Nēhuatl

Aztexan, or Nēhuatl, (English: /æz.ˈtɛks.ən/; Aztexan pronunciation: [ˈneːwat͡ɬ]), known historically as Texan, is a language from the Uto-Aztecan language family. Aztexan is spoken by about 100,000 people, most of whom live in southern Texas and the bordering areas. Aztexan is a descendant of Classical Nahuatl, which had been spoken in central Mexico since at least the 7th century AD. It was the language of the Aztecs, who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Post-Classic period of Meso-American history. During the centuries preceding the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Aztecs had expanded to incorporate a large part of central Mexico, and their influence caused the variety of Nahuatl spoken by the residents of Tenochtitlan to become a prestige language in Meso-America. At the conquest, with the introduction of the Latin alphabet, Nahuatl also became a literary language, and many chronicles, grammars, works of poetry, administrative documents and codices were written in it during the 16th and 17th centuries. This early literary language based on the Tenochtitlan variety has been labeled Classical Nahuatl, and is among the most studied and best-documented languages of the Americas. Aztexan is descended from nobles from Tenochtitlan who were able to escape northward and eventually ended up near the Rio Grande. While the language is considered critically endangered, children continue to learn and use the language at home and it is considered a cultural unifier among speakers.

Classification and Dialects
Aztexan is derived from the Classical Nahuatl language of Tenochtitlan, which itself is derived from the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, which includes languages like Hopi, Comanche, Shoshone, and other Nahuatl languages spoken in Mexico.

Aztexan has two main dialects, Northern and Southern, based on their position relative to the Rio Grande. The main difference between dialects is the vocabulary; while the Northern dialect has taken in many English words, the Southern dialect is much more conservative and most loanwords are Spanish-derived.