29 mars 2017
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
Jhonnatan Rangel, « Speakers of endangered languages and revitalization strategies in Ayapaneco », HAL-SHS : linguistique, ID : 10670/1.66ce3x
Ayapaneco is a mixe-zoquean language spoken in the village of Ayapa in the state of Tabasco. This language has not been transmitted from parents to their children for more than 40 years, and today there are approximately 15 speakers between the ages of 66 and 90 years old. Ayapaneco varies in terms of its lexicon, morphology, phonetics and syntax, and scientific knowledge of the language is very scarce.Given the reduced number of speakers, their age, the lack of language description and its variation, the general objective of my dissertation is the scientific documentation of a language at risk of disappearance. In terms of methodology, my research is centered on the collection and analysis of first hand data including audio and video. This methodology originates from the field of endangered languages documentation.In this presentation, I provided an overview of the speakers of Ayapaneco and the language revitalization strategies that have originated in the community. These strategies seek to restore the intergenerational transmission of the language interrupted more than 40 years ago and raise diverse questions. We will examine how linguistic revitalization allows for a new conceptualization and categorization of the speakers. These categories question our theoretic, methodological and practical notions of linguistics.This presentation was part of a multidisciplinary discussion group “Perspectivas indígenas en el México contemporáneo: discursos, imaginarios y prácticas” for the VI Simposio de Becarios CONACYT en Europa that took place at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. It presents initial findings generated by a model of collaborative research. Under this model, the speakers and the researcher strive toward common objectives such as linguistic documentation and the conservation of a language at risk of disappearance that is part of Mexico’s collective memory and intangible cultural heritage.