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NFT: Native Mexican Languages ...

Manny in CA : 2/17/2018 11:12 pm
Even after 500 years of Spanish suppression, native languages still exist. A friend of mine's mother spoke one of these languages. It's fascinating to hear it spoken.

In written form, it looks impossible to pronounce with a lot of consonants all crowed together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHgb_x_o62o

I lived for a while in a region of Mexico where...  
Dan in the Springs : 2/17/2018 11:25 pm : link
Nahuatl is still spoken. It's the Huasteca region. Anyway, it's very beautiful country, but I assure you none of those ladies in the video are likely native speakers. Real native Nahuatl spreading women are shorter, squatter, and much darker-skinned than these ladies.

I have a book in my library from my time there that was written to teach Spanish speakers how to speak Nahuatl. It was fun to try and learn thirty years ago. One of my favorite parts though is that the book contains a collection of ancient Nahuatl legends, passed down orally before being captured in this book, which was published in the nineteenth century, iirc.

Thanks for sharing.
I understand there's about 1 million ...  
Manny in CA : 2/17/2018 11:39 pm : link

Native speakers, down there. The Mexican government is also working to expand this knowledge. (Which is a good thing).
I have been told by  
section125 : 2/18/2018 6:55 am : link
Puerto Ricans that people from the highlands of central PR still speak a mixture of Taino and Spanish to the point where other Puerto Ricans have trouble understanding it - and that is on a small island.

It is fascinating that these indigenous languages still exist after centuries of intermingling.
I think I met one of the girls in the video on Tinder...  
EricJ : 2/18/2018 7:34 am : link
and she has been texting me.
Oaxaca  
jbeintherockies : 2/18/2018 11:44 am : link
I just returned from a trip to Oaxaca on Wednesday. In the Oaxacan city center, called the Zocalo, there are commonly over twenty different languages spoken. The link lists some of them.
Link - ( New Window )
Probably a good idea for the locals  
HomerJones45 : 2/18/2018 1:18 pm : link
To know a few words of Nahuatl so you knew what was going on when those gentle Nahuatl-speakers were cutting you open and pulling out your still beating heart.
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