Highland Chinantec language

Highland Chinantec is a Chinantecan language of Mexico, spoken in Comaltepec, San Juan Quiotepec, and surrounding towns in northern Oaxaca. It has a complex system of tone and vowel length compared to other Chinantec languages. The two principal varieties, Quiotepec and Comaltepec, have marginal mutual intelligibility. Yolox Chinantec is somewhat less divergent.

Highland Chinantec
Jmii’
Native to	Mexico
Region	Oaxaca Highlands
Ethnicity	Chinantecs
Native speakers	(10,000 cited 1990–1998)[1]
Language family	Oto-Mangue Western Oto-Mangue Oto-Pame–Chinantecan Chinantec Highland Chinantec
Dialects	Quiotepec Chinantec Comaltepec Chinantec Yolox Chinantec
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: chq – Quiotepec Chinantec cco – Comaltepec Chinantec
Glottolog	chin1488
ELP	Sierra Chinantec

Phonology

Comaltepec

The following are sounds of Comaltepec Chinantec:^[2][3]

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Laryngeal
Nasal		m	n		(ɲ)	ŋ
Stop & Affricate	voiceless	p	t		tʃ	k	ʔ
	voiced	ᵐb	ⁿd		ⁿdʒ	ᵑɡ
Fricative	voiceless	(f)	s	(ʂ)	(ʃ)	(x)	h
	voiced			(ʐ)
Lateral			l
Approximant					j	w

1. Parenthesised sounds are loans, allophones, or free variants

2. Voiced stops are frequently prenasalised

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i	ɨ	u
Mid	e	ʌ	o
Low	æ		a

Tones

Quiotepec

The following are sounds of Quiotepec Chinantec:^[4]

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Laryngeal
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Stop	voiceless	p	t	tʲ	k	ʔ
	voiced	b	d	dʲ	ɡ
Fricative	voiceless	f	s	ç		h
	voiced	β	ð	ʝ	ɣ
Lateral			l
Approximant				j	w
Trill			r

1. /β/ is heard as a glide [w] after /k/.

Vowels

	Front		Back
	unrounded	rounded	unrounded	rounded
High	i	y	ɯ	u
Low	e	ø	a	o

Tones