It includes the greatest topographic diversity in the country and contains a great variety of ecozones as well as microhabitats.

The Totonac people share their territory with the Nahua, Otomí, and Tepehua (not to be confused with the Tepehuano language), all of which have communities within the region.

Totonacapan is located in east central Mexico between present day Puebla and Veracruz.

Totonac populations are also found in colonized regions of Uxpanapa in southern Veracruz and the state of Quintana Roo in the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula.

The Totonac inhabit two different types of environments: cool and rainy mesas of high altitude and warm and humid coastal lowlands.

[3] There are some sources that claim that the term Totonac, as explained by residents, means "people that come from where the sun rises."

Other explanations of the term consist of derogatory meanings that indicate little capacity or ability to understand.

Speakers prefer to use verbal expressions more generally throughout their everyday way of speaking such as using words like "'instead of ‘visitors’, tiintamimáana ‘those who are coming’; instead of ‘seamstresses’, tiintsapananáh ‘those who sew’.

This can be shown in the following table: It is common in this language that possessive affixation does not affect stress except in the noun 'house' which is ĉikị in Filomeno Mata Totonac.

[7] maya=lakpuskáanmaya=lakpuskáan‘nothing but women’maya=séqetịmaya=séqetị'nothing but grass'láa=n-kin-taalá’ḁlike=E-1.POSS-siblingláa=n-kin-taalá’ḁlike=E-1.POSS-sibling‘(he’s) like a brother to me’láa=m-pášnilike=E-pigwaayáneatláa=m-pášni waayánlike=E-pig eat's/he eats like a pig'Filomeno Mata Totonac has a very interesting way of describing numbers and writing them out.

[7] kmaqwaayanqóow/k-maq-waayan-qóo-wḁ/1.EXCL-ASS-eat-TOT-1PLkmaqwaayanqóow/k-maq-waayan-qóo-wḁ/1.EXCL-ASS-eat-TOT-1PL'we finished eating together'naamaqtanúuma/naa=maq-ta-nuu-maa/also=ASS-ing-in-PROGnaamaqtanúuma/naa=maq-ta-nuu-maa/also=ASS-ing-in-PROG'he is also among them'kkiitammaqskuxłị/k-kii-ta-maq-skux-łị/1.EXCL-RT-ing-ASS-work-PFVkkiitammaqskuxłị/k-kii-ta-maq-skux-łị/1.EXCL-RT-ing-ASS-work-PFV'I went with him to work with others'Upper Necaxa Totonac (UNT) is an indigenous language from the area of Puebla, Mexico.

A sentence such as “túksli Pedro Juan” is more likely to be understood as “Pedro hit Juan,” and less likely to be taken as “Juan hit Pedro.” Verbs normally appear at the beginning of the sentence but a focused subject may appear at the beginning followed by a verb as in the following sentences:"tsamá: is’áta animá:ɬ xa: tu: skatkutún the animal's child doesn't want to learn anything"[8] tu: tsamá: ka:li: tampá: tawanán

those (animals) that you are bringing eat people"[8]The previous examples are often encountered in narratives and discourse and may set the topic.

It appears that UNT is more concerned with giving you the most pertinent information first and not worried so much about having a rigid sentence order.

Through the morphological derivation the copula joins with the desiderative suffix “-kutun” giving us the meaning of “wanting to X,” as seen below:"tsamá: ʔawátʔa púʃku wankutún the boy wants to be a chief (someday)"[8]Predicate nominals follow a word order with the subject at the beginning and verb at the end so that the copula is between them.

well, I can't find out what kind of animal is eating the watermelon"[8]Basically other than inserting “xa” before the verb to form the negative there is no other morphological changes in the sentence.

he was not able to teach them"[8] Interrogative pronouns in UNT are used to ask questions, are focused, and appear at the beginning of a sentence to ask “Who?

