Nahuatl (; Nawatl ) is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It is indigenous to central Mexico where it is spoken by more than 1.5 million people. Under the Mexican "Law of Linguistic Rights" Nahuatl is recognized as a "national language" with the same "validity" as Spanish and Mexico's other indigenous languages . Outside of Mexico Nahuatl is particularly known because it was spoken by Aztecs, who spoke a variant now known as Classical Nahuatl.