422 UNIT 4 MESOAMERICAN CULTURAL FEATURES
upon them through national priorities); the use of Spanish thereby becomes eco-
nomically or socially advantageous. In a few cases, the second language is not Span-
ish, but rather an expanding native language such as Q’eqchi’ Mayan or Otomi.
The use of native languages is typically associated with traditional practices and
institutions, whereas the use of Spanish is associated with the penetration of mestizo
(or ladino) practices and institutions, including especially regional and national po-
litical and economic systems. Survival or advancement in the local economy via par-
ticipation in wider economic systems is often facilitated by the use of Spanish. Partly
this is the case because Spanish aids communication among speakers of different in-
digenous languages, since bilingualism in Spanish is widespread across all languages
of Mesoamerica. Partly, however, it is because native languages are usually stigma-
tized by ladinos, similar to the way nonstandard dialects of English are stigmatized
among white-collar workers in the United States.
Native language use has often been discouraged by national policies. Education
and scholarship in Mexico and Central America have been conducted almost en-
tirely in European languages (mostly Spanish), so that there has been little oppor-
tunity for speakers of the native languages to achieve literacy in their own languages;
and the use of indigenous languages by children in the schools has often been sup-
pressed. Furthermore, the social infrastructure has been such that, at least until re-
cently, relatively few of the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica had access to any
education at all.
In the twentieth century, many indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica were un-
fortunately caught up in political violence and were targeted for kidnapping and
murder, in part because they spoke native languages and were thus viewed as sub-
versive. In such situations, the choice of which language to use often depends upon
the nature of the speech situation and on who is involved in it. Not only in Mesoamer-
ica but also throughout the world, the range of contexts of use of the native lan-
guage may be reduced. A common pattern is for the native language to be favored
in private settings—for example, within the family or among close friends—whereas
Spanish may be preferred in public and community-oriented settings, and in inter-
actions with more distant acquaintances, or with strangers. An ultimately foreign
language ideologymay develop, according to which the local language is not seen as a
fit instrument for formal or “important” types of communication.
Another process involved in language loss is an outgrowth of the one just de-
scribed. When the native language is seen as a hindrance to social and economic ad-
vancement, parents may speak only Spanish to their children. Once children no
longer learn the native language of their people, it is moribund. In Mesoamerica, this
process turns out to contribute in a much more devastating way to language loss
than does the act of language choice among bilinguals.
There are several native languages that few, if any, children learn. Among Mixe-
Zoquean languages, for example, Texistepec Popoluca is spoken by only about 100
persons, all in their sixties or older. There are now fewer than 20 fluent speakers of
Oluta Popoluca, all elderly; and less than 10 speakers of Ayapanec, a Gulf Zoquean
language at the northeastern boundary of Mixe-Zoquean territory. More rarely, other