Welcome intermediate learners. At this point in your learning journey you should know upwards of 1,000 words along with the underlying grammar, be able to write and read simple sentences, and understand Nahuatl when spoken slowly. In the intermediate stage you should learn additional vocabulary, practice listening to spoken Nahuatl at a normal speaking rate, read high interest written material, and practice speaking.
To access some of these materials you will need to add a third orthography to your repertoire, the SEP:
Step 1 – Develop your listening skills by watching this video produced by Huasteca Nahuatl speakers from the IDIEZ program
(Note: this resource utilizes the Neo-Classical Nahuatl orthography)
Over one hour of comprehensible input is a lot so tackle this in chunks with your dictionary nearby. Each phrase is transcribed in Nahuatl to help you match the audio to the text.
Here is some additional comprehensible input from Yan Garcia. Try listening first and then reading the text only when you get stuck:
Amatlajkuiloli ipan Internet (Watchtower)
This is a great website that features a native speaker reading bible verses. Each bible verse is highlighted as he speaks. This is a good opportunity to adjust to spoken Nahuatl with a normal speech rate.
Step 2 – Practice reading intermediate level written material
Anawak Itlillo: Ink of Anawak: Nahuatl – English
(Note: this resource utilizes the INALI orthography)
Anawak Itlillo is the first Mesoamerican themed Nahuatl comic published of its kind. In this bilingual Nahuatl-English comic, eight (8) mini stories recount different experiences and conflicts across many indigenous towns and times.
Keep a dictionary close by so you can look up unknown words, this is another great strategy to acquire vocabulary.
Step 3 – Download the IDIEZ monolingual Huasteca Nahuatl dictionary
(Note: this resource utilizes the Neo-Classical Nahuatl orthography)
With 12,000 Huasteca Nahuatl words, this is by far the most exhaustive modern Nahuatl dictionary in existence. This dictionary is completely in Huasteca Nahuatl and does not have English translations. At the intermediate stage, you should be able to use the dictionary and decipher the meanings of unknown words through context.
Step 4 – Utilize the Huasteca Nahuatl Google Translator to help you translate unknown words and phrases that you can’t find in dictionaries
(Note: this resource utilizes the SEP Nahuatl orthography)
The Huasteca Nahuatl Google Translator still has some kinks that need to be worked out. For example, it tends to translates all animals as chichi, dog. As an intermediate learner you should be able to identify the mistakes it makes. Because it’s relatively reliable this will be a good way to translate text passages you don’t quite understand or to translate your own words and phrases into Huasteca Nahuatl.
Step 5 – Practice your reading comprehension by reading this collection of short stories
(Note: this resource utilizes the INALI Nahuatl orthography)
Challenge yourself by reading short stories written by Huasteca Nahuatl speakers. Hover over unknown text only when necessary to find the meanings of the words. If you are able to read these with 95%+ accuracy it’s an indicator you are transitioning to the advanced stage.
Additional resources:
Grupo Brissa – El Caballito Huasteco Music Video (with translated Nahuatl)
Nij Neki Diamante Huasteco (Nahuatl Listening Practice)