Mayan Language Perservation

Because Maya is seen as having important cultural significance in modern day Latin America, many native speakers of Maya are stepping out to take measures to preserve their language.  Indigenous movements have been sparking up all over Latin America and the Maya Movement in Guatemala is one of many.  The Maya Movement is working toward linguistic consciousness among Guatemalans in order to revitalize use of the language in the public sector.  Spanish is the most publicly spoken and supported language in the country and is the language taught in schools.  An article in the Latin American Studies Association, Fidel Guevarra states:

"Rather, the linguistic complexity of the country has been considered by Ladinos to be an obstacle for development. The language used in the education system is Spanish and until recently, Mayan languages were used in schools only for the purpose of assimilating Mayas into the dominant culture by forcing them to learn Spanish."

 The Maya Movement is trying to fight this assimilation that has the capacity to kill both their language and their culture.  By supporting bilingual education, indigenous Mayans can teach their children about their language in a public and state-supported setting.  Preservation of language inherently supports preservation of culture.


Full Article: Mayan Language and the Mayan Movement in Guatemala