What words do you already know in Nahuatl? Learn about our Nahuatl language program at U-M and consider applying for a FLAS scholarship!
Nahuatl was the language of the Aztec Empire, a triple-alliance of city states that ruled Central Mexico before the Spanish conquest.
LACS, in collaboration with the Zacatecas Institute for Teaching and Research in Ethnology (IDIEZ) at Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas in Mexico, offers a three-level program in Nahuatl. After the Conquest, Spanish and Aztec scribes utilized Latin script to write histories, poetry, and court cases in Nahuatl. Varieties of this indigenous language are spoken today by approximately 1.5 million people in Mexico and Central America. At the University of Michigan, Nahuatl is offered in the academic year as a distance-learning course taught by instructors from IDIEZ; the institute's Facebook page can be found here.
To enroll in Nahuatl language courses through the Center for Latin American and Caribbean studies, see the LSA Course Guide.
