DICCIONARIO AND ARTE OF THE OTHOMI (Otomí) LANGUAGE:
L. D. LUIS DE NEVE Y MOLINA, 1767
by Erik Boot
Vea en Español.
The Otomí language is part of the Otopamean language family (Chichimeca Jonaz, Mazahua, Otomí, Pame, Ocuilteco, Matlatzinca), which belongs to the Otomangean language stock or group (consisting of the Amuzgoan, Chinantecan, Mixtecan, Otopamean, Popolocan, Tlapanecan, and Zapotecan language families). The Otomí (ñhañhú [Valle de Mezquital] or ñhañhó [south of Querétaro]) language today is spoken by close to 300,000 people (some 5 to 6 percent is monolingual), most of which live in the Mexican states of Hidalgo (Valle de Mezquital), Mexico, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz.
My interest in the Otomí culture and language stems from short periods of circa one and two months (January-February 1986, July 1986) when I stayed in Querétaro to prepare for a fieldwork period in Yucatán. On several occasions I joined Lydia Van de Fliert and Severiano Andrés de Jesús of the Centro de Estudios Lingüísticos y Literarios, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, for research trips to the villages of Santiago Mexquititlán and San Ildefonso Tultepec.
While I specialized in Maya studies, I always kept an eye open for research and publications on Otomí culture and languages. It was in 1989 that I found an original copy of L(icenciado). D(on). Luis de Neve y Molina's "Reglas de Orthographia, Diccionario, y Arte del Idioma Othomi", published in Mexico in 1767. The library institution that housed this book allowed me to make a high quality xerox copy. The xerox copy became part of my library and collection of writings on the Otomí, and in all honesty, it became simply that, until recently.
A short time ago I relocated the xerox copy and decided to make a scan for web publication so more than just those that possess an original volume in their library can study the contents of the work by L. D. Luis de Neve y Molina.
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Click for the complete manuscript in PDF format (41.4 MB)
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Introduction (463 KB)
Part 1 (13.4 MB)
Part 2 (13.6 MB)
Part 3 (14.3 MB)
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