Pablo Mendez
12/14/2022
Indigenous Languages: A Dying Legacy
Language is an important part of life. It is a vital part of human connection, it allows us to share our ideas, thoughts, and feelings with others. Unfortunately, a lot of the indigenous languages in Mexico are disappearing. There are many languages in the world but I have a connection to one, a language that is already disappearing in my grandparent's town in Oaxaca. Indigenous languages are dying in Mexico because of discrimination, migration, and a lack of representation in society.
Most languages die out regularly as the next generations of speakers become bilingual and then begin to favor the more commonly spoken language. According to the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI), there are officially 68 living indigenous languages in Mexico and there are 8 million known speakers. Some native languages that are used more are Nahuatl, Maya, Chol, Totonac, Mazatec, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Otomi (“Mexico’s Indigenous Languages are in Danger”). Only 1 in 3 indigenous children speak the languages of their parents because they switch to other languages, or their parents don’t raise them to speak their native language. This often happens when speakers seek to learn a more prestigious language to gain social, and economic advantage or to avoid discrimination (Andre-Clark).
Discrimination is one of the main reasons that languages disappear. People from different backgrounds in Mexico have suffered from this and still do to this day. Before the arrival of Spanish colonists in the late 15th century, there were more than 500 languages, but today, Mexico's linguistic diversity is in grave danger.(“Mexico and Its Multitude”) When they arrived the Spanish wanted to convert indigenous people to Christianity and make them learn Spanish. They wanted to make the indigenous forget their traditions and learn a new way. Although schools were meant to be bilingual all teachings were done in Spanish (Bigley). Indigenous people have been discriminated against and punished for speaking their languages in schools (“Mexico’s Indigenous Languages are Disappearing”). This type of act is still found to this day. Yásnaya Aguilar, a Mexican Linguist and a member of the National Institute of Indigenous Languages reported, “I was still beaten in the hand for speaking my language at school” (Cullman). She also blames Mexico for “systematic discrimination and violence against children speaking an indigenous language.” In a workshop in 2018, she reported some extreme cases of discrimination in school. “‘In 2006 a girl was reported to have been hung upside down as punishment for speaking Nahuatl in class; in 2005 an Otomi girl could not be registered with her name in her own language because the civil registry did not allow it; and in 2015 high school students were punished with going to wash the bathrooms if they spoke chantino in school” (Cullen). A lot of speakers of indigenous languages have reported fear of discrimination as a major reason for not speaking or teaching others their native tongues.
Migration to cities or the U.S. has also led to the disappearance of indigenous languages. Mexico City is a more popular place to move for indigenous people. Over much of Mexico's history, the indigenous population has only lived in rural areas. The cities became populated by European and people of mixed-race heritage. While indigenous residents in rural areas were able to keep their identity, those in the cities were forced to hide their origins. Those who stayed in the rural areas were forced to live in poverty. So many indigenous people moved to cities to escape poverty. “Mexico City’s population tripled from 1930 to 1950 due to a rural influx, then again from 1950 to 1970. Into the 21st century, it again doubled. As of the 2020s, the metropolitan area has 22 million people” (Thelmadatter). The first ones to move to the cities were men who worked seasonally. They didn’t have the intention to stay, but as time went on, their entire family moved to stay there. “As of 2018, over 700,000 indigenous people were estimated to live in the capital, roughly 7% of the country’s total indigenous population, although counting is problematic. Most have origins in states like Puebla, Hidalgo, Guerrero, México state, and Oaxaca, but representatives of all of the country’s 65 recognized indigenous groups can be found in Mexico City” (Thelmadatter).
Moving to the cities increased the rate of disappearance of native languages because indigenous people felt the need to fit in. “As for other immigrants, indigenous languages seem to be the most vulnerable, with city-born generations losing the ability to communicate in their ancestral tongues. How much they lose or keep such knowledge seems to depend on the family, especially on how much the mother insists on using the indigenous language at home, says Mexico City Triqui leader Moises Tello” (Thelmadatter). Lourdes de León Pasquel says that a few reasons are "migration, social instability, [and] economic and ideological factors that push speakers to adopt Spanish" (Dell’Amore). Nancy Espinal, a Purepecha Traditional healer, is the daughter of indigenous migrants to Mexico City. Her mother hid her language and her origins. She said, “It happened to my mother. She arrived here in Mexico City at 16 years old she spoke little Spanish and had to hide her own native language that’s why at my age I can’t speak Nahuatl, she hid her language because she was mocked.” (“Mexico's Indigenous Languages Are Disappearing”). While indigenous people believe that moving into a city would make their life better, their life actually ends up staying the way they used to live. “What still does not seem to be happening with many communities here, however, is complete assimilation into Mexico City’s wider culture. Education levels are low, and many born in the capital continue to make a living the way their migrant parents and grandparents did” (Thalmadatter).
