Vera Bouteneff _ (Servant of God) Alexander - Father Arseny, 1893-1973 _ priest, prisoner, spiritual father _ being the narratives compiled by the servant of God Alexander concerning his spiritual fa.pdf
Although today the vast majority of the Mexican population speaks
Spanish, the original languages of the country are Amerindian, or indigenous. The origin of many of these indigenous languages is in Mesoamerican, with linguistic data dating back to around 5,000 years ago. Prior to 2,000 BC, Mesoamerica was in the Archaic period which produced 3 major language families: Mayan, Mixe-Zoquean, and Oto- Manguean. With the rise of the Olmec civilization beginning around 2,000 BC, many people began migrating across the region and taking their languages with them. The Olmec borrowed from the Mixe-Zoquean family, the Oto-Manguean language dispersed into central Mexico, and the Mayan language began to diversify as its speakers migrated north. With the decline of the Olmec civilization came the rise of other civilizations, bringing with them their language families, like Uto-Aztecan, and further developing the other languages. Certain civilizations, like the Aztec, Mixtec, and Zapotec, remained in power and influenced the spoken language within their region of power. Some of those languages continue to be spoken today. Indigenous Languages Of Mexico
The most widely spoken indigenous language of Mexico is Nahuatl. This
language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family which researchers believe originated in the southwestern region of the US. Around 500 AD, speakers of the language migrated to Central Mexico. Nearly 100 years later, Nahuatl became the most powerful language of the region, used by the Aztec Empire. With the arrival of the Spanish colonizers, Nahuatl gradually lost its position as the dominant language. Today, 1,376,026 continue to speak the language, 14.9% of them are monolingual. Women make up the majority of the monolingual population. The language can be heard in the states of Hidalgo, Guerrero, San Luis Potosí, Puebla, and Veracruz. The Yucatec Maya language, referred to as Maya, belongs to the Mayan language and is principally spoken in the Yucatan Peninsula. It originates from a 5,000-year old language family, Proto-Mayan. These speakers migrated to the Yucatan Peninsula around 1,400 BC. Over time, they became a powerful civilization, co-existing with other major civilizations like the Olmec. Around the 9th century, the empire began to collapse although, a large Maya population continued to exist in the Yucatan region. Today, approximately 759,000 people continue to speak the language particularly in the states of Yucatán, Quintana Roo, and Campeche. The third most widely spoken indigenous language is Mixtec which belongs to the previously mentioned Oto-Manguean family. This language grew in and around the region of present-day Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero, also referred to as La Mixteca. The Mixtec culture has existed since pre-Columbian times and was a main competitor of the Zapotec culture. The Mixtec rose to power in the 11th century, but fell with the arrival of the Spanish. Today, 423,216 people speak the language. Foreign Languages In Mexico
Mexico has been a major immigrant destination country for hundreds of
years. Immigrants have mainly come from Europe, the US, Latin America, and Asia. Many are foreign-born and many others are descendants of immigrants. They have brought with them, and many continue speaking, their native languages. These include: English, German, Greek, Italian, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Endangered Languages In Mexico
Although the government uses Spanish almost exclusively, it is not
technically the official language of Mexico. In fact, the Constitution of the country defines the country as multilingual, recognizes the right of indigenous people to use and preserve their languages, and promotes bilingual education. Additionally, the government enacted the Law of Linguistic Rights, recognizing 62 indigenous languages as co-official national languages. Despite this effort to preserve and promote indigenous languages, many of them are endangered today. Spanish continues to dominate the society with younger generations discarding the language of their ancestors. This is indirectly encouraged through classist attitudes, pressures to assimilate into “modern culture,” and the lower socioeconomic situation of many indigenous peoples. Today, at least 21 languages are listed as critically endangered, 38 are definitely endangered, 32 are severely endangered, and 52 are considered vulnerable. While 68 indigenous languages may sound like a lot, in fact over 130 indigenous languages, along with their unique customs and culture, have vanished. As such, the government has placed a heavy emphasis on the preservation and promotion of the native languages. The Law of Linguistic Rights was created in 2002 to protect the native Mexican languages and encourage bilingual and intercultural education. The 1917 constitution that was drawn up after the Revolution also had a strong focus on preserving the languages of Mexico and the country’s multicultural identity. The constitution stated that every indigenous group had the right to protect and enrich their own Mexican language. Nowadays, there are over 7 million speakers of indigenous languages in Mexico. While around 20% of the population identify themselves with an indigenous group, only about 6% speak an indigenous language of Mexico.
Some of the most widely spoken languages in Mexico, aside from
Spanish, are Nahuatl, which has more than 1.7 million speakers, Maya, spoken by around 850,000 people, and Mixtec, with more than half a million speakers. Interestingly, while Spanish is the dominant language in Mexico, it is not defined as the official language in Mexican legislation. This allows for more rights to be given to the remainder of Mexico’s languages, including the right to use indigenous languages in governmental communication and official documents.
Nahuatl, The Language of the Aztec Nation
Today, Spanish is the dominant language of Mexico and most central and South American countries. There was a time, however, when Nahuatl, a language spoken by the indigenous inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, was the language of art, science, religion, and high culture in the part of Mesoamerica ruled by the Aztec Empire. Despite colonization by the Spaniards, Nahuatl remains a spoken language with numerous dialects and currently 1.6 million speakers. In regions with large indigenous Nahua populations, it enjoys a status equivalent to Spanish. It also has become a language that has helped to strengthen the identity of the Nahua people. What is Nahuatl? Classical Nahuatl was the lingua franca, the common language of all the differing peoples that came together under the Aztec civilization. Nahuatl is part of the Uto-Aztecan language family, a family of languages spoken in the western United States and Mexico. The Uto-Aztecan family also includes languages such as the Shoshoni language spoken in the American west. The branch of Uto-Aztecan which includes Nahuatl is Southern Uto-Aztecan. Nahuatl has many different dialects, not all of which are mutually intelligible. The variety within Nahuatl is great enough that it can be divided into western and eastern variants. The dialects of Nahuatl within the Valley of Mexico most closely resemble Classical Nahuatl.
Speakers of Nahuatl: the Nahua People
The Nahua probably originated from the deserts of northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest. Around 500 AD, the earliest Nahua arrived in the Valley of Mexico and adopted agriculture and urban living which were already being practiced by Mesoamerican civilization. By the 13th century, the Nahua had established numerous city-states throughout the Valley of Mexico. One of the last migrations of Nahua into the Valley of Mexico from farther north were the Mexica who arrived around 1200 AD and eventually settled on an island in Lake Texcoco. On the island, they built the city that would later become Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan grew in power and in the 15th century, Tenochtitlan formed the triple alliance with Tlacopan and Texcoco forming the Aztec Empire. It was through the expansion of the Aztec Empire that Nahuatl became a widely spoken language across Mexico and Central America. By 1519, when the Conquistadors arrived, Nahuatl in its classic form was the language of administration, law, science, and religion.
Vera Bouteneff _ (Servant of God) Alexander - Father Arseny, 1893-1973 _ priest, prisoner, spiritual father _ being the narratives compiled by the servant of God Alexander concerning his spiritual fa.pdf