The Huastec (or Wasteko or Huasteco) language of Mexico is spoken by the Huastecos living in rural areas of San Luis Potosí and northern Veracruz. Though relatively isolated from them, it is related to the Mayan languages spoken further south and east in Mexico and Central America. According to the 2005 population census, there are about 200,000 speakers of Huasteco in Mexico (some 120,000 in San Luis Potosí and some 80,000 in Veracruz). The language and its speakers are also called Teenek, and this name has gained currency in Mexican national and international usage in recent years.

The now-extinct Chicomuceltec language, spoken in Chiapas and Guatemala, was most closely related to Wasteko.

The first linguistic description of the Huasteco language accessible to Europeans was written by Andrés de Olmos, who also wrote the first grammatical descriptions of Nahuatl and Totonac.

Wasteko-language programming is carried by the CDI's radio station XEANT-AM, based in Tancanhuitz de Santos, San Luis Potosí.

Dialects
Huasteco has three dialects, which have a time depth of no more than 400 years (Norcliffe 2003:3). It is spoken in a region of east-central Mexico known as the Huaxteca-Potossina.

Western (Potosino) —  48,000 speakers in the 9 San Luis Potosí towns of Ciudad Valles (Tantocou), Aquismón, Huehuetlán, Tancanhuitz, Tanlajás, San Antonio, Tampamolón, Tanquian, and Tancuayalab.
Central (Veracruz) —  22,000 speakers in the 2 northern Veracruz towns of Tempoal and Tantoyuca.
Eastern (Otontepec) —  12,000 speakers in the 7 northern Veracruz towns of Chontla, Tantima, Tancoco, Chinampa, Naranjos, Amatlán, and Tamiahua. Also known as Southeastern Huastec. Ana Kondic (2012) reports only about 1,700 speakers, in the municipalities of Chontla (San Francisco, Las Cruces, Arranca Estacas, and Ensinal villages), Chinampa, Amatlan, and Tamiahua.

Phonology

Vowels

  can be realized as laryngealized  after a glottalized consonant.
  in unstressed syllables can also be heard as .

Consonants

 Unaspirated sounds of both plosives and affricates, only occur as realizations of sounds occurring word-medially. They are realized elsewhere as aspirated.  can also become voiced  in word-final positions.
 Sounds  may appear from Spanish loanwords.
 The affricate sounds  can also be realized as .
  can also be realized as a fricative , and also as a voiceless fricative  in word-final positions.
 Ejective velar sounds  can be realized as voiced  in word-medial positions.
 Approximant sounds  can be realized as voiceless  in word-final positions.
  before velar sounds is realized as a palatal nasal .
  before  can be realized as a velar sound .

Notes

References
Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía, e Informática (INEGI) (an agency of the government of Mexico). 2005. 2005 Mexican population census, last visited 22 May, 2007

Further reading
Ariel de Vidas, A.  2003. "Ethnicidad y cosmologia: La construccion cultural de la diferencia entre los teenek (huaxtecos) de Veracruz", in UNAM, Estudios de Cultura Maya.  Vol. 23.
Campbell, L. and T. Kaufman.  1985.  "Maya linguistics: Where are we now?," in Annual Review of Anthropology.  Vol. 14, pp. 187–98
Dahlin, B. et al.  1987. "Linguistic divergence and the collapse of Preclassic civilization in southern Mesoamerica".  American Antiquity.  Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 367–82.
Edmonson, Barbara Wedemeyer. 1988. A descriptive grammar of Huastec (Potosino dialect). Ph.D. dissertation: Tulane University.
INAH.  1988.  Atlas cultural de Mexico: Linguistica.  Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia.
Kaufman, T.  1976.  "Archaeological and linguistic correlations in Mayaland and associated areas of Mesoamerica," in World Archaeology.  Vol. 8, pp. 101–18
Malstrom, V.  1985.  "The origins of civilization in Mesoamerica: A geographic perspective", in L. Pulsipher, ed. Yearbook of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers.  Vol. 11, pp. 23–29.
McQuown, Norman A. 1984. A sketch of San Luis Potosí Huastec. University of Texas Press.
(CDI). No date. San Luis Potosí: A Teenek Profile; Summary. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007.
Norcliffe, Elizabeth. 2003. The Reconstruction of Proto-Huastecan. M.A. dissertation. University of Canterbury.
Ochoa Peralta,	María Angela. 1984. El idioma huasteco de Xiloxúchil, Veracruz. México City: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
Ochoa, L.  2003.  "La costa del Golfo y el area maya: Relaciones imaginables o imaginadas?", in UNAM, Estudios de Cultura Maya.  Vol. 23.
Robertson, J.  1993.  "The origins and development of Huastec pronouns."  International Journal of American Linguistics.  Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 294–314
Sandstrom, Alan R., and Enrique Hugo García Valencia. 2005. Native peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Stresser-Pean, G.  1989.  "Los indios huastecos", in Ochoa, L., ed.  Huastecos y Totonacas.  Mexico City: CONACULTA.
Vadillo Lopez, C. and C. Riviera Ayala.  2003.  "El trafico maratimo, vehiculo de relaciones culturales entre la region maya chontal de Laguna de Terminos y la region huaxteca del norte de Veracruz, siglos XVI-XIX", in UNAM, Estudios de Cultura Maya.  Vol. 23.
Wilkerson, J. 1972.  Ethnogenesis of the Huastecs and Totonacs.  PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Tulane University, New Orleans.

