Highland Chinantec language

Highland Chinantec
Jmii’
Native toMexico
RegionOaxaca Highlands
EthnicityChinantecs
Native speakers
(10,000 cited 1990–1998)[1]
Oto-Mangue
  • Western Oto-Mangue
    • Oto-Pame–Chinantecan
Dialects
  • Quiotepec Chinantec
  • Comaltepec Chinantec
  • Yolox Chinantec
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
chq – Quiotepec Chinantec
cco – Comaltepec Chinantec
Glottologchin1488
ELPSierra Chinantec

Highland Chinantec is a Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in Comaltepec, San Juan Quiotepec, and surrounding towns in northern Oaxaca. It has a complex system of tone and vowel length compared to other Chinantec languages. The two principal varieties, Quiotepec and Comaltepec, have marginal mutual intelligibility. Yolox Chinantec is somewhat less divergent.

Phonology

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Comaltepec

[edit]

The following are sounds of Comaltepec Chinantec:[2][3]

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Laryngeal
Nasal m n (ɲ) ŋ
Stop &
Affricate
voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced ᵐb ⁿd ⁿdʒ ᵑɡ
Fricative voiceless (f) s (ʂ) (ʃ) (x) h
voiced (ʐ)
Lateral l
Approximant j w
1. Parenthesised sounds are loans, allophones, or free variants
2. Voiced stops are frequently prenasalised
Vowels
Front Central Back
High i ɨ u
Mid e ʌ o
Low æ a
Tones

Quiotepec

[edit]

The following are sounds of Quiotepec Chinantec:[4]

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Laryngeal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ç h
voiced β ð ʝ ɣ
Lateral l
Approximant j w
Trill r
1. /β/ is heard as a glide [w] after /k/.
Vowels
Front Back
unrounded rounded unrounded rounded
High i y ɯ u
Low e ø a o
Tones

References

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  1. ^ Quiotepec Chinantec at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Comaltepec Chinantec at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Anderson, Judi Lynn, Martínez, Isaac H., & Pace, Wanda. (1990). Comaltepec Chinantec Tone. In William R. Merrifield & Calvin R. Rensch (Eds.), Syllables, Tone, and Verb Paradigms: Studies in Chinantec Languages 4 (pp. 3-20). Dallas, TX: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
  3. ^ Silverman, Daniel. (1997). Tone Sandhi in Comaltepec Chinantec. Language, 73(3), 473-492.
  4. ^ Robbins, Frank E. (1961). Quiotepec Chinantec Syllable Patterning. International Journal of American Linguistics, 27(3), 237-250.