Popoluca
/ˌpoʊ.poʊˈluː.kə/noun
A group of Indigenous peoples and languages in southeastern Mexico, especially in Veracruz and Oaxaca.
Did you know?Popoluca is an exonym from Nahuatl usage meaning “one who speaks a foreign language” or “incomprehensible speech,” showing how language itself became a social boundary marker.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian
Nahuatl
popoloca
“a foreign speaker; unintelligible speech”
16th Century
Spanish
popoluca
“an Indigenous group labeled by Nahuatl-speaking and Spanish chroniclers”
Colonial Period
Spanish
popoluca
“a name applied to several distinct Indigenous peoples and languages in Mexico”
Modern English
English
Popoluca
“a term used for certain Indigenous peoples and languages of southeastern Mexico”