Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Sochiapam Chinantec

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Native to
  
Mexico

Native speakers
  
3,600 (2000)

Region
  
Oaxaca

ISO 639-3
  
cso

Ethnicity
  
6,300 Chinantecs (no date)

Language family
  
Oto-Mangue Western Oto-Mangue Oto-Pame–Chinantecan Chinantec Sochiapam

Sochiapam is a Chinantec language of Mexico. It is most similar to Tlacoatzintepec Chinantec, with which it has 66% intelligibility (intelligibility in the reverse direction is 75%, presumably due to greater familiarity in that direction).

Sochiapam has seven tones: high, mid, low, high falling, mid falling, mid rising, low rising.

Like other Chinantec and Mazatec languages, Sochiapam Chinantec is noted for having whistled speech (produced only by men, but understood by all). More unusually, it has also been reported to have a rare marked absolutive case system.

References

Sochiapam Chinantec Wikipedia