Mayo language

Not to be confused with Yessan-Mayo language or Mayo language (Brazil).

Mayo
Native to	Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico
Ethnicity	Mayo
Native speakers	40,000 (2010 census)
Language family	Uto-Aztecan Mayo
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mfy
Glottolog	mayo1264

Mayo is an Uto-Aztecan language. It is spoken by about 40,000 people, the Mexican Mayo or Yoreme Indians, who live in the South of the Mexican state of Sonora and in the North of the neighboring state of Sinaloa. Under the "Law of Linguistic Rights," it is recognized as a "national language" along with 62 other indigenous languages and Spanish which all have the same validity in Mexico.

The Mayo language is partially intelligible with the Yaqui language, and the division between the two languages is more of a political one founded in the historic division between Yaqui and Mayo peoples than in linguistic relations.

Programming in both Mayo and Yaqui is carried by the CDI's radio station XEETCH, broadcasting from Etchojoa, Sonora.

Morphology

Mayo is an agglutinative language, where words use suffix complexes for a variety of purposes with several morphemes strung together.

See also

• Indigenous peoples of North America portal

References

• Collard, Howard and Collard, Elisabeth Scott. 1962. Vocabulario Mayo, Vocabularios Indigenas Marianno Silva y Aceves. Num. 6.
• Aguilar Zeleny, Alejandro S. 1995. "Los mayos," In Etnografía contemporánea de los pueblos indígenas de México. México: Región Noroeste Instituto Nacional Indigenista.
• Acosta, Roberto. 1983. Apuntes históricos sonorenses: la conquista temporal y espiritual del Yaqui y del Mayo Imprenta Aldina. Mèxico (1a. ediciòn). México: Gobierno del Estado de Sonora.
• Hagberg, Larry. 1989. "Stress and Length in Mayo." In Shipley, William, (ed.). In Honor of Mary Haas: From the Haas Festival Conference on Native Essays in Honor to Mary Hass. Halle: Mouton.
• Lionnet, Andres S.J. 1977. Los elementos de la lengua cahita (yaqui-mayo) México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
• Spicer, Edward Holland. 1969. "The Yaqui and the Mayo." In Wauchope, R., editor. Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol 8. Austin: University of Texas Press.
• Hagberg, Larry and Zamarrón, José Luis Moctezuma. 2001. "Investigaciones sobre la lengua mayo." In Zamarrón, José Luis Moctezuma and Hill, Jane H. (eds), Avances y balances de lenguas yutoaztecas; homenaje a Wick R. Miller p. 195-206. Serie Lingüística. Mexico, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Historia.