OTO-MANGUEAN LANGUAGES

a phylum, or stock, of American Indian languages made up of the following language families and groups: Oto-Pamean, Popolocan, Mixtecan, Zapotecan, Chinantecan, and Manguean. The Tlapanec and Huave language groups are sometimes also included in Oto-Manguean. The living languages of these groups are spoken in Mexico, although varieties of Mangue, all of which are extinct, were spoken along the western coast of Central America from El Salvador through Costa Rica. The most important of the Oto-Manguean languages are Otom, of the Oto-Pamean family, spoken in the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Mxico, Veracruz, Quertaro, and adjacent states; Mixtec dialects, of the Mixtecan family, spoken in the states of Guerrero, Puebla, and Oaxaca; Zapotec dialects (or languages), of the Zapotecan family, spoken in Oaxaca; and Mazahua, of the Oto-Pamean family, spoken in the states of Michoacn and Mxico. Many Oto-Manguean languages use a complex system of pitches or intonations to distinguish otherwise identical utterances.