Both of my grandparents are from different states in Mexico, and both have experienced racism and discrimination. My dad's parents experienced it in the city of Mexico. My grandpa lived in a small town in Oaxaca called Santa Anna Zegache. In that town, they would speak Zapotec. Zapoteco is the oldest language in Mexico today. There are 50 variant languages in Zapoteco most of which are endangered. In the state of Oaxaca, there are 16 indigenous languages in that small town. Some residents of Oaxaca speak Zapoteco and others are bilingual or they only speak Spanish. It's mostly older people who speak fully Zapoteco. My grandpa moved to Mexico City to work and have a better life, but there he also experienced racism, and the people would make fun of him because of his language. That drove him to hate and become embarrassed of his language. The discrimination was so bad that it caused him not to teach his children Zapotec, and he forbade my grandma from speaking it. He was trying to protect his family. My grandma would try to speak it and teach her children (my dad and uncles), but my grandpa would get mad at her and tell her, “They won’t get a good education.”
In Mexico, there is a lack of representation of indigenous languages and cultures. This also leads to the disappearance of native languages. For example, if you turn on the TV or go out and see the publicity on the street, all the people are white. Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta said in an interview, “Mexico on TV looks like a Scandinavian country which is why it is important for people especially kids in Latin America to feel represented”(Conde and Williams). Kids want to fit in. If they don’t see themselves or people like them, then they will not want to be themselves. Huerta goes on to say, “The only thing I want is that the next time little boys and little girls look in the mirror they feel proud of that reflection, and they see that there was nothing wrong with them but the eyes that judged them.” (“Tenoch Huerta”)
When indigenous culture is represented, it is only seen as something from the past. The language and culture is seen as something that is already dead or dying. It is not seen as something that is part of the future. “‘It is very common that indigenous characters are represented as mythical beings of the past, or at least on their way to becoming part of the past’, complains Mexican film writer and director Armando Bautista, who himself has a Mixteco background. ‘But they fail to address how society has contributed to the discrimination, marginalization, and exploitation of these communities’” (Cullmann). Indigenous culture should be shown as something that is not dead but something that is thriving.
Some people ask the question why should we save indigenous languages? Language shows and explains how we see the world, and it contributes to cultural diversity. Language can contain many secrets; it can contain knowledge that the rest of the world has yet to know. The term for eelgrass in Mexico's Seri language alerted scientists that eelgrass, unlike most seagrasses, is a nutritious food. The Seri word for one species of turtle, moosni limit cooit, meaning "green turtle that descends," revealed something no one else knew--that this turtle hibernates on the seafloor”(Andre-Clark). Language also shows how society looks at the world and what it values. For example, Zapoteco has a third personal pronoun gender, Muxe. It defies the common binary option of male or female. Understanding and learning endangered languages helps us understand and appreciate other cultures. Mixtec poet Celerina Sanchez said, “If my language dies, I'll never know how to name things, how to see the world from my point of view” (“Mexico's Indigenous Languages at Risk of Disappearing”). If she loses her language, she would also lose her connection to her culture. It would not be the same if she used another language because there are unique words that people use to describe things.
