Mesoamerican Indian Languages

Mesoamerican Indian languages, Mesoamerican also spelled Meso-American, group of more than 125 languages classified into some 10 language families (including language isolates) that are native to Mesoamerica. The term “Mesoamerica” refers to a culture area originally defined by a number of culture traits shared among the pre-Columbian cultures of the geographical region that extends from the Pánuco River in northern Mexico to the Lempa River in El Salvador and along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Mesoamerica is also a linguistic area, which roughly coincides with the culture area. The term is sometimes treated as synonymous with “Middle America,” though Middle America is larger, including also all of Mexico and Central America. Mesoamerican languages are the focus of this article, although the other Middle American languages are also discussed.