The Challenges Faced by the New Administration

Writing in El Economista on July 8, 2024, Ricardo Quiroga recently asked the question (translated into English): “What are the challenges, plans and commitments acquired by the incoming federal administration in Mexico, headed by the President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, regarding indigenous languages?”[1] Quiroga noted that the new Mexican Government headed by the climate scientist and former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum would serve “a self-identified indigenous population of 25.7 million people” [According to the INEGI 2020 Population and Housing Census]. This population represents 21.5% of the total population in the country.

Speakers of Indigenous Languages

Among these self-declared indigenous persons are more than 7 million people who are speakers of indigenous languages. Those representatives of Mexico’s indigenous past represent 6.1% of the population over three years of age.  Those people speak one or more of the 11 linguistic families which are broken down into 68 groupings (languages) with 364 linguistic variants spoken throughout Mexico [according to the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (INALI)]. The criteria for using groups and language variants are discussed in the following paragraphs:

INALI Estimates of Linguistic Variants

The languages of the Indigenous peoples in Mexico are enshrined in the 2003 General Law of Linguistic Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Ley General de Derechos Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas). This law also created the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI)), a decentralized organization of the Federal Public Administration, under the Secretary of Culture, which promotes, preserves, revitalizes and researches Indigenous languages.

In 2008, INALI created the “Catalogue of National Indigenous Languages: Linguistic Variants of Mexico With Their Self-Denominations and Geostatical References.” This catalogue created a three-tiered classification as follows:[2]

The First Tier: Familias Lingüísticas (Linguistic Families)

According to INALI, there are 11 linguistic families spoken throughout Mexico. Each family is a set of languages ​​whose similarities in their linguistic and lexical structures are due to a common origin. The language families are found in various parts of the Mexican Nation, as the following map indicates:[3]

The Second Tier: Agrupación Lingüística (Linguistic Group)

The second tier of INALI’s classification are the 68 groups that refer to the historical terms by which each indigenous group has been known, such as Zapotec, Mixtec, Náhuatl, Maya and Otomi. Each of these groups speaks their own native language and has its own unique history. As noted in the illustration from INALI (2009) below, four of the language families contain only one indigenous language. On the other hand, the language family with the most languages was the Maya linguistic group, which consists of 20 languages, nearly all of which are spoken in the southernmost regions of Mexico, especially Chiapas and the three states of the Yucatán Peninsula. Close behind is the Otomanguean family which boasts a total of 18 languages spoken across a wide range of central, eastern, and southern Mexican states.

 

The Eleven Linguistic Families of Mexico According to INALI

At the top of the chart, each of the eleven linguistic families are shown, with the ethnic groups within them shown in each column under the family name. On the right side of each cell, the number of linguistic variants for each language group is shown. 

The Third Tier: Variantes Lingüísticas (Linguistic Variants)

According to the Catalog of National Indigenous Languages, the 68 language groups are broken down into 364 linguistic variants (variantes lingüísticas) in Mexico. The term linguistic variant is a neutral way of referring to linguistic differences among speakers of the same language.[4] This category is generated from two criteria: (i) a lack of mutual comprehension between users of languages ​​that are structurally and socially distant, but called by the same name; and, (ii) the existence of self-denominations for each of these distanced forms of speech. Previously, the word dialect was used in this context, but this term is no longer used in Mexico.[5] 

The differences between variants can be sounds, words, meanings, or uses. For example, the Spanish spoken in Yucatán is not the same as that spoken in Chihuahua, although they are understood; In this case, Spanish is spoken as a language and the variants are spoken by region. However, in some indigenous groups (Mixtec, Zapotec, Mixe, Chinanteco, among others), there are linguistic variants so different that the people who speak those languages cannot understand each other, so each linguistic variant must be treated individually.[6] For many centuries, speakers of these languages have been separated from their linguistic cousins and, over time, their languages diverged and, in many cases, became mutually unintelligible. 

The Danger of Disappearance of Indigenous Languages

In addition to its other responsibilities, INALI created a grading system that would classify each national indigenous language according to its degree of risk of disappearance and its number of speakers. When asked why we should care about preserving languages, the linguist Christopher Mosley answered:[7] 

“Because each language is a mental universe structured in a unique way, with exclusive associations, metaphors, ways of thinking, vocabulary, grammar and phonetic system. All of these elements work together in the framework of a structure that, because it is extremely fragile, can very easily disappear forever.”

