Zapotec

Also known as Zapotec language

group of indigenous Mesoamerican languages

Key facts

Geographic distribution: Oaxaca , Veracruz , Guerrero , Puebla . Small populations in California and New Jersey , United States.
Ethnicity: Zapotecs
Native speakers: 490,000 in Mexico (2020 census)
Linguistic classification: Oto-Manguean Zapotecan Zapotec
Early form: Ancient Zapotec
Subdivisions: Central (Isthmus and Valley) Mazaltepec Sierra Norte Sierra Sur Western
Iso 639 2 5: zap
Iso 639 3: zap
Glottolog: zapo1437
Notes: ISO 639-3 macrolanguage code has 58 individual language codes Regulated by the National Institute of Indigenous Languages

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Show 3 more facts

P10369: right angle
number of speakers, writers, or signers: 777000
exact match: publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/language/ZAP

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Article

The Zapotec /ˈzæpətɛk/ ZAP-ə-tek languages are a group of around 50 closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages that constitute a main branch of the Oto-Manguean language family and are spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highlands of Mexico. A 2020 census reports nearly half a million speakers, with the majority inhabiting the state of Oaxaca. Zapotec-speaking communities are also found in the neighboring states of Puebla, Veracruz, and Guerrero. Labor migration has also brought a number of native Zapotec speakers to the United States, particularly in California and New Jersey. Most Zapotec-speaking communities are highly bilingual in Spanish.

Name