Mexican Indian Language Appears Headed for Extinction (fwd link)

[Phillip E Cash Cash]

Mexican Indian Language Appears Headed for Extinction

By Helena Lozano

MEXICO CITY – Ayapaneco, one of the 364 Indian languages spoken in Mexico,
appears headed for extinction because its last two speakers refuse to
communicate with each other due to a long-running feud.

Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez are the last surviving speakers of the
language, which has its roots in Jalpa de Mendez, a town in the southern
state of Tabasco.

The two elderly men live in the small community of Ayapan, but they have not
spoken to each other in years even though their houses are only about 500
meters (some 1,600 feet) apart.

The source of the feud between the 75-year-old Segovia and the 69-year-old
Velazquez is not known.

Access full article below:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=389552&CategoryId=14091
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ilat/attachments/20110316/035ae182/attachment.htm>