Its song was forgotten and so was its name... The relation between biological and linguistic richness in Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca, México.

Abstract

<p>In Mexico, there are 68 indigenous languages, some of them in danger of extinction. In the community of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec the first language of the majority of the population is Mixe or Ayuujk, however, it has begun to be replaced by Spanish in the younger generations. Previous work in this community indicates that the loss of a bird species has caused the disuse of the word in Mixe assigned no name it, as well as the legend associated with the animal. Through mixed ethnographic techniques, this work aims to analyze whether: 1) There are other cases of loss or disuse of the names from biological elements in the community; 2) If the disuse of words in indigenous languages can be accelerated due to the loss of endemic biological wealth in native communities; 3) Associate other aspects of culture and traditional knowledge related to the loss of biodiversity, in order to promote the conservation of traditional ecological knowledge.</p>