INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION:
INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES
By Leanne Brenner
There are also over 100 indigenous languages, 60 of which are still spoken today. 80% of those who speak an indigenous language also speak Spanish. The most widely used indigenous languages are Nahuatl, Maya, Mixteco, and Zapoteco (Commisceo, 2015). Nahuatl is spoken by approximately 1.4 million speakers and is the second most common language in Mexico (D.Q., 1996f). There is not an official language in Mexico, even though Spanish is the most dominant language. Because of this, indigenous languages can sometimes be seen in government and official documents (D.Q., 1996f). Several indigenous Mexican words have been adopted into the English language, such as chocolate, coyote, tomato and avocado (Zimmermann, 2015; W.C.E., 2016). Preservation of indigenous language has been an ongoing concern. After the Revolution, the 1917 constitution established the right of indigenous groups to protect their language; in 2002, The Law of Linguistic Rights was passed to give further protection to indigenous languages and encourage bilingual education (D.Q., 1996f).
(BuzzFeedVideo, 2016)