Ancient tongue under threat as last two speakers stop talking

Two elderly men thought to be the last speakers of a Latin American language are refusing to speak to each other.

They are in their seventies now and should be doing their bit to pass their language on to other people in their community.

But a Mexican institute says it is concerned that their rare language may never be heard again.



The two old men who aren't talking live in the Mexican state of Tabasco and their mother tongue is an indigenous language called Zoque from Tabasco.

Fernando Nava is a linguist and knows the pair. "They don't speak to each other by personal reasons, nothing to do with the language itself," he said.

"They have a personal story. One of them is a prosperous man, the other one is a poor man."