| Tlapanec | |
|---|---|
| Me̱ꞌpha̱a̱ | |
| Native to | Mexico |
| Region | Guerrero, Morelos |
| Ethnicity | Tlapanec |
Native speakers | 150,000 (2020 census)[1] |
Oto-Manguean
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:tcf – Malinaltepec (east)tpc – Azoyú (south)tpl – Tlacoapa (central)tpx – Acatepec (west) |
qpc Tlapanec | |
| Glottolog | subt1249 Tlapanec + Subtiaba |
| ELP | Tlapanec |
 Tlapanec (Ochre, number 13) and the rest of the modern Oto-Manguean languages | |
Tlapanec /ˈtlæpənɛk/, or Meꞌphaa, is an indigenous Mexican language spoken by more than 98,000 Tlapanec people in the state of Guerrero.[2] Like other Oto-Manguean languages, it is tonal and has complex inflectional morphology. The ethnic group themselves refer to their ethnic identity and language as Me̱ꞌpha̱a̱ [meʔpʰaː].[3]
Before much information was known about it, Tlapanec (sometimes written "Tlappanec" in earlier publications) was either considered unclassified or linked to the controversial Hokan language family. It is now definitively considered part of the Oto-Manguean language family, of which it forms its own branch along with the extinct and very closely related Subtiaba language of Nicaragua.[4]
Meꞌphaa people temporarily move to other locations, including Mexico City, Morelos and various locations in the United States, for reasons of work.
- ^ Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.
- ^ INEGI 2005
- ^ Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas. 2008. Catálogo de las lenguas indígenas nacionales: Variantes lingüísticas de México con sus autodenominaciones y referencias geoestadísticas. Diario Oficial 14 enero, Primera Sección: 31–78, Segunda Sección: 1–96, Tercera Sección: 1–112.
- ^ See Suárez (1977; 1986).