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While Nahuatl is the most commonly used name for the language in English, native speakers often refer to the language as mexicano, or some cognate of the term mācēhualli, meaning 'commoner'. The word Nahuatl is derived from the word nāhuatlahtōlli [naːwat͡ɬaʔˈtoːliˀ] ('clear language'). [30]
This would mean that, by not considering the indigenous people as their own entity, the cultural and linguistic division of the country would be ignored. [73] On the other hand, there were those who promoted the use of native languages to remove the cultural barriers that separated the native peoples from the rest of the Mexican citizens.
Since Nahuatl is identified as the language of the Mexica, the Chicanos have appropriated it as a symbol of their identity. There are many who speak Nahuatl with native Mexican speakers and others who prefer only to speak it with other Chicanos. Likewise, the Nahuatl connection with its own identity is the reason why many of them have Nahuatl ...
The form of Nahuatl used in the 16th century, when it began to be written in the Latin alphabet introduced by the Spaniards, became known as Classical Nahuatl. As of 2020, Nahuatl is spoken by over 1.6 million Mexica and other Nahua people, almost 7% of whom do not speak Spanish. [33]
Classical Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and its modern relatives are part of the Uto-Aztecan family. The Pipil language , an offshoot of Nahuatl , spread to Central America by a wave of migration from Mexico, and formerly had many speakers there.
Mexico would then mean "Place of Mexi" or "Land of the War God." Another hypothesis [15] suggests that Mēxihco derives from a portmanteau of the Nahuatl words for "moon" (mētztli) and navel (xīctli). This meaning ("Place at the Center of the Moon") might then refer to Tenochtitlan's position in the middle of Lake Texcoco.
Documented Nahuatl words in the Spanish language (mostly as spoken in Mexico and Mesoamerica), also called Nahuatlismos include an extensive list of words that represent (i) animals, (ii) plants, fruit and vegetables, (iii) foods and beverages, and (iv) domestic appliances. Many of these words end with the absolutive suffix "-tl" in Nahuatl.
The word nagual derives from the Nahuatl word nāhualli [naˈwaːlːi], an indigenous religious practitioner, identified by the Spanish as a 'magician'. In English, the word is often translated as "transforming witch," but translations without negative connotations include "transforming trickster," "shape shifter," "pure spirit," or "pure being."