Overview
With almost 1.4 million speakers, Nahuatl is among the most widely spoken of the 68 living languages officially recognized by the Mexican government. Nahuatl is part of the Uto Azteca language family, one of the largest linguistic families in the Americas in terms of number of speakers, number of languages, and geographic extension, spanning the Western United States and Mexico.
Berkeley is offering Nahuatl to Berkeley students during the academic year as a real-time distance-learning course taught by native-language instructors from the Instituto de Docencia e Investigación Etnológica de Zacatecas (IDIEZ). This is the variety of Náhuatl spoken in the municipality of Chicontepec, in the Huasteca region of northern Veracruz, Mexico. Nahua culture, history, and modern life are at the center of course instruction.
Nahuatl courses
Beginning Nahuatl I (SPANISH 40A)
Offered Fall Semester
First-semester Nahuatl for students who have no previous experience with the language. This course develops listening and reading strategies with an emphasis on oral and written forms of communication.
SPANISH 40A: Beginning Nahuatl I — M W: 2:00 – 4:00 pm Pacific Time (Fall 2023)
Beginning Nahuatl II (SPANISH 40B)
Offered Spring Semester
Second semester beginning Nahuatl course for students who have completed Beginning Nahuatl I. This course continues to develops listening and reading strategies with an emphasis on oral and written forms of communication.
SPANISH 40B: Beginning Nahuatl II — M W: 2:00 – 4:00 pm Pacific Time (Spring 2024)
Intermediate Nahuatl I (SPANISH 40C)
Offered Fall Semester
Third-semester Nahuatl. Continued emphasis on listening and speaking skills with an increased emphasis on reading and writing skills as the culture of people who speak Nahuatl.
SPANISH 40C: Intermediate Nahuatl I — T Th: 12:00 – 2:00 pm Pacific Time (Fall 2023)
Intermediate Nahuatl II (SPANISH 40D)
Offered Spring Semester
Fourth-semester Nahuatl course which follows Intermediate Nahuatl I. Continued emphasis on listening and speaking skills with an increased emphasis on reading and writing skills as the culture of people who speak Nahuatl.
SPANISH 40D: Intermediate Nahuatl II — T Th: 12:00 – 2:00 pm Pacific Time (Spring 2024)
Advanced Nahuatl I (SPANISH 40E)
Offered Fall Semester
The first semester of Advanced Nahuatl, fifth-semester level which follows Intermediate Nahuatl II. Continued emphasis on listening and speaking skills with an increased emphasis on reading and writing skills as the culture of people who speak Nahuatl.
SPANISH 40E: Advanced Nahuatl I (Fall 2023)
Advanced Nahuatl II (SPANISH 40E)
Offered Spring Semester
The second semester of Advanced Nahuatl, sixth-semester level which follows Advanced Nahuatl I. Continued emphasis on listening and speaking skills with an increased emphasis on reading and writing skills as the culture of people who speak Nahuatl.
SPANISH 40F: Advanced Nahuatl II — Time to be confirmed (Spring 2024)
For more information
- Write to Julia Byrd (julia.byrd@berkeley.edu) for more information about Nahuatl at Berkeley.
- Once you enroll in a Nahuatl course at Berkeley, please write to Julia Byrd (julia.byrd@berkeley.edu) for more information.
- For more information about CLACS's support of Indigenous languages, see our page on the Collaboration for Native Cultures and Languages in the Americas.