World's Indigenous Peoples Conference WIPCE 2010, Cusco, Peru.

Journal of Politics in Latin America, 2019

From the 1990s onwards, many Latin American states have adopted constitutional reforms that recognise indigenous peoples' rights. In this article, we address a much less studied aspect, the emergence of new language rights. Based on field research and process tracing, we study the case of Peru where indigenous language rights were created in the absence of ethnic parties and with a relatively weak indigenous movement. We argue that the country moved slowly away from a monolingual language regime towards the recognition of indigenous languages as official languages and the creation of language rights. We identify key moments of state transformation in the 1970s, the 1990s, and the 2000s as linked to successive building blocks in the creation of a multilingual language regime. In particular, the decentralisation reforms of the 2000s created new opportunities for subnational actors to further develop these rights in different regions of the country. We exemplify these dynamics by looking into the adoption of language rights in the regions of Cuzco and Ayacucho. Resumen Desde los noventas, varios estados latinoamericanos adoptaron reformas con-stitucionales que reconocen los derechos de los pueblos indígenas. En este articulo, tratamos de un aspecto poco estudiado, la emergencia de nuevos derechos linguísticos. En base a un trabajo de campo y un rastreo de procesos, estudiamos el caso del Perú donde derechos linguísticos para hablantes de idiomas indígenas fueron adoptados pese

Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 2015

This paper draws on the concepts of ideological and implementational spaces (Hornberger, 2002) to understand how different actors, at different historical moments characterized by the emergence and development of multilingual policies, and at different layers of the language planning and policy onion (Ricento & Hornberger, 1996), have sought to carve up, fill in and re-imagine spaces for the inclusion of Indigenous languages in Peru. Following a historical-textual analysis, I offer a historical and contemporary analysis of four instances of multilingual policy negotiation, addressing their contributions and shortcomings as well as pointing to areas of future research. Implications are offered for language policy and planning research and practices that seek to promote linguistic and cultural diversity for all.

Ethnographic Insights on Latin America and the Caribbean, 2023

Voices: Perspectives from the International Year of Indigenous Languages, 2022

The globalization process in which we are immersed endangers diversity, as we understand it in its broad context, on the planet. It therefore not only threatens biological plenitude but also cultural and linguistic wealth, which is decreasing rapidly (García, 2011: 506). That is why now more than ever it is essential to defend the right of all people to be different and to possess an identity, language being the most significant element of identification. The trend towards homogenization is a global reality and its effects can be seen in different areas or regions, including Latin America, the subject of this present study. The current Hispanic linguistic landscape is characterized by the coexistence of Spanish and a number of indigenous languages (Palacios, 2010: 503); however, such coexistence does not imply a de facto equality between Spanish —as the dominant language— and the minority ones. This linguistic imbalance causes many of these languages to be in danger of extinction, not due to linguistic reasons but as a result of different types of alterations which in turn cause disorder in society (Nette & Romaine, 2000: 79). This research addresses the situation of indigenous languages in three Latin American countries chosen as being representative of different multilingualism management models that exist in that region: Bolivia, Panama and Paraguay. This is a descriptive-analytical study whose main objective from a synchronic perspective is the enhancement of multilingualism in Latin America; i.e. the presentation of the region's indigenous languages as key elements of the identity and culture of indigenous peoples, and the transmission of a worldview and set of unique skills that could be lost forever, causing havoc to the planet's diversity and affecting not only their speech community, but in addition all humankind (Moure, 2012: 79).

Linguistics and Education, 2009

Drawing on frameworks from applied linguistics and critical discourse analysis, this volume employs a linguistics approach to understanding race and racism in Latin America, with a particular focus on Peru. Building on recent debates in Peru on cultural and biological definitions of race, the book seeks to re-examine the relationship between race and culture not as a dichotomy but as one rooted in and shaped by specific historical moments. Similarly, the volume uses this discussion as a jumping-off point from which to explore notions of identity informed by language as used in local context, rather than as a fixed social category. Offering new perspectives on discursive practices of race and racism in Peru and Latin America, this collection is key reading for students and researchers in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, anthropology, and Latin American studies.

Quechua language education and research has long been relegated to rural areas and elementary schools of the Andes. Nonetheless, current language policy in the southern Peruvian region of Cusco has opened new opportunities for Quechua, a minoritized Indigenous language, to be taught in cities and towns and in high schools. In this sociolinguistic context, this dissertation explores what it means for youth in the contemporary urban Andes to be speakers and learners of Quechua, as well as how youth influence the maintenance of Quechua in contexts of ongoing language shift to Spanish. Through a 20-month long ethnographic and participatory study in Urubamba, a provincial capital of the region of Cusco, and its surrounding areas, I examine youth bilingualism and identity positionings spanning school and out-of- school experiences. Using a sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological framework, this study contributes to educational research and practice on language planning and policy (LPP) in the Andes and other Indigenous contexts. Throughout the dissertation, I describe youth Quechua language learning trajectories and repertoires, highlighting similarities and differences among three groups of youth: altura, valley and non-Quechua speaker youth. Youth repertoires are heterogeneous and dynamic and their language trajectories are intimately linked to social relationships, identity positionings, racialized trajectories, language ideologies and institutions. Varying access to language learning opportunities, raciolinguistic hierarchies, and ideologies which question and invisibilize youth proficiency and interest in Quechua, as evidenced in school and family practices, are some of the forces which youth at times reproduce, question and above all negotiate on an everyday basis. How youth understand themselves as learners and/or speakers of Quechua is characterized by complexity and ambivalence, grounded in a context of (growing) Quechua LPP activities, symbolic and utilitarian recognition of Quechua, as well as ongoing inequality and discrimination. There are, and will probably continue to be, many painful and deep-seated societal and local forces which work against many of youth’s interests in Quechua language maintenance. Considering youth perspectives reminds us of the importance of continuing to imagine and create better conditions for current and future Indigenous language speakers and learners to pursue their dreams, hopes and aspirations.