Which Indigenous language families are largest among Mesoamerican Indian peoples?

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The three largest linguistic groups among Mesoamerican Indian peoples are the Mayan, the Otomanguean, and the Uto-Aztecan families.1

  • Mayan: Primarily spoken in southeastern Mesoamerica, including parts of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.12
  • Otomanguean: Found across a wide area of Mesoamerica, with a significant center in the modern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Its main branches include the Western group (such as Oto-Pamean and Chinantecan) and the Eastern group (such as Mixtecan and Zapotecan).314
  • Uto-Aztecan: These languages are found throughout the region, a distribution influenced by the historical expansion of the Aztec empire.1

While these three families are the largest, Mesoamerica is a linguistically diverse region home to more than 125 languages classified into approximately 10 language families, including several language isolates such as Tarascan.51