Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA's Migration blog:
An often unknown issue outside of the local society in any country is the linguistic heritage of the indigenous people of the region. In Latin America these ancient tribal languages take on an added dimension, as many Latin American nations were formed early as independent nations compared to other colonial nations, as well much of the nationalism created at the time and existing today is a mixture of European societies interchanged with reverence with the local ancient civilizations which gives roots to much of the modern heritage of the nations in Latin America.
Unique to the Americas, Mexico's original inhabitants were made of more than Aztecs and Mayans. In Mexico today much of the population can trace their roots back to one region, and many have parents and grandparents that speak languages that are for the most part unrecognised in the rest of the world and even in much of Mexico. With so few people speaking these local languages, often many are close to becoming extinct. Today, 20 Mexican languages are seen as being threatened.
According to a BBC report this week, one language has all but been abandoned. The "Zoque" language of Ayapan in Mexico has been prematurely abandoned, as the two last speakers of the language have simply decided to no longer speak to each other for personal reasons. This ancient Olmeca language has dialects which are spoken by many in the south of Mexico in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Vercruz states, but all are becoming threatened by extinction.
With more than 350 different languages spoken in Mexico, there is a hope that new speakers of these languages will arise from their families and endure the slow extinction of culture and language associated with the diversity in Mexico. A mostly unknown situation outside of the country as well as in between different Mexican states, the world would do well to preserve as best as possible one of the most ancient civilizations and its linguistic heritage.
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