Otomanguean historical linguistics: Past, present, and prospects for the future

2 Among the linguistic lineages of Mesoamerica, the Otomanguean family is the most diverse 3 and most widely spread. Long occupying a central position in one of the cradles of human 4 civilization, speakers of Otomanguean languages have played important roles in the region, 5 about which their languages have much to tell. However, Otomanguean is perhaps the least 6 understood of the major Mesoamerican language families, due to its great diversity, the 7 remarkable structural complexity of Otomanguean languages, and the history of the field of 8 Otomanguean historical linguistics, which has seen great achievement alternating with periodic 9 controversy and doubt. With a focus on the higher levels and more ancient time depths of the 10 family, this article surveys Otomanguean historical linguistic work and presents a state of the 11 art perspective on Otomanguean classification, reconstruction, linguistic prehistory, remaining 12 challenges, and prospects for the future. 13