Mexico Languages

For word list and help researching in Mexican records, see:
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List

Most materials used in Mexican research are written in Spanish. However, you do not need to speak or read Spanish to do research in Mexican records. However, you will need to know some key words and phrases to understand the records.

The official language of Mexico is Spanish, which is spoken by 90 percent of the people. Indian languages of the Aztecs, Mayans, and other tribes are still spoken throughout the country. Originally there may have been more than 200 roots of native languages.

In 1889, Antonio García Cubas estimated that 38% of Mexicans spoke an indigenous language, down from 60% in 1820. By the end of the 20th century, this figure had fallen to 6%.

In the early history of Mexico after the Spanish conquest, the spiritual leaders knew Latin, and where schools were established, Latin was a required subject. So you may find some Latin terms included in church records.

Hundreds of native languages and dialects existed although very few written records survived the European conquest. Of these the Náuatl language, spoken by the Aztecs of the Central Plateau region, is predominant, followed by the Mayan of the Yucatan Pennisula and Northern Central America. The Zapoteco, Mixteco, and Otomi languages, follow in importance.

Mexico is a diverse country in terms of the languages that are used from the US border down to the Guatemalan border and it depends on the era of interest as well. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, there were diverse tribes or cultures with their respective languages. The Mayan language in the south, Tarahumara, Yaqui, Apache, Comanche, and Navajo in the north makes the territory a diverse and fascinating array of languages. Later Spanish, French, English, Chinese, and other foreign languages create a mix like as in any other country.

In the early records a great many Indian words, especially names and localities, found their way into the Spanish language. Many of them were modified to make them more pronounceable to the Spanish conquerors.

Spanish phonetics may affect the way names appear in genealogical records. For example, the names of your ancestor may vary from record to record in Spanish. For help in understanding name variations, see Mexico Names, Personal.

Language Aids
The FamilySearch Library provides the following aids:


 * Spanish Letter Writing Guide
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List

The following English-Spanish dictionaries can also aid you in your research. You can find these publications listed below and similar material at many research libraries:

New York: Macmillan, 1978. (FS Library book 743.21 C272c 1978.)

Velázquez de la Cadena, Mariano. A New Pronouncing Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages New York: Appleton- Century-Crofts, 1942. (FS Library book 463.21 V541n.) y también del mismo.

(Dictionary of Authorities). 3 vols. Madrid: Edit. Gredos, 1963. (FS Library book 463 D56ld.)

Additional language aids, including dictionaries of various dialects and time periods, are listed in the "Place Search" section of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * MEXICO- LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES

They are also listed in the "Subject" section of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * SPANISH LANGUAGE- DICTIONARIES

And remember that a great free resource is always translate.google.com.

Description
Spanish is the de facto national language in Mexico. It is spoken by the vast majority of the population. There is no stated official language.

Mexican Spanish includes the variety of dialects and sociolects of the language spoken in Mexico.

The Mexican government recognizes sixty-eight linguistic groups and 364 varieties of indigenous languages. The Indigenous and Native American languages spoken by a large population of Mexico include:
 * Nahuatl - the only indigenous language spoken by more than a million people in Mexico.
 * Yucatec Maya
 * Tzeltal Maya - also known as Tzeltal or Tseltal (a Mayan Language)
 * Tzotzil Maya - also known as Tzotzil (a Mayan Language)
 * Mixtec - part of the Mixtecan languages
 * Zapotec - part of the Zapotec languages
 * List of Indigenous Languages of Mexico by population size

Word List(s)

 * Evans, Bruce, Cecilia Carmona, and Rafael Carmona. Mexican Spanish phrasebook & dictionary. Carlton, Victoria: Lonely Planet Global Limited, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Useful Spanish phrases - Omniglot
 * Spanish phrases and expressions - Mondly
 * Useful phrases in Nahuatl - Omniglot
 * Useful phrases in Yucatec Maya - Omniglot
 * Useful Tsotsil phrases - Omniglot
 * Spanish Genealogical Word List

Alphabet and Pronunciation
Alphabet
 * Spanish alphabet - Omniglot
 * Nahuatl alphabet - Omniglot
 * Yucatec alphabet - Omniglot
 * Tzeltal alphabet - Omniglot
 * Alphabet of the Mixtecan Languages - Omniglot
 * Isthmus Zapotec alphabet - Omniglot
 * Rincón Zapotec alphabet - Omniglot
 * Aloápam Zapotec alphabet - Omniglot

Pronunciation
 * Pronunciation of Spanish in Latin America - Omniglot
 * Nahuatl pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Nahuatl pronunciation dictionary - Forvo
 * Yucatec pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Yucatec Maya pronunciation dictionary - Forvo
 * Tzeltal pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Tsotsil pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Isthmus Zapotec pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Rincón Zapotec pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Aloápam Zapotec alphabet and pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Quiatoni Zapotec pronunciation dictionary - Forvo

Language Aids and Dictionaries
Dictionaries
 * Evans, Bruce, Cecilia Carmona, and Rafael Carmona. Mexican Spanish phrasebook & dictionary. Carlton, Victoria: Lonely Planet Global Limited, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Hamel, Bernard H. Hamel's bilingual dictionary of Mexican Spanish. Beverly Hills, CA: Bilingual Book Press, 2002. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Karttunen, Frances E. An analytical dictionary of Nahuatl. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Bierhorst, John. A Nahuatl-English dictionary. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1985. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Lima, Rubem. English-Yucatec Maya dictionary. Minneapolis: R. Lima, 1996. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Montgomery, John. Maya-English/English-Maya (Yucatec) dictionary & phrasebook. New York: Hippocrene Books, 2004. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Sarles, Harvey B. Monosyllable dictionary of the Tzeltal language. n.p.: n.p., 1961. Available at: WorldCat.

Online Dictionaries
 * Dictionary English - Spanish - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Nahuatl languages - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Tzeltal - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Zapotec - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Isthmus Zapotec - Glosbe
 * Dictionary Choapan Zapotec - English - Glosbe
 * Dictionary Yalálag Zapotec - English - Glosbe

Language Aids
 * Mexican Spanish language - Omniglot
 * García, Yan. Learn Nahuatl. n.p.: n.p., 2021. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Parker, Philip M. Webster's Yucatec-English thesaurus dictionary. San Diego, CA: ICON, 2008. Available at: WorldCat.