Acceso usuarios
Itzel Vargas García
This contribution aims to share the experience gained with the implementation of a pilot project of language revival in four Otomi communities of the Valle del Mezquital, Hidalgo, Mexico. To account for the diverse and, at the same time, complex mosaic of various social, cultural, and political factors, examples are presented resulting from ethnographic findings. Examining ideological factors that affect the formation of speeches, decision making and implementation of actions, the author proposes a common approach for the revitalization of endangered languages. This approach combines academic and the speaker’s community’s personal interests in recovering their ancestral knowledge, and linguistic practices that have been displaced mainly by the increasing use of Spanish. In the light of the author’s experience, some aspects require a more thorough investigation to conceive and establish more effective and relevant language planning.