INALI’s Grading System

INALI originally proposed a grading system that would classify national indigenous languages ​​according to their degree of risk of disappearance. This system considered the following three variables:[8] 

1.     The total number of speakers of the indigenous language.

2.     Vitality, defined in numerical terms and taking into account the percentage of speakers between 5 and 14 years of age with respect to the total number of speakers in that language.

3.     Dispersion, referring to the number of locations in the nation where that indigenous language is spoken.

At the present time, 179 of the 364 variants are considered at some degree of risk of disappearance. That is more than 49% of all the language variants. The various degrees of risk are described below:

Muy Alto Riesgo de Desaparecer (Very High Risk of Disappearance)

A linguistic variant will be considered at a very high risk of disappearance if:  

1.     The total number of indigenous language speakers is less than 1,000.

2.     The percentage of indigenous language speakers from 5 to 14 years with respect to the total is less than 10%.

3.     The total number of localities in which it is spoken is less than 20.

A total of 64 variants are considered to be at a very high risk (17.5%), which means that these variants possess no locality that has 30% or more speakers of their language. In 2012, 51 variants received this classification.

Alto Riesgo de Desaparecer (A High Risk of Disappearance)

A linguistic variant will be considered at a high risk of disappearance if:  

1.     The total number of speakers is less than 1,000.

2.     The percentage of speakers from 5 to 14 years old is greater than 10% of the total.

3.     The total number of locations in which it is spoken is between 20 and 50.

Another 43 variants have been classified as high risk (11.8%), with less than 1,000 adult speakers in localities whose proportion is 30 percent.  There were 48 variants in this category in 2012.

Mediano Riego (Medium Level of Risk)

The third category – the “Mediano Riesgo” (Medium Level of Risk) includes 72 variants of indigenous languages, representing 19.7% of all the variants. A linguistic variant will be considered at medium risk of disappearance if:

1.     The total number of speakers is greater than 1000.

2.     The percentage of speakers from 5 to 14 years old is less than 25% of the total.

3.     The total number of locations in which it is spoken is between 20 and 50.

In 2012, there were 88 variants in this category.

En Riesgo no Inmediato de Desaparición (Non-Immediate Risk of Disappearance)

Considering the first three classifications, we can see that only 185 variants of indigenous languages are considered at non-immediate risk of disappearance. These language variants represent 50.8% percent of the total. A linguistic variant will be considered at not immediate risk of disappearance if:[9]

1.     The total number of speakers is greater than 1000.

2.     The percentage of speakers from 5 to 14 years old as a portion of the total is greater than 25%.

3.     The total number of locations in which it is spoken is greater than 50.

In 2012, there were 177 language variants in this category.

What Are the Causes of Language Decline?

In general terms, it is clear that the risk of disappearance of a language is reflected, first of all, in the small number of speakers, in the geographical dispersion, in the predominance of adult speakers, and in the tendency to abandon transmission strategies to new generations, among others.[10]

Secondly, the exclusion of indigenous languages ​​from public and institutional spaces and their absence in the media such as radio and television, contributes to further decline. And, most important of all, is the fact that the speaking of some languages in the community and family spheres has decreased dramatically.[11]

Intergenerational Transmission of Language

Factors that determine the vitality of a language include: the intergenerational transmission of the language, as well as the proportion of monolingual people who only speak their language and do not speak Spanish. A possible factor in the preservation of language may be geographic isolation or lack of interregional communication routes. The majority of the country’s population now resides in urban areas, with only 22.2% living in rural areas, compared to 1950 when 54.6% of the population resided in rural communities (According to INEGI, 2010).[12] When some indigenous migrants go to more urban areas to seek work, they face the prospect of having children who will not be interested in speaking the language of their ancestors as a means of fitting in to the new setting.

In the document “100 Steps for the Transformation,” the incoming administration of President-Elect Claudia Scheinbaum highlights the implementation in January 2022 of the Federal Law for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples, one of the legislative advances of the outgoing administration, on which the incoming government will base its work around to the indigenous population and their languages.[13]

The intention of the President-Elect is to “carry out a diagnosis of the linguistic situation of each community to decide… the linguistic planning policies that reduce the loss of languages.” The Administration will also “strengthen the teaching of indigenous languages and promote their daily use in the communities where they are spoken.”[14]

The Least Spoken Languages in Mexico (2020 Census)

