86 



0eo$rapbical Iftotes on flDejico, 



wards compiled grammars and even dictionaries of some of these 

 languages ; but the Indians falling into a semi-barbarous state after 

 the conquest, having lost their civilization and literature, their lan- 

 guages have either disappeared completely or become very primitive, 

 and it is ascertained that some of them have become entirely extinct. 



The Spanish is, of course, the language of the country and most 

 of the Indians speak it, although very imperfectly and incorrectly ; 

 only a small portion of them speaking no language but their own. 



The chief languages spoken in Mexico proper, excluding Chiapas 

 and Yucatan, are as follows : 



Nahuatl or Mexican (Aztec) with Acaxee, Sabaibo, Xixime, 

 Cochimi, Concho and other members of the same family. 



Seri, Upanguaima, and Guaima. 



Papago, Opata, Yaqui, Mayo, Tarahumara, Tepehuan, Cora, etc. 



Apache or Yavipai, Navajo, Mescalero, Llanero Lipan, etc. 



Otomi or Hia-hiu, Fame, Mazahua, etc. 



Huaxtec, Totonac. 



Tarascan, Matlaltzincan. 



Mixtec, Zopotec, Mixe, Zoque*, Chinantec. 



Seftor Don Manuel Orosco y Berra wrote a treatise on the language 

 of the Indian tribes in Mexico entitled " Geography of Languages," 

 which describes the languages of the races who inhabited Mexico, and 

 Sefior Don Francisco Pimentel enlarged upon that work, making 

 philological comparisons, and from the data collected by both authors 

 Senor Don Antonio Garcia Cubas a distinguished Mexican geographer 

 made the following synopsis of the Indian languages spoken in Mexico. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN LANGUAGES OF MEXICO, FORMED ACCORD- 

 ING TO THE CLASSIFICATION OF DON FRANCISCO PIMENTEL. 

 NOTE. The sign * indicates that the classification is doubtful. 



