Dying Language Speakers Won't Talk To Each Other

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April 14, 2011

Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez are the only two people in the world who still speak Ayapaneco. This centuries-old language of Mexico is in danger of becoming extinct, and yet, the two aren't talking. An anthropologist working on a dictionary with the two aging men described Segovia as a "little prickly" and Velazquez as "more stoic."

Copyright © 2011 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.

Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez�are the only two people in the world who still speak Ayapaneco. This centuries-old language of Mexico is in danger of becoming extinct, and yet the two aren't talking. An anthropologist working on a dictionary with the two aging men described Segovia as a little prickly and Velazquez as stoic. As he told the Guardian newspaper, they just don't have a lot in common.

It's MORNING EDITION.

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