The Aztec language was part of a larger group of Indiana languages. Languages such as Pima, Comanche, and Shoshone belong to the same linguistic family as the Aztec language.
Aztec writing was not developed enough to express complete ideas or expressions. In fact, Aztec letters were made primarily by drawing or carving a variety of ancient Aztec symbols in the form of hieroglyphs, or glyphs for short. For example, a hill and a snake were used to represent the town of Coatepec because the word for “snake” in the Aztec language was “coatl” and the word for “hill” was “tepetl.” Since combining these words sounded similar to the word Coatepec, the two pictures were used together to represent the name of the town.
Despite the fact that the Aztec alphabet was not fully developed, poetry was an important aspect of the culture. In fact, Aztec poetry was referred to as “flower and song” because these were metaphors for art and symbolism. In Aztec culture, poetry was regarded as the supreme form of artistic expression and was often composed to honor and celebrate the earth. It was also a necessary component of many Aztec rituals.
Aztec numbers were also an important part of the Aztec language. Numbers were used for the calendar and in the use of mathematics, making them an equally important part of the Aztec language.