The Otomi languages within Oto-Manguean, number 3 (bright blue), north
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Lower Northwestern Otomí, Northwestern Otomí and Sierra Otomí are classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Central Otomí and Mezquital Otomí are classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Ixtenco Otomí, Ocoyoacac Otomí, Tilapa Otomí and Western Otomí are classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Otomi (/ˌoʊtəˈmiː/OH-tə-MEE; Spanish: Otomí[otoˈmi]) is an Oto-Pamean language spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central altiplano region of Mexico.[2] Otomi consists of several closely related languages, many of which are not mutually intelligible. The word Hñähñu[hɲɑ̃hɲṹ] has been proposed as an endonym, but since it represents the usage of a single dialect, it has not gained wide currency. Linguists have classified the modern dialects into three dialect areas: the Northwestern dialects are spoken in Querétaro, Hidalgo and Guanajuato; the Southwestern dialects are spoken in the State of Mexico; and the Eastern dialects are spoken in the highlands of Veracruz, Puebla, and eastern Hidalgo and villages in Tlaxcala and Mexico states.
Like all other Oto-Manguean languages, Otomi is a tonal language, and most varieties distinguish three tones. Nouns are marked only for possessor; the plural number is marked with a definite article and a verbal suffix, and some dialects keep dual number marking. There is no case marking. Verb morphology is either fusional or agglutinating depending on the analysis.[cn 1] In verb inflection, infixation, consonant mutation, and apocope are prominent processes. The number of irregular verbs is large. A class of morphemes cross-references the grammatical subject in a sentence. These morphemes can be analysed as either proclitics or prefixes and mark tense, aspect and mood. Verbs are inflected for either direct object or dative object (but not for both simultaneously) by suffixes. Grammar also distinguishes between inclusive 'we' and exclusive 'we'.
After the Spanish conquest, Otomi became a written language when friars taught the Otomi to write the language using the Latin script; colonial period's written language is often called Classical Otomi. Several codices and grammars were composed in Classical Otomi. A negative stereotype of the Otomi promoted by the Nahuas and perpetuated by the Spanish resulted in a loss of status for the Otomi, who began to abandon their language in favor of Spanish. The attitude of the larger world toward the Otomi language started to change in 2003 when Otomi was granted recognition as a national language under Mexican law together with 61 other indigenous languages.
^Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.
^INEGI (2009:69)
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Otomi (/ˌoʊtəˈmiː/ OH-tə-MEE; Spanish: Otomí [otoˈmi]) is an Oto-Pamean language spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central...
Otomi (/ˌoʊtəˈmiː/; Spanish: Otomí [otoˈmi]) are an Indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region. The Otomi are...
Northwestern Otomi is a Native American language of central Mexico. There are two varieties with limited (c. 78%) intelligibility, sometimes considered...
Sierra Otomi a.k.a. Highland Otomi (Otomi de la Sierra) is a dialect cluster of the Otomilanguage spoken in Mexico by ca. 70,000 people in the highlands...
Central Otomi (San Felipe Otomi and Otomi del estado de México) is a Native American language spoken by 10,000 in San Felipe Santiago and in several neighboring...
Ixtenco Otomi, also known as Tlaxcala Otomi, is a native American language spoken in the town of San Juan Bautista Ixtenco in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico...
Tilapa Otomi is a seriously endangered native American language spoken by less than a dozen people in the village of Santiago Tilapa, between Toluca and...
Classical Otomi is the name used for the Otomilanguage as spoken in the early centuries of Spanish colonial rule in Mexico and documented by Spanish...
Temoaya Otomi, also known as Toluca Otomi or Otomi of San Andrés Cuexcontitlan, is a variety of the Otomilanguage spoken in Mexico by ca. 37,000 people...
Mexihco Hueyaltepetl, Nahuatl pronunciation: [meːˈʃiʔko wejaːlˈtepeːt͡ɬ]; Otomi: 'Monda) is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous...
Santa Ana Hueytlalpan Otomi is a native American language spoken in Santa Ana Hueytlalpan town of Tulancingo de Bravo municipality of Hidalgo, Mexico...
San Jeronimo Acazulco Otomi, or Ocoyoacac Otomí, is a moribund and seriously endangered dialect of the Otomilanguage spoken by a hundred or so people...
Tlalnepantla de Baz (Otomi: Ndemhāi)[citation needed] is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and...
(Spanish pronunciation: [moˈɾelja]; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid, Otomi: Mänxuni) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in...
blow through the canyons to the north of the city. In the indigenous Otomilanguage, Pachuca is known as Nju̱nthe. The area had been long-inhabited; apart...
Celaya ([seˈlaja]; pronunciation, Otomi: Ndathi) is a city and its surrounding municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast...
[ʰɲɑ̃ʰɲũ]). Smaller Otomi populations exist in the states of Puebla, Mexico, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Guanajuato. The Otomilanguage belonging to the Oto-Pamean...
An endangered language is a language that it is at risk of falling out of use, generally because it has few surviving speakers. If it loses all of its...
Orizaba (Spanish: [oɾiˈsaβa] , Otomi: Mbo'ñu) is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city...
Nahuatl: Cuauhnāhuac [kʷawˈnaːwak], "near the woods" modern pronunciation, Otomi: Ñu'iza) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico...
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