Common Phrases in 2 of Mexico's Indigenous Languages
What languages do people speak in Mexico? Spanish, of course, but there are others as well. The languages of indigenous Mexican people, such as the Aztecs and Mayans, are still spoken in some areas of Mexico today. The 68 other languages besides Spanish are spoken by over 6 million people in Mexico. Although almost every person in Mexico speaks Spanish, it couldn’t hurt to learn a few phrases in the indigenous languages, right?
The most commonly spoken native Mexican language is Nahuatl. Originally spoken by the Aztecs, now about one and a half million people speak it. In the time of the Aztecs they used pictographs to write down images, but people have figured out how to phonetically spell it using the letters in our alphabet. Here is a pronunciation guide for written Nahuatl:
Vowels:
A- Pronounced like the a in hard. E- Pronounced like the e in pet.
I- Pronounced like the i in police. O- Pronounced like the o in rope.
U- Pronounced like the u in flute. Au- Pronounced like the ow in now.
Ai- Pronounced like eye.
Consonants:
C- Pronounced as the hard c in front of a, o, u and soft c in front of e, i.
Ch- Pronounced like the ch in Cheeky Chancla.
Cu- Pronounced like the qu in quilt. H- Pronounced like the h in house.
Hu- Pronounced like the w in word. L- Pronounced like the l in lunar.
M- Pronounced like the m in moon. N- Pronounced like the n in north.
P- Pronounced like the p in pronounced. Qu- Pronounced like the k in kazoo.
T- Pronounced like the t in town.
Tl- This isn’t really a sound in English, but you can say it like the tl in slightly.
Tz- Pronounced like the ts in hats. X- Pronounced like the sh in shell.
Y- Pronounced like the y in yo-yo. Z- Pronounced like the s in super.
Here are some useful phrases in Nahuatl:
Welcome- Ximopanoltih (shee-mo-pah-nole-tee)
Hello (common greetings)- Tialli (tee-ah-lee) or Pialli (pii-ah-lee)
What is your name?- ¿Quenin timotoca? (keh-neen teem-oh-toh-cah)
My name is… - Nah notoca… (nah noh-toh-cah)
How are you? - ¿Quen tinemi? (ken tee-neh-mee)
Reply to How are you?- Cualli ninemi, (qu-ah-lee nee-neh-mee) or tlazocamati. (tlah-so-kah-mah-tee)
Good morning- Cualli Tlanecic (qu-ah-lee tlah-neh-seek)
Good afternoon/ good night- Cualli Teotlac (qu-ah-lee teh-o-tlahk) or Cualli Tiotaqui (qu-ah-lee tee-o-tah-key)
Goodbye/see you later- Timo-itazke (tee-mo it-ahs-keh) or totazke (to-tahs-keh)
Have a nice day- Ma cualli tonalli (mah qu-ah-lee to-nah-lee)
Please- There is no word for please!
Thank you- Tlazohcamati (tlah-so-cah-mah-tee)
Sorry- Ma xinechtlapohpolhui (mah shee-nehch-tlah-poh-pole-wee)
One of the other most common indigenous Mexican languages is Yucatec Maya, which you can probably guess was spoken by the ancient Mayans. Yucatec Maya is spoken a lot in the Yucatan Peninsula, and is still spoken by over three fourths of a million people in the population of Mexico. The pronunciation of written Yucatec Maya is similar to the pronunciation of Nahuatl, but with slightly different variations. Here is the Yucatec Maya pronunciation guide:
Vowels:
A- Pronounced like the a in hard. E- Pronounced like the ay in way.
I- Pronounced like the i in police. O- Pronounced like the o in rope.
U- Pronounced like the u in flute. Ay- Pronounced like the word eye.
Ey- Pronounced like the ey in they. Oy- Pronounced like the oy in toy.
Consonants:
B- Pronounced like the b in bus. When at the end of a word it is not pronounced.
Ch- Pronounced like the ch in Cheeky Chancla.
H- Pronounced like the h in hay. K- Pronounced like the k in kazoo.
L- Pronounced like the l in lunar. M- Pronounced like the m in moon.
N- Pronounced like the n in north. P- Pronounced like the p in pronounced
S- Pronounced like the s in super. T- Pronounced like the t in town.
Tz- Pronounced like the ts in hats. W- Pronounced like the w in wolf.
X- Pronounced like the sh in shell. Y- Pronounced like the y in yo-yo.
Apostrophes ‘ are used a lot to make a pause like the one in the word uh-oh.
Here are some useful phrases in Yucatec Maya:
Welcome- Kiimak ‘oolal (key-mahk oo-lahl)
Hello (common greetings)- Ba’ax ka wa’alik (bah-ahsh kah wah-ah-leek)
What is your name?- Bix a k’ a’aba’ (beesh ah kah ah-ah-bah)
My name is…- In ka’aaba’e (een kah-ah-bah-ay)
How are you?- Bix yanikech? (beesh yah-nee-kaych)
Reply to How are you?- Ma’alob. Kux tech? (mah-ah-lobe koosh taych) Or Hach ma’aloob’. Kux tech? (hach mah-ah-loob koosh taych)
Good morning- Ma’lob Ja’atskab k’iin (mah-lobe jah-ahts-kahb k-een)
Good afternoon- Ma’lob chi’inil k’iin (mah-lobe chee-ee-neel k-een)
Good evening- Ma’lob ak’ab (mah-lobe ahk-ahb)
Goodbye/see you later-Taak ulak k’iin (taahk oo-lahk k-een)
Have a nice day- Ka manseche ma’lob kiin (kah mahn-say-chay mah-lobe keen)
Please- Meent’ uts (maynt oots) Thank you- Dios bo’otik (dee-ohs boh-oh-teek)
Sorry- Ma’taali’teeni’ (mah-taah-lee-teen-ee)
So while if you are planning a trip to Mexico Spanish would be much more useful, you may find that these few phrases in two of Mexico’s indigenous languages, Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya, could come in handy.
More information at these sources:
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/mexico/languages/
http://www.mostlymaya.com/yucatec_maya_intro_.htm
http://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/nahuatl/nahuatllessons/INL-00.html
http://www.native-languages.org/nahuatl_guide.htm
http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/nahuatl.php
http://www.native-languages.org/maya_guide.htm
http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/yucatec-maya.php
