General Aztecs Maya Tocuaro Kids Contact 19 Mar 2024/2 Death
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WE RECOMMEND
Trilingual book
Trilingual book
Patrick Johansson’s delightful new (2021) sensitively written and beautifully illustrated book in Nahuatl, Spanish and English - Ahnelhuayoxóchitl.
Recommended books for learning Nahuatl

Want to LEARN Náhuatl?

From time to time we get enquiries from individuals wanting to study Náhuatl. We’re based in the UK, where currently we know of no Náhuatl teachers or resident speakers willing to help, so resources are hard to get. However things are slowly changing, so keep coming back - we’ll post here any new developments...

We DO know of Náhuatl teachers in other countries (USA, Mexico, Italy...) and are happy to put you in touch with them if you contact us. We also know of organisations that may be willing to offer Náhuatl conversation classes by Skype and/or videoconferencing: first port of call here we would recommend is IDIEZ, based in Zacatecas, Mexico - link below.

In the meantime we’re happy to recommend a book that several experts swear by as the best all-round entry-level resource: Foundation Course in Náhuatl Grammar (two volumes) by R. Joe Campbell and Frances Karttunen, SUNY Potsdam, New York, 1989. Currently out of print, it IS (2016) now available as a download from the University of Oregon website - link below.

Other books that have been recommended by experts include:-

Thelma D. Sullivan’s Compendium of Nahuatl Grammar, University of Utah Press, Texas, 1988
Nahuatl as Written by James Lockhart, Stanford University Press, 2001 (for Classical Náhuatl)
An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl by Frances Karttunen, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1992.

The IDIEZ website
‘Inadequate Nahuatl Lessons’
Practice readings in Nahuatl
Download Foundation Course in Nahuatl Grammar here...
Watch an excellent short video for young learners ‘What Montezuma’s Aztec Sounded LIke’ - but you’ll need to scroll to find it!
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Here's what others have said:

Mexicolore replies: It may seem odd, and it’s a real shame, but we don’t! As soon as we DO hear of one, we will publicise the fact. We will want classes ourselves...!
Mexicolore replies: I’m afraid that we can do no more than point you to the resources we already list on the site - please see above, and in the r/h menu...
Mexicolore replies: Please see the next message below for our suggestion on this...
Mexicolore replies: Because we’re based in London, UK, we can’t help you ourselves. We would suggest you approach the H-Nahuatl network - https://networks.h-net.org/h-nahuatl
Mexicolore replies: Thanks for the tip. We’re keen to give this guy a try ourselves...!
Mexicolore replies: Thanks, Kurt. This is indeed another useful resource, if a bit ‘dry’. It’s the work of the (evangelistic) Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Mexicolore replies: Thanks, Steve. That’s good news...
Mexicolore replies: This is disappointing news - we’ll try and find out if it’s available by another route - but thanks, Steve, for letting everyone know...
Mexicolore replies: We suggest at IDIEZ in Zacatecas (see this page). Unfortunately (June 2013) their website is still ‘down’...
Mexicolore replies: This is, maddeningly, not the first time their website has been down. The person we know best is the director, Professor John Sullivan. We’re sure that soon the site will be back up. Meanwhile we’ll send you a contact email address privately.
Mexicolore replies: We don’t know any in Spain (though will search...); for classes by Skype we recommend IDIEZ in Zacatecas, Mexico (www.macehualli.org).
Mexicolore replies: Sorry to say we don’t. Italy, yes! Sounds as if there’s plenty of scope for Náhuatl teachers here in Europe...
Mexicolore replies: Cheers, Seth, thanks for this tip. We know that Frances Karttunen and several other Náhuatl scholars are admirers of Launey’s work. The English version of this book only came out in the last year or so.
Mexicolore replies: IDIEZ have uploaded some lovely, simple, very short instructional videos (greetings, counting, etc.) with subtitles on Youtube: search for ‘IDIEZ Nahuatl’.