If you are traveling to Mexico, it will help to know some Spanish. At the larger hotels and in the major tourist areas there are plenty of English-speaking natives, so you can get by without speaking Spanish, but if you venture away from these areas in search of the real Mexico, some knowledge of the language would be helpful. Fortunately, the Mexican people tend to be quite patient and will take the time to try to understand what you want and help out when asked. Estados Unidos Mexicanos. 97,967,000 (1995); 8% of the population speak Indian languages. Literacy rate 87% to 88%. Also includes Arabic 400,000, Chinese 31,000. Information mainly from SIL 1996. Christian, secular. Blind population 200,000. Deaf population 1,300,000 (1986 Gallaudet University). Deaf institutions: 30. Data accuracy estimate: A1, A2. The number of languages listed for Mexico is 295. Of those, 289 are living languages and 6 are extinct. |
