LINGUAPAX- LATIN AMERICA

New program in language revitalization

Starting by 1 April 2010, aimed mainly at speakers of endangered languages from Latin America,

the Universidad Indígena Intercultural (Intercultural Indigenous University) is launching a postgraduate diploma in language revitalization, through two of its associate centers, The Centre for Applied Linguistics (CILA) of the San Marcos University of Lima, Peru, and the Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology, CIESAS, in Mexico City (Centro de  Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social), also home of Linguapax Latin America. Another 5 universities or Centers are also involved, including the PROEIB Andes in Bolivia, the University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, the Cauca University in Colombia, the Academia de las Lenguas Mayas in Guatemala and URRACAN University from Nicaragua.

One of the main objectives of the diploma is to offer professional training to develop projects in language revitalization methods, theory and practice. With a focus on communal co-participatory project development and outstandingly sustainable revitalization management, the diploma is aimed at favoring the emergence of speakers enabled to develop revitalization projects. These will hopefully become fresh air in a world of ongoing demise of linguistic diversity---as becomes evident every day with, for instance, the passing away of the last speakers of Bo, such as Bo sr in the Andamans Islands in India, as recently reported by professor Anvita.

Programmed to start in the Spring term this year, the program is conceived as a pilot effort to test the possibilities of triggering and facilitating sustainable revitalization initiatives in about 50 languages, encompassing highly endangered languages such as Xinca, an isolate form Guatemala, Maya languages (Itza, Yucatec, Chuy, Kanjobal) from the fringe Mexico-Guatemala, Amazonian languages from Brazil and Peru, Nasayuwe and Namtrik from Colombia, Garifunas and Ulwas from  Honduras and Nicaragua, among many others.

The diploma faced 500% more demand than planned. Selection is limited to 25 grants of a total of 30 places (5 spaces are open for independent students who can face their fees on their own. Sponsors welcome! A couple of places are left!).

The diploma is organized in a one year long program:

• At the outset, it includes 6 weeks of intensive coursework in Lima examining the basis for language revitalization and successful provocative experiences worldwide.
• Based on online tutorial work, the rest of the program students are allocated in the field with tutors communicating with them and among themselves via a moodle platform.
• We are also trying to secure additional funding to develop more field work encounters between tutors and students. A closing face to face phase in an intensive month is also contemplated to wrap up the diploma and evaluate the future prospects of students' projects, all aimed at revitalizing their languages and cultures in the long run, one of the most poignant challenges of a program such as this.

Several linguistic families of Central and South Americas are represented. Potential students include 134 applicants from 11 countries; namely, Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador,  Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panamá and Venezuela comprising around 50 languages of at least 12 distinct linguistic families.  Such a number speaks of the need for these types of initiative and urges opening up spaces for language revitalization programs, envisioned in the idea of turning the program into an MA in hopefully the near future.

Notwithstanding the scarce space which makes it very hard to accommodate such huge diversity, we hope to incorporate as many speakers as possible, from Patagonia to Mexico.  Criteria for the final selection of candidates are gender-and geographical diversity balanced, also involving degrees of endangerment and viability of the languages proposed. Some other strategies that have been designed to potentiate, disseminate and cross-fertilize revitalization initiatives are establishing working groups of transnational languages, facilitating and reinforcing cross border relationships between languages such as Yucatec Maya and Maya Itza and Kanjobal and Chuj, which in practice constitute a Maya continuum. Hopefully these initiatives will strengthen the awareness of linguistic and ethnic unity of indigenous peoples' thus contributing to the vindication of their own languages and cultures.

 

 

Related documents

• SCHEDULE.doc (64 kB)