External links 
 Huasteco Collection of Barbara Edmonson, an archive of recordings of narratives, words, and rituals from the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America.

Agglutinative languages
Indigenous languages of Mexico
Mayan languages
Huastec
와스텍어(Wastek, Huasteco)는 멕시코의 와스텍족이 사용하는 마야어족 언어이다. 산루이스포토시주와 베라크루스주 북부의 시골에서 쓰인다. 메소아메리카의 남쪽 지역에서 쓰이는 다른 마야어족 언어들로부터 지리적으로 외떨어져 있다. 2005년 인구조사에 따르면 멕시코에서 약 20만 명이 와스텍어를 할 줄 안다(산루이스포토시주에 약 12만 명, 베라크루스주에 약 8만 명). 최근에는 테넥어(Teenek)라고도 불리며, 이 이름은 멕시코 국내에서나 국제적으로나 점차 널리 쓰이고 있다.

지금은 사멸한 치코무셀텍어가 가장 가까운 친척이다.

와스텍어 문법을 최초로 기술한 유럽인은 안드레스 데 올모스()로, 그는 나와틀어와 토토낙어의 문법을 최초로 기술한 사람이기도 하다.

산루이스포토시주 탄칸위츠데산토스에 위치한 라디오 방송국 XEANT-AM이 와스텍어로 된 라디오 방송을 진행하고 있다.

방언 
와스텍어에는 3개의 방언이 있고 이들이 갈라진 시기는 길어야 400년 전으로 보인다(Norcliffe 2003:3). 멕시코 중동부의 와슈테카-포토시나(Huaxteca-Potossina)라 불리는 지역에서 사용된다.
 서부 방언(포토시노): 화자 48,000명. 산루이스포토시주의 9개 마을(시우다드바예스, 아키스몬, 웨웨틀란, 탄칸위츠, 탄라하스, 산안토니오, 탐파몰론, 탕키안, 탕콰얄라브)
 중부 방언(베라크루스): 화자 22,000명. 베라크루스주 북부의 2개 마을(템포랄, 탄토유카)
 동부 방언(오톤테펙): 화자 12,000명. 베라크루스주 북부의 7개 마을(촌틀라, 탄티마, 탕코코, 치남파, 나랑호스, 아마틀란, 타미아와). 동남 와스텍어라고도 한다. Ana Kondic (2012)의 보고에 따르면 화자가 1,700명밖에 남지 않았으며 이들은 촌틀라, 치남파, 아마틀란, 타미아와에 살고 있다.

음운론

모음

자음

각주

더 읽기 
 Ariel de Vidas, A. 2003. "Ethnicidad y cosmologia: La construccion cultural de la diferencia entre los teenek (huaxtecos) de Veracruz", in UNAM, Estudios de Cultura Maya.Vol. 23.
 Campbell, L. and T. Kaufman. 1985. "Maya linguistics: Where are we now?," in Annual Review of Anthropology. Vol. 14, pp. 187–98
 Dahlin, B. et al. 1987. "Linguistic divergence and the collapse of Preclassic civilization in southern Mesoamerica". American Antiquity. Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 367–82.
 Edmonson, Barbara Wedemeyer. 1988. A descriptive grammar of Huastec (Potosino dialect). Ph.D. dissertation: Tulane University.
 INAH. 1988.  Atlas cultural de Mexico: Linguistica. Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia.
 Kaufman, T. 1976. "Archaeological and linguistic correlations in Mayaland and associated areas of Mesoamerica," in World Archaeology. Vol. 8, pp. 101–18
 Malstrom, V. 1985. "The origins of civilization in Mesoamerica: A geographic perspective", in L. Pulsipher, ed. Yearbook of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers. Vol. 11, pp. 23–29.
 McQuown, Norman A. 1984. A sketch of San Luis Potosí Huastec. University of Texas Press.
 (CDI). No date. San Luis Potosí: A Teenek Profile; Summary. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007.
 Norcliffe, Elizabeth. 2003. The Reconstruction of Proto-Huastecan. M.A. dissertation. University of Canterbury.
 Ochoa Peralta,	María Angela. 1984. El idioma huasteco de Xiloxúchil, Veracruz. México City: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
 Ochoa, L. 2003. "La costa del Golfo y el area maya: Relaciones imaginables o imaginadas?", in UNAM, Estudios de Cultura Maya.Vol. 23.
 Robertson, J. 1993. "The origins and development of Huastec pronouns." International Journal of American Linguistics. Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 294–314
 Sandstrom, Alan R., and Enrique Hugo García Valencia. 2005. Native peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
 Stresser-Pean, G. 1989. "Los indios huastecos", in Ochoa, L., ed. Huastecos y Totonacas. Mexico City: CONACULTA.
 Vadillo Lopez, C. and C. Riviera Ayala. 2003. "El trafico maratimo, vehiculo de relaciones culturales entre la region maya chontal de Laguna de Terminos y la region huaxteca del norte de Veracruz, siglos XVI-XIX", in UNAM, Estudios de Cultura Maya.Vol. 23.
 Wilkerson, J. 1972. Ethnogenesis of the Huastecs and Totonacs. PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Tulane University, New Orleans.

외부 링크 

 바버라 에드몬슨의 와스텍어 자료. 이야기, 단어장, 제례 의식 모음. Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America 수록.

마야어족
멕시코의 언어
교착어