The Ayapaneco is one of the 364 language variants spoken in Mexico. It comes from the family of Mixe-Zoquean, and its last two speakers in the world are living in Jalpa de Mendez, Tabasco. The future of this language is literally hanging by two threads: Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez. These two men, aged 69 and 75 respectively, are the only two people left in the world who speak this language. To make matters worse, they do not talk to each other, due to a misunderstanding that occurred years ago.
This means that, like Isidro himself admitted, “when Manuel and Isidro die, the language will die, because it will be spoken by no one else”.

However, thanks to two American linguists from the University of Indiana and Stanford, California, the Ayapaneco language has a chance of survival. The linguists, along with a team of students, have spent two years recording Manuel speaking the words he knows, and have created a dictionary from the findings.

Although this case is the most serious, the Ayapaneco is not the only endangered language in Mexico. At least 36 varieties of indigenous languages of Mexico are facing the same outcome. According to experts, if these languages fail to strengthen their roots in the next few years, they will follow the path of the 141 language variations, which have ceased to exist, such as the Potlapigu, Guazapa Mocorito, or Cocoa.

The cause of these extinctions, according to the National Institute of Indian Languages (INALI) is the discrimination faced by indigenous communities, who, after being rejected in jobs and schools, decided to stop speaking their native languages and use Spanish as a way of better integrating.

The aim of the INALI is to preserve indigenous languages, through campaigns of awareness for the recognition and preservation of these languages and to encourage a change of attitude amongst the population about their origins. They have also tried to organise classes in which the last two witnesses will impart their knowledge to other citizens. However, the project has failed due to lack of funding and enthusiasm.

There are languages at risk in almost every country in the world. According to UNESCO, about 50% of the approximately 6,000 languages in the world are in danger of extinction.
If this article interests you, we will continue talking about this fascinating (though worrying) issue in our next blog.