All Mexican languages spoken by less than a thousand people are at some level of risk of disappearance. The 2020 census provides us with those languages. The following table shows the Indigenous languages that were spoken by less than 1,600 persons 3 years of age and older in 2020, their primary states of residence, and their presence in neighboring countries (such as Guatemala and the U.S.A.):

Among the languages listed in the table are many languages [Q'eqchi', K'iche', Jakalteko, Kaqchikel, Ixil, and Teko (Tektitek), and Awakateko] that are also spoken in Guatemala. In fact, many of the people speaking these languages sought refuge in Mexico during the last two centuries or in more recent times as a result of the Guatemalan Civil War (1960-1996). In addition, the Pima, Pápago (Tohono O’odham), Kumiai (Kumeyaay), and Kickapoo languages also have a traditional presence within the boundaries of the United States. [In fact, the Kumeyaay have 13 separate reservations in Southern California.] It should also be noted that the Baja California languages listed in the table have been on the verge of extinction for more than a century and their precarious status has been a long-standing issue.

Each language has its own challenges, but the main problem is that fewer people from younger generations are speaking these languages.  And, as the elders of the language group die out, there are not enough young speakers to replace them… and in some cases, no one to replace them. The new Mexican Administration hopes that it can assist in the preservation of these endangered languages. 

Mexico Pushes Monolingual Spanish Education

According to El Universal (Dec. 12, 2016), Jorge Toledo, President of the Senate's Commission of Indigenous Affairs and a son of indigenous parents, stressed the institutional nature of the challenge faced by Mexico's endangered native languages. "We need education reform to build a plan that strengthens and respects these languages," says Toledo, who speaks Zapoteco, an indigenous tongue of Oaxaca. "The structure of the Mexican state always pushed a monolingual Spanish education." Despite being a country of many indigenous languages, Mexico has always strongly prioritized Spanish. El Universal also reports that “Even today, many speakers of indigenous languages report fear of discrimination as a major reason for not speaking or promoting their native tongues.”

Fear of Racism and Discrimination

"When they hear you speaking an indigenous language they won't think you're bilingual, they'll just think you're indigenous," says Javier Galicia, a Mexico City-based academic and activist for Nahuatl, Mexico's most widely spoken indigenous tongue. "But if they hear you speak German or English, they'll be in awe." Many of the people who still speak Mexico’s most at-risk languages are elderly and are unable to pass the tongues on to future generations. El Universal writes that the INEGI often over-estimates the true number of people who still speak indigenous languages. In the heavily indigenous southern state of Chiapas, for example, locals report only 70 speakers of Mocho". INEGI claims there are 134. Speakers of disappearing languages like Mocho, Kiliwa, Oluteco, Odami Tepehuano and Kaqchikel, all of which number less than 100, neglect to promote their languages for fear of racism and discrimination. But Senator Toledo notes that the only way to save these ancient languages — and cultures that accompany them — is to “be proud to speak our native tongues."[15]

A World-Wide Problem

But Mexico’s linguistic dilemma is a worldwide problem. According to UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), there were 6,000 existing languages in the world in 2009.  However, 200 languages became extinct just in the last three generations, 538 were in critical condition, 502 seriously in danger, 632 in danger, and 607 in a vulnerable situation. To be more specific, a total of 199 languages had fewer than ten speakers, and 178 more had between 10 and 50 speakers. Obviously, it will take action by multiple countries to preserve the many endangered languages of the world.[16]

Faced with this challenge that requires profound initiatives, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared in December 2019 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (DILI) for the period 2022–2032, whose main objective, according to the statistical roadmap, is “the empowerment of indigenous language speakers.”

Footnotes

[1] Ricardo Quiroga, “El Reto del Próximo Gobierno Sobre Las Lenguas Indígenas,” El Economista, July 8, 2024. Online: https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/arteseideas/El-reto-del-proximo-gobierno-sobre-las-lenguas-indigenas-20240708-0014.html [Accessed 7/11/2024].

[2] Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas, Catalogo de Las Lenguas Nacionales: Variantes Lingüísticas de Mexico con sus Autodenominaciones y Referencias Geoestadísticas (Jan. 14, 2008). Online: Chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.inali.gob.mx/pdf/CLIN_completo.pdf.

[3] México Desconocido, “Las Lenguas Indígenas de México, Esencia de Nuestra Identidad: La Familia Lingüística” (June 12, 2023). Online: https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/las-lenguas-indigenas-de-mexico.html.

