ERIC Number: EJ1052458
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-4632
EISSN: N/A
Language Revitalisation from the Ground Up: Promoting Yucatec Maya on Facebook
Cru, Josep
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v36 n3 p284-296 2015
This paper looks at current grassroots efforts to revitalise Yucatec Maya, an indigenous language of Mexico, in social media and more specifically on Facebook. In contrast to the limitations of institutional language promotion, the inclusion of Maya on Facebook shows the possibilities that social networks offer not only for actual use of minoritised languages but also for advocacy and activism, particularly among indigenous youth. The concept of heteroglossia is also introduced to explain the plurilingual practices of youngsters in Yucatán based on their increasingly complex linguistic repertoire. The main argument is that grassroots initiatives of language revitalisation that focus on local contexts, horizontal linguistic practices, and speakers as final agents are particularly significant in a country with deeply entrenched vertical and often tokenistic policies aimed at the promotion of indigenous languages and cultures.
Descriptors: Language Maintenance, American Indian Languages, Language Planning, Foreign Countries, Language Minorities, Social Networks, Advocacy, Activism, Multilingualism, Language Usage, Public Policy, Surveys, College Students, Student Attitudes, Spanish, Code Switching (Language), Metalinguistics, Second Language Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Mexico
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A