Otomi (; ) is an Oto-Pamean language family spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central "altiplano" region of Mexico. Otomi consists of several closely related languages, many of which are not mutually intelligible. The word "Hñähñu" has been proposed as an endonym, but since it represents the usage of a single dialect, it has not gained wide currency. Linguists have classified the modern dialects into three dialect areas: the Northwestern dialects are spoken in Querétaro, Hidalgo and Guanajuato; the Southwestern dialects are spoken in the State of Mexico; and the Eastern dialects are spoken in the highlands of Veracruz, Puebla, and eastern Hidalgo and villages in Tlaxcala and Mexico states.