LINGUIST List 20.2616
Sun Jul 26 2009
Diss: Anthro Ling/Socioling: Otto: 'Bilingualism in Felipe Carrillo...'
Editor for this issue: Di Wdzenczny
<dilinguistlist.org>
1. Carsten
Otto,
Bilingualism in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mx.
Message 1: Bilingualism in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mx.
Date: 25-Jul-2009
From: Carsten Otto <c.ottomacnews.de>
Subject: Bilingualism in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mx.
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Institution: Universität Hamburg
Program: Department of Cultural History and Cultural Studies
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2009
Author: Carsten Otto
Dissertation Title: Bilingualism in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mx. (Bilingualismus in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mx).
Dissertation URL: http://www.sub.uni-hamburg.de/opus/volltexte/2009/4158/
Linguistic Field(s):
Anthropological Linguistics
Sociolinguistics
Subject Language(s): Spanish (spa)
Maya, Yucatán (yua)
Dissertation Director:
Barbara Blaha Pfeiler
Andreas Koechert
Dissertation Abstract:
Based on the assumption that the choice of a particular language mayindicate a certain ethnic identity and consequently ethnic identityinfluences language choice, the present study describes the result of anempirical investigation into language choice and language attitudes ofbilingual (Yucatec - Spanish) speakers in the small Mexican town of FelipeCarrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, the heartland of the so-called Zona Maya.
Against the background of the ethnogenesis of the population of the ZonaMaya and the closely related foundation of Felipe Carrillo Puerto as wellas the ongoing cultural change, the questions raised in the project regardthe description of language choice (in Fishman's [1965] sense) in a givenspeech community in certain domains. But not only does it aim to sketch thebilingual situation among the descendants of the Cruzo'ob-Maya living inFelipe Carrillo Puerto, it also aims to outline a method of the assessmentof ethnic identity, and the use of the outcome of this assessment as anindependent variable in the sociolinguistic analysis of linguisticbehavior. The Cruzo'ob Maya are the result of a revitalization movementwhich aimed at the social, military, and political cohesion of uprisinglandworkers during the Caste War of Yucatan (1847-1901).
It has been shown that the choice of Yucatec was surprisingly rather theexception than the rule in all domains, except for the family-domain.Based on the data gathered for the language choice in this particulardomain it seems plausible to assume, that even within the family-domain -the most important one (in Fishman's sense) for the intergenerationaltransmission of an indigenous language - there is a massive language shiftunderway in which Yucateca Maya is being marginalized. This marginalizationis accompanied by and owing to a loss of ethnic affinity, i.e. affinity tothe Cult of the Talking Cross of the Cruz'ob-Maya in Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
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