Abstract
Historically and erroneously, indigenous languages have been considered incapable of adapting to new communication needs, since they are perceived as “insufficient”; subjective perception based on an ideology of deficit that reflects the vision of many dominant societies in various parts of the world. This ideology, as well as the practices based on it, have had a negative impact on indigenous peoples, their languages and cultures. This ideology has put the languages of various minority groups at risk and confirmed that it has been forgotten that when a language dies, “prayers, myths, ceremonies, poetry, oratory and technical vocabulary are lost, as well as daily greetings, farewells, styles of conversation, humor, ways of talking with children, behaviors and emotions ”(Woodbury, 2012, p. 13). Unfortunately, the traditions disappear and, in some cases, are replaced by the traditions of the dominant society. For this reason, some indigenous communities have taken the initiative to work diligently to preserve and promote their language and culture despite the socio-political, economic and educational pressures they face. An example of this is the Tsotsil Mayan community in Chiapas, Mexico. In order to contextualize the situation of the Tsotsil people, their language and culture, this presentation focuses on how Spanish-Tsotsil inclusive bilingual education has been used in the last few years to preserve and promote Tsotsil children’s linguistic human rights.
Presenters
Karla Del Carpio OvandoProfessor, Department of World Languages and Cultures, University of Northern Colorado, Colorado, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2022 Special Focus: Intercultural Learning in Plurilingual Contexts
KEYWORDS
Education, Inclusion, Indigenous, Spanish, Tsotsil