[4] Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI), Lenguas Indígenas Nacionales en Riesgo de Desaparición: Variantes Lingüísticas por Grado de Riesgo (2012).

[5] Banco de México, Selección de Lenguas Indígenas Para la Difusión de Información de Billetes y Monedas (Dirección General de Emisión Oficina de Análisis y Estudios de Efectivo (Dec. 2021), pp. 7-8. 

[6] Ibid.

[7] Kuntz, Lucía Iglesias, “Un Sutil Equilibrio de Fuerzas,” El Correo de la Unesco (2, 2009, p. 3). Online: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001865/186521s.pdf [Accessed 7/11/2024].

[8] Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI), “Lenguas Indígenas Nacionales en Riesgo de Desaparición: Variantes Lingüísticas por Grado de Riesgo” (2012). Online: https://site.inali.gob.mx/pdf/libro_lenguas_indigenas_nacionales_en_riesgo_de_desaparicion.pdf [Accessed 7/11/2024], p. 17.

[9] Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI), “Lenguas Indígenas Nacionales en Riesgo de Desaparición: Variantes Lingüísticas por Grado de Riesgo” (2012), pp. 17-18.

[10] Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI), Lenguas Indígenas Nacionales en Riesgo de Desaparición: Variantes Lingüísticas por Grado de Riesgo (2012), p. 16.

[11] Ernesto Díaz-Couder Cabral, 2000, “Situación Actual de Las Lenguas Amerindias”, en Estado del Desarrollo Económico y Social de Los Pueblos Indígenas de México, Book 1, p. 82.

[12] Grace A. Gomashie, “Nahuatl and Spanish in Contact: Language Practices in Mexico,” Languages 6 (2021): 135. Online: https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6030135 [Accessed 7/10/2024].

[13] Claudia Sheinbaum, “100 Pasos Para La Transformación” (2024). Online: file:///C:/Users/Admin/Downloads/100-240304051358-ea653a50.pdf [Accessed 7/11/2024].

[14] Ibid.

[15] “Mexico and Its Multitude of Disappearing Languages,” El Universal, Dec. 12, 2016. Published in English by WorldCrush. Online: https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/mexico-and-its-multitude-of-disappearing-languages.

[16] Kuntz, Lucía Iglesias, “Un Sutil Equilibrio de Fuerzas,” El Correo de la Unesco (2, 2009, p. 3).

Bibliography

Banco de México, Selección de Lenguas Indígenas Para la Difusión de Información de Billetes y Monedas. Dirección General de Emisión Oficina de Análisis y Estudios de Efectivo (Dec. 2021).   

Díaz-Coulder Cabral, Ernesto, “Situación Actual de Las Lenguas Amerindias”, en Estado del Desarrollo Económico y Social de Los Pueblos Indígenas de México, Book 1.  

Gomashie, Grace A., “Nahuatl and Spanish in Contact: Language Practices in Mexico,” Languages 6 (2021): 135. Online:

https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6030135 .

Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI), Catalogo de Las Lenguas Nacionales: Variantes Lingüísticas de Mexico con sus Autodenominaciones y Referencias Geoestadísticas (Jan. 14, 2008). Online: Chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.inali.gob.mx/pdf/CLIN_completo.pdf. 

Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI), Lenguas Indígenas Nacionales en Riesgo de Desaparición: Variantes Lingüísticas por Grado de Riesgo (2012). Online: https://site.inali.gob.mx/pdf/libro_lenguas_indigenas_nacionales_en_riesgo_de_desaparicion.pdf [Accessed 7/11/2024]. 

Kuntz, Lucía Iglesias, “Un Sutil Equilibrio de Fuerzas,” El Correo de la Unesco (2, 2009, p. 3). Online: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001865/186521s.pdf [Accessed 7/11/2024].

México Desconocido, “Las Lenguas Indígenas de México, Esencia de Nuestra Identidad: La Familia Lingüística” (June 12, 2023). Online: https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/las-lenguas-indigenas-de-mexico.html. 

Quiroga, Ricardo, “El Reto del Próximo Gobierno Sobre Las Lenguas Indígenas,” El Economista, July 8, 2024. Online: https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/arteseideas/El-reto-del-proximo-gobierno-sobre-las-lenguas-indigenas-20240708-0014.html [Accessed 7/11/2024]. 

Sheinbaum, Claudia, “100 Pasos Para La Transformación” (2024). Online:

file:///C:/Users/Admin/Downloads/100-240304051358-ea653a50.pdf