Alternative names<\/strong>: Nuumte Oote, Ayapanec, Tabasco Zoque, Ayapa Zoque, Ayapa.<\/p>\n The name \u00ab\u00a0Ayapaneco\u00a0\u00bb was proposed by the <\/em>INALI<\/a>, \u00ab\u00a0Nuumte Oote\u00a0\u00bb (\u00ab\u00a0the real voice \u00bb) is the self-designation, \u00ab\u00a0Tabasco Zoque\u00a0\u00bb was proposed by the 16th edition of the Ethnologue, and\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Ayapa Zoque\u00a0\u00bb by L. Campbell (1997).<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Classification<\/strong>: Mixe-Zoquean family, Zoque sub-family, Zoque branch of the Veracruz Gulf.<\/p>\n Classification based on Campbell (1997). There seems to be no consensus on the intern classification of the Mixe-Zoquean languages, although there is no doubt on the kinship between the two great sub-families (Mixe and Zoque).<\/em><\/p>\n Besides, different sources may provide different information, especially regarding the name of the language.<\/em><\/p>\n Geographical area<\/strong>: Ayapa, municipality of Jalpa de Mendez, State of Tabasco, Mexico.<\/p>\n Number of speakers: <\/strong><\/p>\n According to Wichmann (2007) there are no longer but two native speakers of Ayapaneco: Manuel Segovia, age 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69. Plus three additional passive speakers (Manuel Segovia\u2019s wife and children).<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/em> published an article<\/a> on these two last speakers in April 2011.<\/p>\n Language<\/strong> status<\/strong>:<\/p>\n According to Linguam\u00f3n: \u00ab\u00a0Spanish is the official language of Mexico. The linguistic legislation is rather profuse in terms of indigenous languages. One of these texts worth noting is the General law on the linguistic rights of indigenous peoples<\/em>, operative since 2001, and aiming for the acknowledgment and protection of the individual and collective linguistic rights of indigenous communities, as well as for the promotion, use and development of indigenous languages bearing the status of \u00ab\u00a0national language\u00a0\u00bb. In fact, however, the Mexican linguistic model tends more towards assimilating indigenous languages and cultures, than promoting them.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n Vitality & transmission:<\/strong><\/p>\n Ayapaneco is on the brink of extinction. It is believed there are only two elder speakers left, plus the family members of one of those two speakers (Manuel Segovia), considered as passive speakers, thus unable to transmit the language.<\/p>\n Indiana University linguist anthropologist Daniel Suslak<\/strong> <\/strong>is currently working on the creation of an Ayapaneco dictionary.<\/p>\n Spanish schooling since the mid-20th century, the children being forbidden to speak indigenous languages, and the urbanization and economic migrations of rural indigenous communities than began in the 1970s, all led to rapid neglect of numerous indigenous languages of Mexico. Ayapaneco is one of the languages that has suffered the most. According to Ethnologue.com<\/em>, there were still around forty speakers of Ayapaneco in the beginning of the 1970s.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Data collected by the UNICEF on Ayapaneco<\/a> (in Spanish)<\/p>\n Data collected by the UNESCO on Ayapaneco<\/a><\/p>\n Ethnologue<\/em> webpage on Ayapaneco (here, Tabasco Zoque)<\/a><\/p>\n Ayapaneco-French-English glossary<\/a><\/p>\n INALI\u00a0website<\/a> (in Spanish)<\/p>\nSociolinguistic observations<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Online resources <\/strong><\/h5>\n
Bibliography<\/strong><\/h5>\n