needed. Scrub and pine forest. Mountain slope. Peasant agriculturalists. 1,076 to 2,153 meters. Bible portions 1990-1998. |
