1. The Impact of Colonization on Language Policy in Indigenous Languages
- Author:
- Elisa Loncon
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- On 18 December 2019, in its 50th Plenary Session, the United Nations Gen- eral Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032) to draw attention to the endangerment and erasure of indigenous languages and to assemble states to allocate funds to revitalize and promote languages.1 This piece will discuss the linguistic policies applied to indigenous peoples and how they have influenced the abandonment of native languages to favor Spanish. Since the Spanish set foot on the lands of the continent, they began to exterminate indigenous languages. The dispossession of the people’s wealth was not only territorial—it was also linguistic and cultural. This piece reflects on the political nature of languages and explains how racism, as part of the colonial paradigm, has contributed to the reduction in the importance of languages and limited our understanding of them to a cultural artifact or folklore.
- Topic:
- Politics, Culture, Language, Indigenous, Colonization, and Language Policy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus