Huastec Language
The Wastek (Huastec) language is a Mayan language of Mexico, spoken by the Huastecs 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 were about 150,000 speakers of Wastek in Mexico (some 90,000 in San Luis Potosí and some 50,000 in Veracruz). The language is called Teenek (with varying spellings) by its speakers, and this name has gained currency in Mexican national and international usage in recent years.
The now-extinct Chicomuceltec language was most closely related to Wastek.
The first linguistic description of the Huastec language accessible to Europeans was written by Andrés de Olmos, who also wrote the first grammatical descriptions of Nahuatl and Totonac.
Wastek-language programming is carried by the CDI's radio station XEANT-AM, based in Tancanhuitz de Santos, San Luis Potosí.
Read more about Huastec Language: Dialects
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