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'Chatino' is the Spanish name of an indigenous people of southern central Mexico, and also of their language, the Chatino language. Chatino communities are located in the southern region of the state of Oaxaca. Speakers of Chatino are numbered around 23,000 (Ethnologue surveys), but ethnic Chatino may number many more. They call themselves ''Kitse Cha'tño'' and their language ''Cha'tña''.
Chatino populations are found in the following Oaxacan municipalities, mostly in the area around Juquila: Santos Reyes Nopala, San Juan Quiahije, San Miguel Panixtlahuaca, Santiago Yaitepec, Santa Cruz Zezontepec, San Juan Lachao, Santa María Temaxcaltepec, Santa Catarina Juquila and Tataltepec de Valdés.

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Chatino language

External link

Chatino language

Main articles: Chatino language

Chatino language is an indigenous Mesoamerican language, which is classified under the Zapotecan branch of the Oto-Manguean language family. The Chatino have close cultural and linguistic ties with the Zapotec peoples, whose Zapotec language is the other member of the Zapotecan languages.
According to Ethnologue, there are some seven distinct dialects of Chatino, which exhibit varying degrees of mutual intelligibility.

External link

★ Chatinos, Instituto Nacional Indigenista - Ethnographic description of the Chatino people