Get to Know the Mixtec language and explore Mexico

 

With more than half a million speakers, the Mixtec language is spoken in La Mixteca - a region spanning the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero. 

Over the years, migration has brought the Mixtec language to other parts of Mexico, and even the United States - with a significant community in California. 

More information can be found at Mixteco.org - a project to support, organise, and empower indigenous migrant communities of California, including Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Purépechas.

 

Why learn the Mixtec language?

Although categorisation depends on someone’s criteria for distinguishing languages and dialects, what is certain is that the Mixtec language has plenty of variety. Some categorisations suggest there are more than 50 varieties of the language, and not all of these are mutually intelligible - hence why some define them as languages rather than dialects. 

Whichever preference someone has for categorisation, all of these varieties form part of the Mixtec branch of the Mixtecan languages, which are in turn part of the Oto-Manguean language family.

People walking down an old street in Mexico

Speakers of the Mixtec language refer to their language as ‘word of the rain’ or ‘voices of the rain’. The spelling and form depends on the the variety of Mixtec. For example, three variations of ‘word’ or ‘voice of the rain’ are tu’un savi, to’on sawi, and sa’an isau.

Palm trees and small cliffs along the coast of Mexico
The ruins of ancient temples in Mexico

Speakers :

530,000

Where :

Mexico, United States

Dialects :

Depends on criteria. Some categorisations suggest more than 50 varieties of Mixtec

Map of Mexico showing where the Mixtec language is spoken
 

Cover Image

Sola de Vega, Oaxaca, Mexico

Photo by Crisoforo Gaspar Hernandez on Unsplash

Map

By Noahedits - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85880685

Resources for learning the Mixtec language

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How to Learn Spanish eBook

The majority of the resources available for learning Mixtec are in Spanish.

One of the great things about learning Spanish is that it makes learning languages like Mixtec easier - simply because Mixtec is spoken in a country where Spanish is the majority language, and most of the resources are therefore in Spanish.

If you're interested in learning Spanish, How to Learn Spanish will guide you through the process in a fast and fun way.

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