Language

In terms of speech and communication, Nahuatl was the dominant language that was used.( “Aztec Language” Aztec-history. Aztec-history.com 2006-2011. Web. March 22nd ) Rather than Nahuatl being one language, it is a composition of many languages combined into a big family. Within the Nahuatl family of languages, there are many different variations and ways to speak it. In written form, the Nahuatl alphabet greatly differs from the English one. There are four basic vowels and around seventeen consonants. Unlike the English alphabet, the Nahuatl alphabet consists on consonants with more than one letter such as “ch” or “hu”. Because of the simplistic time-frame that the Aztec civilization took place in, pictograms and symbols were the main form of “written” communication; words were scarcely used. ( “Aztec Alphabet” Aztec-history. Aztec-history.com. 2006-2011. Web. March 22nd. ) Even though the Aztec civilization died out centuries ago, the Nahuatl language, as a whole, is still spoken by hundreds of thousands in the Mexico area. (“Traditions of Mexico-Indigenous Languages” Houston Institute For Culture. houstonculture.org. 2003. John P. Schmal. Web. March 22nd. )