64 Indian Dialects at "High Risk" of Dying Out Associated Press
go to original July 17, 2012

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's top Indian language official says 64 of the country's 364 Indian dialects are at "high risk" of dying out, with less than 100 speakers of each of those dialects remaining.

The head of Mexico's National Institute of Indian Languages says in many cases, speakers of dying dialects are dispersed and no longer live in a single community.

Javier Lopez Sanchez said Tuesday many parents aren't passing their languages on to their children. Mexico has 68 Indian languages, but 364 distinct dialects.

Expert Francisco Barriga said that even Yucatec Maya is having trouble, despite being the second-largest largest language group with about 800,000 speakers.

Barriga said one problem is that media and the internet favour Spanish, Mexico's dominant national language.

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