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ScribdTranslationsFaculty of Philosophy and Letters, UNAM, Spanish Language and Literature
Spanish and Hispanic American Linguistic Historiography II, 2019-2
Dr. Kamenetskaia Kotseruba Sofia
Serna Alarcón Luis Arturo
27/03/19
Reading report on: Past and present of the indigenous languages of Mexico
Manrique Castañeda Leonardo.
To create a history of indigenous languages is to create a history of their speakers, knowing
that the language presents elements of the societies that speak it (their needs
communicative skills related to the environment in which they develop) the knowledge of a language is
to know about extralinguistic elements, to understand them and to know how they were perceived
affected and affected the languages.
The text provides us with the origin of languages by dividing them into three linguistic families;
the Otomangue (which breaks down into an extensive linguistic family that includes several
language groups spoken between central Mexico and northern Costa Rica) the Uto-Aztecan
widely spread across North America, from U.S. states to great
Mexican territory) and Mayan (spoken mainly in Belize, Guatemala, and the southeast of
Mexico.
Despite this enormous amount of languages coexisting, none imposed themselves on each other.
the others, which could largely allow for their survival, as well as of
the factors that are accompanied by this (the worldview and its unique way of conceiving the
world and to be conceived in it). Linguistic diversity allowed for a great diversity
cultural by consequence, having Nahuatl as the substrate language (intended for use
commercial and sociopolitical arrangements between the peoples.
With the arrival of the conquerors, and the intention of evangelization, the friars...
they saw before the enormous wall that signifies speaking different languages. And much further beyond
that, in the face of so many languages they did not handle. A first proposal was to study them already
to catch them all, but seeing the enormous challenge this represented, being almost impossible,
they decide to establish Nahuatl (language that sounds good) as the language they will use to
communicate with the indigenous people, ultimately learning the substrate language to
to establish adequate communication. From the Spanish Crown they call for the
Nahuatl as the Mexican language (in reference to the fact that it was spoken by the Mexicas), thus
establishing it from that moment as the language that would allow to partially eliminate the
barrier that meant they spoke different languages, and therefore, the barrier of otherness
that this provoked. Of course, the crown also establishes this so that the
indigenous people in Spanish, as Spain finally wants to establish its language as a symbol
of power unit, since we remember that language always goes hand in hand with the empire.
Due to this type of policies, indigenous languages begin to be lost, a
a regrettable fact since losing a language is losing a way of conceiving the universe. But
We must thank the rescue that existed of many languages from written works of a character
ecclesiastical scholars who studied them (dictionaries, arts) for the teaching of Spanish or for the
teaching of the Christian religion in native languages. It is thanks to these texts that we have
managed to preserve many of those languages that lacked writing.
The Spanish Empire, later the Viceroyalty, and even the governments of the 18th century
they maintain a trend with indigenous languages, which manage to stay alive because of
stay away from all those who represent these hegemonies, and the latter
they destroy indigenous languages to dominate their speakers. Or else, they take advantage
from them to carry out their own purposes, an example of this can be witnessed
clearly in the war of independence; despite the fact that indigenous peoples are the main
component of the independentist military forces, they are not recognized as equals to the
creoles, linguistically speaking, do not allow for a status of equal to
their mother tongues in relation to Spanish. Always remaining subjugated and being
constantly belittled.
There are no longer constant desires for absolute Hispanicization, allowing for the
indigenous peoples can speak the languages they want, but keeping the Spanish language as
the one that gives main status. Spanish will be used for documentation, writings, and by others
sociocultural reasons, it will eventually be considered a superior language; therefore,
indigenous languages are inferior, that is, and those who speak these languages are people
inferior. This idea manages to penetrate the collective cultural imagination of the country perpetuating, and
even justifying, discrimination against native speakers of those languages, and
marginalizing them, paying little attention to their languages.
Following the history of Mexico, we come to the Mexican Revolution, where
different leaders of the people rise up in arms. On this occasion, one of the main
leaders would have indigenous origins, which is why, through him and his ideals, the native languages
They will regain strength, attention, study, dissemination, and preservation.
Each language is a way of seeing the world.
Every language is a complex system to achieve successful communication. For
to understand and name reality. Losing a language is a huge tragedy for the world,
since a unique worldview disappears as it passes. There are also, of course, factors
cultural factors to consider for the study and recovery of languages. We do not deny them.
at no time, and on the contrary, these only reinforce the idea that it is absolutely
it is necessary to continue recovering and preserving them.
Referring to indigenous languages as dialects is a seriously pejorative act. This
It happens because of the ideals that being a speaker of such languages diminishes your prestige as a person.
before society, present for centuries; considering languages as inferior generates
a desire to separate from this. This leads us to reduce them to dialects, a term that
absurdly enormous visibility of the huge and rich variety that exists among each
one of the languages making them unique and so different from each other. This idea of seeing them as
dialects have managed to deeply permeate society, starting with the media
of diffusion that since childhood is responsible for establishing this term achieving that,
through repetition, one eventually comes to believe and internalize.
