At least 64 linguistic variants of the 364 that are registered on the language map of Mexico are “at high risk of disappearing,” said the director general of the National Institute of Indigenous Languages ​​(INALI) , Javier Lopez.
He explained that 64 variants could disappear as there are villages in which only the elderly speak the language or there are no children who speak such as the cases of tlahuica, owl, tuzanteco, kaqchikel, teko, awakateko, oluteco, ayapaneco, ixcateco , Ixil, Texistepequeño, Chocholteco and Ixil Chajuleño, as well as two variants of the Otomí, four of the Mixteco and five of the Zapoteco.
In this regard, López anticipated that Inali will promote concrete actions to revitalize the 64 variants, among them the training of interpreters and translators in indigenous languages, the Linguistic Atlas of Mexico and the translation of the Magna Carta into 68 indigenous languages.
Lopez’s statements came as part of the presentation of the third edition of the map “Cultural Diversity of Mexico: National Indigenous Languages”, which includes information on the linguistic diversity of the country in 11 linguistic families, 68 linguistic groups and 364 Variants.
At the ceremony, the director general of Popular Cultures of the National Council for Culture and the Arts (Conaculta), Alejandra Frausto, considered that the map is an instrument for dissemination and dissemination of linguistic diversity in Mexico.