Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Nahuat, Nawat, Nahuate, Náwat, Náhuat
CLASSIFICATION		Uto-Aztecan, Southern Uto-Aztecan, Nahuan
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		ppl
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Santo Domingo de Guzmán Tacuba Comasaguya Chiltiupán Concepción de Ataco Cuisnahuat Teotepeque Jicalapa Nahuizalco Izalco Mazaguat
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Personal communication on Pipil” . Campbell, Lyle, Alan King, Jorge Lemus (2014)

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~97?
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Certainly fewer than 100 speakers; perhaps only semi-speakers remain, though a few of them are quite fluent.

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION

PLACES: El Salvador

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~200
Native speakers worldwide

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: El Salvador

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Previously spoken in Santo Domingo de Guzmán; Tacuba; Comasaguya; Chiltiupán; Concepción de Ataco; Cuisnahuat; Teotepeque; Jicalapa; Nahuizalco; Izalco; Mazaguat. Currently only spoken by a tiny handful of people in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Sonsonate Department speak the language, with a very few scattered individuals in some other locations in the area.

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
20
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
196,576
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
20 (1987). Ethnic population: 11,100 (2005 census) (2013).

DATE OF INFO: 1987

PLACES: El Salvador

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Municipio of Dolores, Ocotepeque Department, near the El Salvador border.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Ethnologue's location and number of speakers appears to be limited to the Municipio of Dolores, Ocotepeque Department, but in 1987 there were still a number of speakers in several other municipios, and there are a very small number of speakers or semi-speakers in scattered locations.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: Instituto de la Recuperación del Idioma Náhuat (IRIN); Seminario Lingüistico de Náhuat (SLN); Tajkwiluyan Ipal ne Taketzalis (the office for the Nawat language)
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: The Nawat Linguistic Seminar (Seminario Lingüistico de Náhuat--SLN) is working on a text-based corpus of Nawat, a lexical database, and workbooks for language-learners.
More on Orthography: Several orthographies have been proposed in the past. SLN is currently working on a new orthography. Past suggestions and current Pipil speakers and students are being consulted to form an orthography that is as useful and accessible to as many people as possible.

MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
About 3,000 children are learning Pipil as a second language.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: Living Tongues Institute; Don Bosco University
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: With assistance from The Living Tongues Institute, Carlos Enrique Cortez will be video recording "Pipil culture, such as natural medicines, traditions, traditional games, agricultural practices, and childhood songs. This content will be available for those wanting to learn the language, as well was to document these important pieces of Pipil culture."

PLACES: El Salvador

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Department of Sonsonate in Western El Salvador

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
100-999
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
About 200 families speak the language.

DATE OF INFO: 2005

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT: Departmental Directorate of Education
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: CONCULTURA; CCNIS
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: a program for the ‘Revitalization of Nahuat-Pipil
language’, has been promoted in five schools in Izalco and Nahuizalco, department of Sonsonate.
A series of texts and materials have been developed in Nahuat, as the initial step towards a sought
intercultural bilingual education program.

PLACES: El Salvador

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Pipil people (not necessarily Pipil language-speakers) live in Ahuachapán, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, La Libertad, San Salvador, Cuscatlán, La Paz, Chalatenango

Ethnic population
200,000
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"This language once thought extinct, has been described in Campbell (1985), who unexpectedly found about twenty speakers thirty years ago, in the course of a survey of dying languages of Central America." (2007:70)

