Mixe–Zoque languages
The Mixe–Zoque /ˌmiːheɪˈsoʊkeɪ/ (also: Mixe–Zoquean, Mije–Soke, Mije–Sokean) languages are a language family whose living members are spoken in and around the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. The Mexican government recognizes three distinct Mixe–Zoquean languages as official: Mixe or ayook with 188,000 speakers, Zoque or o'de püt with 88,000 speakers, and the Popoluca languages of which some are Mixean and some Zoquean with 69,000 speakers. However, the internal diversity in each of these groups is great. Glottolog counts 19 different languages, whereas the current classification of Mixe–Zoquean languages by Wichmann (1995) counts 12 languages and 11 dialects. Extinct languages classified as Mixe–Zoquean include Tapachultec, formerly spoken in Tapachula, along the southeast coast of Chiapas.
Mixe–Zoque | |
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Mije–Soke | |
Geographic distribution | Mesoamerica: Mexico Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, Veracruz |
Linguistic classification | Totozoquean ?
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Proto-language | Proto-Mixe–Zoquean |
Subdivisions | |
Glottolog | mixe1284 |
Locations where the Mixe–Zoque languages are spoken: Mixe (red) and Zoque (green) |