MixeZoque

Mixe-Zoque, also known as Mixe–Zoquean, is a proposed language family of Mesoamerica that includes two primary branches: Mixe and Zoque. The languages are spoken by Indigenous communities in southern Mexico, particularly in the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, Chiapas, and Tabasco, with some smaller communities in neighboring areas. The Mixe branch comprises several languages spoken in highland and coastal regions, while the Zoque branch includes the Zoque languages spoken in parts of Chiapas and adjacent areas.

The Mixe–Zoquean hypothesis posits that these two branches descend from a common ancestral language, Proto-Mixe-Zoquean, spoken in the early history of the region. The classification has been a standard reference in historical linguistics for many decades; most linguists treat Mixe-Zoquean as a valid language family, though the details of internal subgroupings and deeper connections to other languages remain debated. Some researchers have explored broader affiliations within proposed macrofamilies of Mesoamerica, but such proposals remain controversial and are not universally accepted.

Many Mixe–Zoquean languages have relatively small numbers of speakers and are considered endangered or vulnerable. Ongoing documentation, description, and revitalization efforts are carried out by both linguists and communities, focusing on grammar, phonology, and historical relationships, in order to preserve linguistic diversity and advance understanding of the region’s pre-Columbian linguistic history.