				2004	IRIN Internacional ~ IRIN International website			website available in multiple languages		online					Iniciativa para la Recuperación del Idioma Náhuat (IRIN) Internacional	http://www.computing.dcu.ie/~mward/irin/index.htm	Alan R. King and Monica Ward and the IRIN Institution	Alan R. King, Monica Ward and the IRIN Institution. 2004. "IRIN Internacional ~ IRIN International Website." Online: http://www.computing.dcu.ie/~mward/irin/index.htm.							Spanish		The Nawat Linguistic Seminar (Seminario Lingüistico de Náhuat--SLN) is working on a text-based corpus of Nawat, a lexical database, and workbooks for language-learners.	Instituto de la Recuperación del Idioma Náhuat (IRIN); Seminario Lingüistico de Náhuat (SLN); Tajkwiluyan Ipal ne Taketzalis (the office for the Nawat language)
0199255911				2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures				Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer		Oxford University Press			New York				2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.																			13.8333333333,-89.5833333333
			16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)				M. Paul Lewis		SIL International			Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	196,576	20	1987	10-99	20 (1987). Ethnic population: 11,100 (2005 census) (2013).						Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Ethnologue's location and number of speakers appears to be limited to the Municipio of Dolores, Ocotepeque Department, but in 1987 there were still a number of speakers in several other municipios, and there are a very small number of speakers or semi-speakers in scattered locations.	El Salvador	Municipio of Dolores, Ocotepeque Department, near the El Salvador border.
	IPP140		P088642	2005	El Salvador Social Protection Project			Authorized for public disclosure. (A shorter URL was created to cite here).							World Bank	http://tinyurl.com/elsalvadorlanguages	World Bank	World Bank. 2005. "El Salvador Social Protection Project." Online: http://tinyurl.com/elsalvadorlanguages.				2005	100-999	About 200 families speak the language.		Departmental Directorate of Education	a program for the ‘Revitalization of Nahuat-Pipil language’, has been promoted in five schools in Izalco and Nahuizalco, department of Sonsonate. A series of texts and materials have been developed in Nahuat, as the initial step towards a sought intercultural bilingual education program.	CONCULTURA; CCNIS		Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Pipil people (not necessarily Pipil language-speakers) live in Ahuachapán, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, La Libertad, San Salvador, Cuscatlán, La Paz, Chalatenango	El Salvador
	Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs			2007	Endangered Languages of Mexico and Central America	Language Diversity Endangered	59-86		Brenzinger, Matthias		Mouton de Gruyter						Colette Grinevald	Grinevald, Colette. 2007. "Endangered Languages of Mexico and Central America." In Language Diversity Endangered, edited by Matthias Brenzinger. 59-86. Mouton de Gruyter.	HHOLD	200,000				"This language once thought extinct, has been described in Campbell (1985), who unexpectedly found about twenty speakers thirty years ago, in the course of a survey of dying languages of Central America." (2007:70)
				2014	Personal communication on Pipil					personal communication							Campbell, Lyle, Alan King, Jorge Lemus	Lyle Campbell, Alan King, Jorge Lemus. Personal communication. 2014.			~97?		10-99	Certainly fewer than 100 speakers; perhaps only semi-speakers remain, though a few of them are quite fluent.						Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	15	15		El Salvador
		August		2012	Languages: A Video Library for Successor Pipil Generation					online		Rising Voices				http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2012/08/27/languages-a-video-library-for-successor-pipil-generation/	Eddie Avila	Eddie Avila. 2012. "A Video Library For Successor Pipil Generation." Online: http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2012/08/27/languages-a-video-library-for-successor-pipil-generation/.						About 3,000 children are learning Pipil as a second language.			With assistance from The Living Tongues Institute, Carlos Enrique Cortez will be video recording "Pipil culture, such as natural medicines, traditions, traditional games, agricultural practices, and childhood songs. This content will be available for those wanting to learn the language, as well was to document these important pieces of Pipil culture."	Living Tongues Institute; Don Bosco University							El Salvador	Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Department of Sonsonate in Western El Salvador
	Mouton Grammar Library			1985	The Pipil Language of El Salvador						Mouton de Gruyter		1				Lyle Campbell	Campbell, Lyle. 1985. "The Pipil Language of El Salvador." 1: Mouton de Gruyter.	HHOLD		~200		100-999		Spanish				All speakers	Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	15	15	Previously spoken in Santo Domingo de Guzmán; Tacuba; Comasaguya; Chiltiupán; Concepción de Ataco; Cuisnahuat; Teotepeque; Jicalapa; Nahuizalco; Izalco; Mazaguat. Currently only spoken by a tiny handful of people in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Sonsonate Department speak the language, with a very few scattered individuals in some other locations in the area.	El Salvador		13.721709,-89.721314

Pipil

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~97?

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~200

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100-999

Discussion

Pipil

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~97?

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~200

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100-999

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

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Sources of information

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