Chontal, Highland Oaxaca
PrintA language of Mexico
ISO 639-3
Alternate Names
Chontal de la Sierra de Oaxaca, Tequistlatec
Population
2,420 (2000 INALI).
Location
Southernmost Oaxaca, west of Tehuantepec isthmus, San José Chiltepec, San Lucas Ixcatepec, and 15 towns.
Language Maps
Language Status
6b (Threatened).
Classification
Dialects
Chontal de Oaxaca alto, Chontal de Oaxaca bajo.
Typology
VS, SV, or VO; medium long words, affixes; nontonal
Language Use
Most speakers are over 40 years old.
Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 60%–100%. Literacy rate in L2: 75%–100%. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1991.
Language Resources
Writing
Latin script.
‘Tequistlateco’ has been used in publications, but true Tequistlateco was spoken in Tequisistlán town, and is now extinct.