Ixpantepec Nieves Mixtec

Ixpantepec Nieves Mixtec, or simply Nieves Mixtec, is a variety of Mixtec spoken in the municipality of Ixpantepec Nieves, Oaxaca, Mexico and in San Diego County, California, United States.

Classification
INALI classifies Nieves Mixtec as part of Upper Western Mixtec (mixteco del oeste alto). J. Kathryn Josserand classified it as part of Southern Baja Mixtec. SIL grouped Nieves Mixtec with Silacayoapan Mixtec, and found that speakers of Nieves Mixtec could understand 94% of Silacayoapan Mixtec, 75% of Juxtlahuaca Mixtec, 56% of Mixtepec Mixtec and 46% of Cacaloxtepec Mixtec.

Consonants

 * The voiceless stops /t tʲ k/ lenite lenite in prosodically weak positions: /t/ becomes [d] or [ð], /tʲ/ becomes [ɾ], and /k/ becomes [ɡ] or [ɣ].


 * /x/ may be realized as [h].


 * /v/ may be realized as [β] or [β̞].


 * /ʒ/ may be realized as [j].


 * /ᵐb/ and /ᵑɡ/ are found in only a small number of words, including loanwords.


 * /ɲ/ may be realized as [j̃] in unstressed syllables.


 * Spanish consonants such as /p f b d ɾ r/ are found in loanwords. /r/ is also found in two animal names.