Ocuiltec, also known as Tlahuica and Atzingo Matlatzinca, is a moribund language of Central Mexico closely related to Matlatzinca and Pirinda.[5]
| Ocuiltec | |
|---|---|
| Tlahuica, pjyɇkakjó[1][2] | |
| Native to | Mexico |
| Region | State of Mexico |
| Ethnicity | Matlatzinca (Tlahuica) |
Native speakers | 100 (2011)[3] 2,238 (2020)[4] |
Oto-Manguean
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ocu |
| Glottolog | atzi1235 |
| ELP | |
Ocuiltec is spoken primarily in the municipality of Ocuilan in the villages Cinco Caminos, Colonia Doctor Gustavo Baz, El Capulín, El Totoc (San José Totoc), Lomas de Teocaltzingo (Loma de Tecalzingo), Ocuilán de Artéaga, San Juan Atzingo, Santa Lucía, Santa Martha, and Santa María Nativitas.[1][4][6] It may have been spoken in the adjacent area of Morelos, though Matlatzinca could have also existed in it.[7]
Due to the extremely small speaking population and the unfavourable age structure, Ocuiltec is highly endangered. In the 2000 census, only 26 persons under the age of 20 were registered as speakers of Ocuiltec.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | (ɲ) | (ŋ) | ||
| Plosive | p | t | k | kʷ | ʔ | |
| Affricate | t͡s | t͡ʃ | ||||
| Fricative | β | s | ʃ | h | ||
| Rhotic | ɾ | |||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||
- /n/ is heard as velar [ŋ] when before velar stops.
- Sounds /m, n, (ɲ), l, j, w/ all become voiceless [m̥, n̥, (ɲ̊), l̥, j̊, w̥] when in groups with /h/.
- Stop sounds /p, t, t͡s, t͡ʃ, k, kʷ/ are voiced as [b, d, d͡z, d͡ʒ, ɡ, ɡʷ] when following nasals.
- /l/ may be heard as voiceless [l̥] in word-final or syllable-final positions.
- /w/ may be heard as a labialized fricative [ɣʷ] in intervocalic positions.
- Sounds /p, (b), m/ may also be heard as labialized [pʷ, (bʷ), mʷ] when preceding /ɨ/.
- Sounds /t, (d), l, n/ may tend to palatalize as [tʲ, (dʲ), lʲ, nʲ~ɲ] when before high vowels /i, ɨ, u/.
- Other sounds such as /f, r/, are heard from Spanish loanwords.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | ɨ ɨː | u uː |
| Mid | ɛ ɛː | ə əː | ɔ ɔː |
| Open | a aː |
- /i/ is heard as [ɪ] in closed syllables.
- Vowels may also be heard as nasalized [Ṽ] when preceding nasal consonants.[8]