Indigenous Language Videos

Click on a thumbnail to view the video and read a description. General information on the indigenous languages of Mexico appears below the thumbnails, with links for additional information.

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Indigenous languages of Mexico

Mexico is considered among the top ten most linguistically diverse countries in the world; in Latin America it has the second largest indigenous population after Peru.  Approximately 6 million Mexicans, or 6.7 percent of the total population, still speak an indigenous language. (INEGI, 2005)

The four languages featured in our videos belong to the large family of languages known as Oto-Manguean.  Linguists believe there were Oto-Manguan speakers dating back to at least 4,000 BCE.   Its two largest branches are the Zapotecan and Mixtecan languages, both tonal languages.  The Mexican Institute of Indigenous Languages (INALI) has a helpful interactive map and catalog displaying the location and distribution of indigenous languages.)