In Mexico, there have been efforts to save indigenous languages. For example in the Palace of Bellas Artes that is located in Mexico City, there is an event that happens on February 21st called International Mother Tongue Day. People who speak an indigenous language gather to recite poems, tell stories or sing in their language (“Mexico's Indigenous Languages at Risk of Disappearing”). This is not the only event that happens in Mexico. There is also a poetry festival that happens every two years, its goal is to bring a privileged space for languages that don’t get much attention. The poetry festival is organized by the University Program of Cultural Diversity and Interculturality Studies (PUIC). Carlos Montemayor was a historian and writer, he coordinated the festival until his death in 2010 and has been reuniting languages since 2004 “with the firm goal of not distinguishing between language or dialect, and based in the idea that there are no superior languages” (“Indigenous Poetry”). Since the festival is organized by a University, students show up to listen to the poems and have discussions with the poets. “In every edition, we have filled the Nezahualcoyotl Hall in a sort of mystic experience, during two or three hours, with a public mostly composed of young students, who are transformed after listening to poetry in different languages,” said Jose del Val, PUIC director. Natalia Toledo, a Zapotec poet from Juchitan, Oaxaca said during the 2018 festival, “It’s a privilege listening to other cultures, the first of the continent, which offer us their poetry, the great rebel, but also beauty ”(“Indigenous Poetry”). Toledo was one of the event’s hosts for the 2018 festival; she mentioned that she hoped the languages will be reunited to “delight us not only with their sounds, but with their way of understanding the world.”
Festivals are not going to be enough to help bring back Languages there also needs to be support from schools. According to Article 11 of The Indigenous peoples’ General Language Right Law passed in 2003,
Federal education authorities and federal authorities will ensure that the indigenous population has access to compulsory education, bilingual and intercultural, and will take the necessary measures to ensure that the education system ensures respect for the dignity and identity of people, as well as the practice and use of their indigenous language. In addition, interculturality, multilingualism, and respect for diversity and language rights will be promoted at medium and higher levels. (“Law General”)
The law ensures that indigenous languages are taught in schools. Some schools do teach indigenous languages. Nahuatl, the Aztec language is the most spoken and offered in schools. Nahuatl is used more in states where the language continues to be dominant, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Morelos, and some parts of Guerrero (Schwaller). It’s also offered in Mexico City. In these schools, Nahuatl is not only taught as a discipline but it is also taught as basic courses, such as math and history (Schwaller). Schools are an important part of bringing back indigenous languages.
Universities are also working on bringing back native languages. In Mexico, a new national university that specializes in Indigenous language courses is set to begin by September 20223. A statement by the Mexican National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) said “The creation of ULIM seeks the teaching of courses and the establishment of research faculties, with the purpose of strengthening and developing the linguistic heritage of México, based on respect and recognition of multilingualism,” —an objective also identified and supported by the UN’s Decade of Indigenous Languages. The university will be offering 4 degrees for Indigenous language study: the Teaching of Indigenous Languages, Interpretation, Translation, Literature, and Indigenous Intercultural Communication (“Mexico Opens University”). Bertha Dimas, INPI’s coordinator of cultural heritage, research, and education said, “The [ULIM] has the tasks of recovery, revitalization, promotion, and encouragement of the use of national languages. The results we expect from the ULIM’s academic activities will be to increase the effective number of speakers so that we do not lose one more language” (“Mexico Opens University”). Indigenous language speakers are starting to face some challenges now that they are starting in university. Unfortunately, many of the students are facing discrimination. While schools are teaching indigenous languages they are only focusing on two languages. Other languages are being put aside. So, while this is a good step, there is still more to be done.
The time that I was in Mexico learning Zapoteco, my grandpa told me that kids are not interested in learning the language and it was a reason why there are not a lot of Zapotec speakers. In the past, the president of Mexico sent a teacher to teach the kids and other people Zapoteco in Oaxaca so that the language wouldn’t disappear in the town. However, young people were not interested. They didn’t feel it was necessary to learn. Another problem is money. According to my Zapoteco teacher, there are also a lot of classes that teach different languages in the city of Oaxaca, but a lot of people can’t afford to pay for classes if they want to learn a language. I believe that if the president could do the same thing he did with the town of Oaxaca by helping people pay for classes, more people would be able to attend them. There would also need to be incentives for kids to want to learn their native languages.
Indigenous languages are dying in Mexico because of discrimination, migration, and a lack of representation in society. And while people are trying to bring them back through festivals and education, they aren’t doing enough to overcome the discrimination many native speakers experience. We must be proud to speak our native tongues because speaking a different language is what makes us special. Like other people who are trying to restore their native language, I am trying to learn mine. My goal is to learn Zapoteco and help my grandpa not be ashamed of his language. Once I learn it well, I will be able to teach my children and grandchildren. My hope is that they will be able to use the language to connect with their culture and not lose a part of themselves.
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