Keeping Indigenous Languages Alive in Mexico (fwd link)

[Phil Cash Cash]

Keeping Indigenous Languages Alive in Mexico

Source: National
Geographic<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140410-mexico-languages-speaking-cultures-world-zapotec/>

*by Jenna Randall*

What if there were only a few dozen people in the entire world who spoke
your native tongue? What if you could count the number of people who
fluently speak your language on one hand? This alarming scenario is a
reality for several Indigenous peoples in Mexico.

According to the Centre for Research and Higher Studies in Social
Anthropology <http://www.ciesas.edu.mx/> (CIESAS), of the 143 Indigenous
languages spoken in Mexico, 60 are at risk of extinction, and 21 are critically
endangered<http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=140471&CultureCode=en>.
To be classified as critically endangered, a language must have fewer than
200 speakers.

Many of these groups suffer from language “displacement,” which occurs when
the younger generation does not learn the Indigenous language, leaving only
a group of seniors who speak the language. Once the seniors pass away, the
language dies with them.

Access full article below:
http://firstpeoples.org/wp/keeping-indigenous-languages-alive-in-mexico/
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