/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MEXICO: Struggle to Save Native Languages Goes to Germany

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, May 9 2000 (IPS) - The Mexican Association of Writers in Indigenous Languages will take its struggle to save native tongues – four of which have been lost in the past 25 years and over 100 in the past five centuries – to Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany.

The association will participate in the Jun 1-Oct 31 World Exposition “to exhibit indigenous narratives, published items and translation work, but above all to highlight the plight of native Mexican languages and seek support,” the association’s secretary- general, Agustín Jiménez, told IPS.

Of the 62 native languages still surviving in Mexico, 24 face the risk of disappearing over the next quarter century, because they are spoken by as few as two or three people in some cases.

Among the languages on the verge of vanishing are Aguacateco, spoken by 24 people today; Lacandón, spoken by 59; Kiliwa, spoken by 44; and Papabuco and Opata, spoken by three and five people, respectively.

In Mexico, the most widely spoken and written vernacular languages are Náhuatl, still used by 1.3 million people, Maya (776,000) and Zapoteco (415,000).

The association of native writers has published some 30 books in vernacular languages, and is working to promote literary creation and cultural exchanges with support from Mexico’s ministry of education and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

“Hannover is an opportunity to drum up support for our fight against the disappearance of native languages,” said Jiménez, who writes in the Chinanteca language, which is fast disappearing.

Official and non-governmental delegations from dozens of countries will attend the ‘Man, Nature and Technology’ exposition in Hannover.

“The Mexican government is not doing everything necessary to preserve the languages, and our efforts as an association are limited, because we are few and have no funds,” said Jiménez.

Created in 1993, the association has around 70 members who speak 25 different languages.

When the Spanish arrived to what today is Mexico, the territory was home to more than five million people speaking some 200 different dialects.

Five centuries later, indigenous people number slightly over 10 million – out of a total population of 100 million – and the number of vernacular languages has shrunk to 62.

The government’s bilingual education programmes implemented throughout the country have been hailed by UNESCO, but the indigenous writers believe more needs to be done.

According to Jiménez, local authorities see it as a question of simply transmitting a language to the new generations, while they fail to understand that without minimally decent living standards, work and healthcare services, a native tongue cannot be preserved, because a language is more than mere words: “it is a way of life, of looking at the world,” he stressed.

Official statistics indicate that 71 percent of indigenous Mexicans over the age of six have not finished primary school.

Among the mestiza or mixed-race majority in Mexico, 33 of every 1,000 children die before their first birthday, compared to a ratio of 48.3 per 1,000 among indigenous communities.

The main problem of bilingual education programmes is that they constantly run up against poverty, said linguist Marta Mountzel. Another problem, she added, is that the programmes are frequently changed as new local and federal authorities are elected.

Bilingual curricula are offered in some 16,500 preschools and elementary schools throughout the country, where some 40,000 teachers give class in Spanish and 40 native languages.

“Very little is achieved, and the proof is that several languages have disappeared in the past 25 years,” said Jiménez. “I hope that in Hannover we will be able to convince some of the participants that in Mexico we need support to prevent the loss of more and more languages, and more and more culture.”