)"[8]Asking “yes/no” questions in UNT is the same as when you are making a statement with the exception of the rising intonation at the end of the sentence indicating the need for a yes/no response:

In UNT the common coordinating conjunctions  are “ʔe” (and) and “ʔo” (or) and are suspected to have been borrowed from the Spanish “y” and “o” and are used in much the same way as their Spanish and English counterparts, as seen here:"tsamá: puská:t laʔatʃu:yá:ɬ tsí:sa naka:takúʃtu ʔe: xikwánli the woman had a vision in the wee hours in the bush and was afraid antsá iʃtawi:laná:ɬ tsamá: tʃa:tú: tsamá ʔawátʃa ʔe tsumaxát

there were three that hadn't had baptism"[8]Similarly to how we used it with questions, we add the particle “ya” to distinguish between “what” and “which one.”  Inanimates and animals considered of low status take the form “tu” rather than “ti.”"mat min lú:wa tu: mat iʃmín ka:wá kɾistiánu they say that a snake would come and eat people"[8] Semantically, we can sort these clauses into two groups, the first type being the one referred to as a “headless relative clause,” that is referred to in arguing the embedded clause.

"iʃmín tu: iʃwamá:ɬ that thing that was eating it came"[8]Another type of complement clause is the non-argument that is formed with other relative pronouns as seen in the following:"tasta:lá: tsamá: uʃúm, xa:tsá katsí: tʃi: tsex natamaʔta:yá the wasps follow him, he doesn't know how he will save himself"[8]With the exception of the relative pronoun, ordinary matrix and embedded clauses are the same.

"wiʃ katsí:ya paɬ tsex nata:taʃtúya you know whether you can come out ahead with him"[8] These are subordinate clauses that are used to express time, location, manner, motive, purpose, condition and are preceded by one of two complementizers used to build clauses that are time-related.

"ikte:aktʃintama:pí:ɬ akʃní te:taʃtúɬ tsamá: tumí:n I stepped on the money and flattened it when I passet by li:waná: naxáʃa nakɬawá tu: nawáya (Pt.)

while I bathe, you make the food"[8]An adverbial clause referring to a place will be preceded by “xa” (where).

"póʔtu tu: iʃtalaʔpu:wán iʃtawá antsá xa: iʃtaki:tʃá:n they ate everything they desired there [in the place] where they arrived"[8]This example demonstrates how clauses can serve as a complement instead of a verb modifier:"tsex paɬ kiʃoʔoníya tʃi: kli:wán ikmaʃki:yá;n, mat wan 'well, if you pay me as I say, I'll give it to you,' he says'"[8]Another subordinating conjunction in UNT is “tʃu nú” (because):"mat paʃki:kán tʃu:nú: mat maʔní:ɬ lú:wa they love him because it is said that he killed the snake"[8]Less often, the conjunction “tʃi” is used, as in the following:"xa: katiáɬ tʃi: wa: wánka naɬu:waskuxkán tʃu:wá he's not going to go since they told him here they're going to do community work"[8]It is far more common for speakers to use the prefix “li”:"u:tsá kili:wi:li:kaní: namintsá tsamá: lú:wa tu: nakiwá they put me here because the snake that will eat me is coming"[8]The Spanish language has donated “porque” (because) as seen in these examples:"nali:tʃi:yá:uw porque xa: tsex tu ɬawamá:ɬ we are going to put you in prison because what you are doing is not good naikwayá:n porque iktsí:nksa

I'm going to eat you because I am hungry"[8]UNT has the purpose modifier “ki nú,” although purpose isn't commonly expressed:"kalaʔlóʔo tantú:n ki:nú tsex napu:ɬú:ya loosen that post so that you can pull it out"[8]The conjunctions “xá ʃku” and “lÍ wa” (Ch.

store the meat well so that it won't rot"[8]“Pal” (if) and “pa lá” (if not) will commonly precede a conditional clause, as seen here:"paɬ tʃu:ntsá nama:tseyí:ya kinanimá:ɬ ʔe nali:pína ti: kima:wí: if you cure my horse then you will take my wife"[8]“Su” and “pentú” are two other complementizers that are negative:"nala:eɬti:yá:uw su: kit naklakalasá:n you'll answer me or I'll hit you in the face "ʔo: pentú natali:ma:makawani:yá:n skuxnín