Global InformationCazcan language information
| Cazcan | |
|---|---|
| Caxcan | |
| Native to | Mexico |
| Ethnicity | Caxcan |
| Extinct | 17th century? |
Language family | Uto-Aztecan
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
Linguist List | 0w2 |
| Glottolog | None |
Cazcan, or Caxcan (Kaskán), was the language of the Caxcan, one of the Chichimeca peoples of Mexico. It is known only from a few word lists recorded in the 16th and 17th centuries. The language was definitely part of the Uto-Aztecan family, probably related to Huichol or possibly Southern Tepehuan. There appear to have been dialectical differences between the major Caxcan valleys, and it is likely that several other languages were spoken in Caxcan territory.[1]
Among the few words attested are cazcan "there isn't any" (the response to the first Spanish demand for food), yecotl "quemedor", aguano "war chief".[2]
- ^ Frank Gille, 1974. Encyclopedia of Indians of the Americas, volume 2
- ^ Robert Barlow & George Smisor, eds. (1943), Faustino Galicia Chimalpopoca, Nombre de Dios, Durango: Two Documents in Náhuatl Concerning Its Foundation: Memorial of the Indians Concerning Their Services, C. 1563; Agreement of the Mexicans and Michoacanos, 1585